Billings Personal Injury Law Blog

Truck drivers play an important role in the United States, distributing goods across Montana and throughout the United States. It can, however, be a dangerous practice for truckers who drive long hours and are continuously behind the wheel navigating alongside other vehicles. In some cases, truckers may drive for hours and days on end without taking adequate breaks or sleeping. Not only does this dangerous practice put their own lives at risk, but it increases the chances of causing a major catastrophic truck accident.

In order to minimize the occurrence of truck accidents, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration issued Hours of Service regulations. These regulations force truckers to take breaks and restricts them from driving over a certain number of hours at a time. Truckers must take a 30-minute break for every eight hours they spend on the road. Furthermore, they cannot drive more than 11 consecutive hours once they have taken 10 hours off. Counting rest breaks, truckers cannot drive beyond the 14th hour following that 10-hour sleeping break. Finally, truckers can only drive up to 60 hours every seven days and then must spend 34 consecutive hours off duty.

Not only is aggressive driving a problem on Montana roadways, it is also an issue for drivers throughout most of the United States. People’s lives can get stressful and some take their anxiety and anger out on the road. When people become stuck in traffic day after day, are late to an important appointment or just irritated with other drivers in general, they may snap and take their rage out on an unsuspecting motorist. Aggressive driving behaviors put the lives of motorists at risk, as well as the lives of everyone else on the road.

According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, 15 states in the country have laws against aggressive driving. Montana legislation warns that motorists who are driving unsafely may be pulled over, even if they are not speeding. AAA studied more than 10,000 claims of reported road rage and discovered that the number of aggressive driving incidents increased by 51 percent between 1990 and 1996. This number has grown since then and may be low as many cases go unreported.

Medical misdiagnosis is one type of malpractice that affects people throughout Montana and across the United States. When you go into an outpatient clinic or the emergency room, you expect to be treated and given a diagnosis by medical professionals. However, there may be a time when you are given the wrong diagnosis or are not given a diagnosis at all. Not only can this lead to further problems as the undiagnosed condition worsens, but you may experience significant effects from the treatment you are taking for the wrong diagnosed condition.

For example, a medical professional could misread a cloud on a lung x-ray to be pneumonia when in all actuality, it is cancer. As you receive treatment for pneumonia, the cancer may worsen or even spread to other parts of the body. Another instance may occur where you have a body part removed in error because it was thought to be causing the problem. If the doctor would have performed the correct tests, however, he or she would have found that the problem originated from another area.

Truck accidents occur at an alarming rate in Montana and across the United States. People are seriously injured and killed in tractor trailer accidents more often than some may think. When people understand the common causes of truck accidents, they may be able to avoid becoming involved in an accident and could save lives in the process.

Hazardous drivers are one major precursor to truck accidents. In some cases, motorists are not aware that these heavy vehicles cannot stop as fast as smaller vehicles. Drivers who pull out in front of trucks run the risk of causing an accident. Also, trucks should be given room to make wide turns and drivers should avoid pulling up next to them. Finally, motorists should keep out of truck drivers’ blind spots to ensure truck drivers can see the them at all times.