A truck accident can wreak havoc on your life. The injuries suffered in these crashes are often quite severe, sometimes leaving victims with lifelong disabilities that are costly to treat. Lost wages and lost earnings capacity can also take a toll on these victims, not to mention the physical and emotional toll that is taken on them.
The good news is that these victims might be able to find accountability and recover compensation for their losses, but this is entirely dependent upon their ability to prove that the trucker who caused the accident was negligent and that negligence caused the accident. That might sound easy enough, but it can actually be pretty challenging. Therefore, if you’ve been hurt in a truck accident, then you need to be prepared to aggressively present evidence that supports your case.
One strategy that might be available to you is utilizing the trucker’s medical conditions. Although the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration indicates that truckers can’t operate their vehicles when a medical condition renders it unsafe to do, the agency doesn’t regulate specific medical conditions. This is concerning.
Take sleep apnea as an example. This medical condition causes an individual’s breathing to become disrupted during sleep, forcing the individual to wake up so that he or she can breathe normally again. These disruptions can cause an individual to wake up as many as 400 times a night. Not surprisingly, this can cause a sleep apnea sufferer to be extremely drowsy and fatigued during the day. For truckers, this means that they might be less attentive while behind the wheel, and the risk of them falling asleep is likely significantly increased.
Truckers are supposed to report their condition and provide evidence of successful treatment so that they can be deemed medically qualified to drive. But truckers don’t always report their conditions, which is why truck accident victims need to be diligent in bringing those errors to fault. This isn’t an easy process, though, which is why truck accident victims may want to work closely with a legal ally who will help them fight for what they deserve.
