Category Archives: Truck Accidents
Florida’s Dangerous Instrumentality Doctrine In CMV Accidents
Over time, Florida has developed a legal theory known as the dangerous instrumentality doctrine (DI doctrine), most often seen in road accident cases. This doctrine holds that if a vehicle owner expressly allows another person to operate that vehicle, they are responsible for any damages caused by that person. Florida’s courts have expressly identified… Read More »
Explaining Florida’s Vicarious Liability Doctrine
Normally, when a person is sued in civil court, they must accept the court’s punishment if they are found liable for causing harm. In accidents involving commercial motor vehicles (CMVs), however, the driver of the vehicle in an accident may not be the only defendant facing liability under Florida law. Florida observes a common-law… Read More »
Can I Get Punitive Damages In A Tractor-Trailer Accident Case?
Accidents involving tractor-trailers are often very serious, being disproportionately more likely to cause serious injuries or deaths. If you are able to establish that the driver of the tractor-trailer was negligent, you may be able to recover money damages for the injuries that negligence caused. Some severely injured plaintiffs even try to recover punitive… Read More »
Tractor-Trailer Accidents In Blind Spots
Drivers of tractor-trailers have a difficult job, particularly given the large size and sluggish handling of many semi-trucks. There are many different types of accidents that can occur on Florida roads, with one of the most unpredictable being the crashes that occur while a road user is in the truck’s blind spots. While it… Read More »
Commercial Motor Vehicle Accidents & Negligence Per Se
Commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) and their drivers are subject to the same laws as most of the road users in Florida, and will face the same liability as would any other road user if they cause harm to someone else. One legal theory that is less commonly used nowadays, but can still help to… Read More »
Overweight Commercial Motor Vehicles Can Cause Accidents
Commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) are usually trucks or other conveyances designed to carry passengers or cargo, though the definition of what specifically constitutes a CMV will vary between jurisdictions. Florida’s definition of what constitutes a CMV has specific height and weight limits for a vehicle, but the state’s roads also have their own weight… Read More »
Tesla Sued After Autopilot Led To Tractor-Trailer Crash
In 2019, a Delray Beach crash involving a tractor-trailer and a Tesla Model 3 occurred when the Tesla crashed into the side of the tractor-trailer, coming to a stop underneath. The widow of the Tesla driver filed suit against the car company, alleging that Tesla’s autopilot program played a role in the driver’s death…. Read More »
Can I Get Pain & Suffering Damages After A Tractor-Trailer Accident?
If a driver is so unlucky as to be involved in an accident with a tractor-trailer, and they manage to survive the impact, it is very likely that they will have sustained serious injuries. Filing suit against the tractor-trailer driver (and, in some cases, their employer) is the next step – but it can… Read More »
Do Company Cars Count As Commercial Motor Vehicles?
U.S. federal law and state law define commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) very specifically, usually in terms of weight and cargo type. However, many vehicles are often excluded from the CMV classification that still qualify as commercial vehicles in other respects. One of the most common is the company car – legally, it may not… Read More »
Comparative Negligence In Tractor-Trailer Cases
Road accidents involving tractor-trailers can be deadly, and those that survive often have severe injuries. Most of the time, it is possible to file suit against a tractor-trailer driver if their negligence allegedly caused harm – but injured plaintiffs also have to be aware of a concept known as comparative negligence, also referred to… Read More »
