ATTORNEYS AT LAW
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
STRONG LEGAL REPRESENTATION WHEN A SERIOUS ACCIDENT HAS OCCURRED
Any vehicle crash can injure, maim, and kill, but when trucks or large commercial vehicles are involved, the consequences can be disastrous. With its high volume of commercial traffic and significant heavy industry and mining, Pennsylvania has one of the highest occurrences of fatal truck accidents in the country. Large vehicles, such as tractor trailers, big rigs, semis and 18 wheelers, are difficult to maneuver, and when loaded with freight, they may take 20 to 40 percent longer to stop than a small vehicle. It is no wonder that when heavy trucks collide with passenger vehicles, the occupants of the smaller vehicles don’t stand much of a chance.
According to the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association, the trucking industry in Pennsylvania employs over 400,000 employees, the fourth largest employer in the state and carries over 1.2 million tons of freight every business day. The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (DOT) reports that in 2013 there were 6,573 large trucks involved in traffic crashes, leading to 28 occupant deaths and 155 total deaths. In 2016, the DOT reported 402 serious injuries related to truck accidents.
If you or a loved one was injured or someone was killed in a truck accident due to someone else’s negligence or responsibility, you may be entitled to financial compensation to cover your medical and hospital expenses, future medical, hospital and rehabilitative expenses, past, present and future lost wages, past, present and future loss of economic horizons, property loss, pain and suffering, disfigurement, loss of life’s pleasures prior to death. Seasoned Williamsport truck accident lawyer Clifford A. Rieders of Rieders, Travis, Humphrey, Waters & Dohrmann has helped hundreds of people file successful personal injury lawsuits due to vehicle crashes. We offer a free consultation to examine the facts of your case and find the best approach to getting you the compensation you deserve.
With a long record of work in both state and federal courts, our firm represents clients in cases involving:
Whether the injury was sustained by a trucker, a noncommercial driver or a passenger, we can clearly explain how the law relates to your situation. Your options may include filing a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit.
Clifford A. Rieders of Rieders, Travis, Humphrey, Waters & Dohrmann has successfully represented clients in all kinds of truck collision cases. There are many reasons why large trucks wind up having collisions. Sometimes a driver is a fault, or sometimes the trucking company is negligent in scheduling drivers or failing to check and maintain vehicles properly.
Truck accident lawsuits are particularly complex because of all the aspects involved. Pennsylvania law allows employers to be held responsible for negligent hiring, negligent retention, and negligent supervision of their truck driver employees to make sure they are safe, do not have a history of accidents, tickets or other legal violations, and to test drivers for drug use. They are also responsible to ensure their vehicles are safe and maintained correctly. If the trucking company has failed to live up to their responsibilities, they may be sued for negligence.
Experienced truck accident attorneys can determine if regulations have been violated and to make sure evidence is collected properly, witnesses are interviewed, insurance companies are handled, forms are filed correctly and liability is established for the crash. Most often the trucking companied will be sued, but the driver may also be liable. There is often a contest as to whether the truck driver is an independent contractor or an employee. This can be an extremely important question as to how much insurance is available.
After a truck accident you should do the following:
If you have been involved in a crash with a truck, do not speak to anyone from the trucking company until you consult with your attorney. Even if the representative sounds sympathetic, the trucking company has its own interests at heart and will try to get you to say something that can be used against you or persuade you to accept the lowest settlement possible.
If the crash was caused by a faulty or malfunctioning part or piece of equipment, the manufacturer of that product could be liable. Your attorney should be investigating the cause of the crash and making the determination of whether a product was at fault and whether to consider a product liability lawsuit.
Injuries from trucks and other large vehicle crashes are often severe and may include catastrophic and devastating injuries such as paralysis, brain trauma, broken bones, disfigurement, emotional damage and post traumatic stress syndrome, and of course, death. If victims survive, their lives may never be the same.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 3,986 people died in large truck crashes in 2016. Seventeen percent of these deaths were truck occupants; 66 percent were occupants of passenger vehicles; and 16 percent were pedestrians, bicyclists or motorcyclists. Most deaths in large truck crashes are passenger vehicle occupants due to the vulnerability of people in smaller vehicles. Trucks often weigh 20-30 times as much as passenger cars and are taller, with greater ground clearance, which can result in smaller vehicles under riding trucks in crashes. Family members of victims may be entitled to compensation for wrongful death.
Surprisingly, most trucking accidents occur in rural areas. This is due to the fact that in city limits truck drivers generally reduce their speed and pay more attention to the other vehicles and pedestrians around them. Rural areas have higher speed limits, are more boring and may have long stretches that are hypnotizing to drive; drivers may become less attentive, be distracted and start eating, talking on the phone or fiddling with equipment, or they may become drowsy and fall asleep.
The most common large truck types that cause accidents include:
If you or your loved ones have been injured or someone has been in a crash involving trucks, help is available help from skilled and compassionate Williamsport personal injury attorney Clifford A. Rieders of Rieders, Travis, Humphrey, Waters & Dohrmann. We understand federal, state, and local regulations and legal standards, know how insurance policies work, and can handle all aspects of an insurance claim. If death is involved, we will seek financial restitution for the family members left behind.
If you or a loved one was involved in a vehicle accident due to someone’s negligence or responsibility, you may be entitled to financial compensation to cover your medical expenses, lost wages, property loss, and pain and suffering. The seasoned Pennsylvania accident personal injury attorney Clifford A. Rieders of Rieders, Travis, Humphrey, Waters & Dohrmann has helped hundreds of people file successful personal injury lawsuits due to crash injuries. With decades of experience handling many types of auto accidents and an excellent reputation in the legal community, we are well positioned to handle take on the most difficult cases. We offer a free consultation to examine the facts of your case and find the best approach to getting you the compensation you deserve.
Williamsport truck accident attorney Cliff Rieders of Rieders, Travis, Humphrey, Waters & Dohrmann is a Past President of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice, formerly Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association. Rieders has won numerous awards and recognition from the Pennsylvania Association for Justice, and he received the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority recognition award. Cliff Rieders was a founder of the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority and served on same for 15 years. Rieders was a Law Clerk in the federal court system for one of the most well-known and longest serving federal judges in the country, the Honorable Malcolm Muir.
Cliff has received the George F. Douglas Amicus Curiae Award, as well as the Milton D. Rosenberg Award from the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers. Rieders is on committees and organizations that write the law in many fields of practice. Cliff Rieders was involved in the writing of the Mcare Act, which governs medical liability actions in Pennsylvania. Cliff Rieders wrote the book on medical malpractice that lawyers use in the state. Cliff teaches the subject of medical malpractice at seminars attended by the leading lawyers in the state. Cliff Rieders is recognized as an outstanding authority in the medical malpractice field.
Cliff has even testified before the legislature on medical malpractice laws. Rieders is a nationally Board Certified specialist for Civil Trial and Civil Practice and Procedure, a cum laude graduate of New York University as well as Georgetown University Law Center. Rieders is admitted in Pennsylvania, New York State, District of Columbia and numerous federal courts including the Supreme Court of the United States. Rieders is a life member of the American Law Institute which publishes recommended legal principles utilized throughout the United States. Cliff Rieders is the lawyer that other lawyers call for counsel and advice in the medical and hospital malpractice and pharmaceutical/vitamin supplement fields. Cliff Rieders does substantial work in multi-district litigation in connection with pharmaceutical products and medical devices.
If you have been in an accident, time is of the essence so do not delay. Call (570) 323-8711 or use our online contact form. Based in Williamsport, we serve clients throughout the state of Pennsylvania, offering a free consultation on all injury matters. More than that, we offer you experience, knowledge, compassion, and a long history of results
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”I was listened to & felt like I was heard. My trouble was accurately recorded by the employee & delivered to the lawyer. I received good advice & although no case was pursued, I learned a great deal. Communication was excellent on all levels.” – Sondra Fisher (Google Review)
Cliff Rieders is a Nationally Board Certified Trial Lawyer practicing personal injury law. A large part of his practice involves multi-district litigation, including cases related to pharmaceuticals, vitamin supplements and medical devices. He is admitted in several state and federal courts, as well as the Supreme Court of the United States. Rieders is the past regional president of the Federal Bar Association and is a life member of the distinguished American Law Institute, which promulgates proposed rules adopted by many state courts. He is a past president of the Pennsylvania Association for Justice, formerly Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association. As a founder of the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority, he served on the Board for 15 years.
Not only has Rieders held many highly esteemed, leadership positions, he authored legislation related to the Patient Safety Authority and the Mcare Act, which governs medical and hospital liability actions in Pennsylvania. He authored texts upon which both practitioners and judges rely, including Pennsylvania Malpractice Laws and Forms, and Financial Responsibility Law Issues in Pennsylvania, the latter governing auto and truck collisions in Pennsylvania. In addition, he wrote several books on the practice of law in Pennsylvania regarding wrongful death and survivor actions, insurance bad faith, legal malpractice claims and worker rights, among others. Rieders also serves as a resource to practitioners as a regular speaker for Celesq, an arm of the world’s largest legal publisher, Thomson Reuters West Publishing.
As recognition of his wide range of contribution to his profession and of his dedication to protecting the rights of his clients, he received numerous awards, among them the George F. Douglas Amicus Curiae Award, the Milton D. Rosenberg Award, the B’nai B’rith Justice Award, and awards of recognition from the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers. [ Attorney Bio ]
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