causes
- Defective Truck Parts Accident Lawyer Louisiana A defective tire, brake, or steering component on a commercial truck creates liability for the parts manufacturer under the Louisiana Products Liability Act and for the carrier that failed to maintain or recall the part.
- Truck Driver Fatigue Accident Claims in Louisiana Louisiana truck driver fatigue claims differ from ordinary wrecks: investigators look backward into the days of driving before the crash under federal hours-of-service limits, key evidence like driving logs and onboard data sits with the trucking company, and responsibility can extend to how routes and delivery windows were scheduled.
- What Causes Truck Accidents in Louisiana? In a Louisiana truck accident, the cause of the crash determines who is legally responsible. Liability can attach to the driver, the trucking company, a cargo loader, or a parts manufacturer, sometimes all at once.
corridors
- I-10 Truck Accident Lawyer Louisiana Interstate 10 runs 274 miles across Louisiana.
- I-20 Truck Accident Lawyer in Louisiana Morris & Dewett handles I-20 truck accident claims across all eight Louisiana parishes the corridor crosses, from Caddo through Madison, with over 25 years of trucking-case experience.
fault
forklift-accidents
insurance
liability
- How Is Liability Determined in a Delivery Truck Accident? Liability in a delivery truck accident turns on who breached a duty of care and whether the driver was acting within the scope of employment. Fault can fall on the driver, the delivery company, the truck's owner, or a third party. The driver's status — employee versus independent contractor — often decides whether the company can be held responsible.
- The Hidden Dangers of Turning Trucks: Understanding Wide Turn Accidents Every day, 18-wheelers navigate turns at intersections across Louisiana and Texas, each maneuver requiring precision and space that passenger vehicles don’t need. These turning movements create invisible danger zones where devastating accidents occur in seconds. Understanding why trucks turn differently, recognizing the hazards, and knowing your rights after an accident can save lives and protect […]
process
- Average Settlement for an 18-Wheeler Accident There is no single honest "average" for an 18-wheeler settlement. Published summaries of these cases describe a spread that runs from the low six figures on the modest end to several million dollars, and where a given case lands tracks two things: how severe the injuries are and how clearly fault falls on the trucking company.
- How Long Does a Truck Accident Lawsuit Take? Learn about the factors affecting a truck accident lawsuit timeline, from filing to settlement or trial, and what to expect at each stage.
- How Truck Accident Investigations Work in Louisiana A Louisiana truck accident investigation preserves ECM, ELD, and dashcam evidence through a spoliation letter before short retention windows erase it.
- Suing a Trucking Company in Louisiana After an Accident A trucking company can be sued through respondeat superior, direct negligence claims, and Louisiana's direct action statute, with a two-year prescriptive deadline.
- The Truck Accident Claim Process in Louisiana Truck accident claims in Louisiana involve federal regulations, multiple defendants, and evidence that disappears fast.
- What to Do After a Truck Accident in Louisiana After a Louisiana truck crash, call 911, preserve electronic evidence before it is overwritten, and file within the two-year prescriptive period.
regulations
- DOT Regulations and Louisiana Truck Accident Cases A driver or carrier's violation of a DOT or FMCSA regulation is strong evidence of negligence under La. C.C. Art. 2315 when it contributes to a Louisiana truck crash.
- Truck Maintenance Records in Louisiana Accident Claims Federal law (49 CFR Part 396) requires carriers to keep inspection, repair, and DVIR records that often prove a truck accident claim in Louisiana.
statute
traffic
- Blind Spots on a Commercial Vehicle Learn about the blind spots on large commercial vehicles like trucks and 18-wheelers.
- Frequently Asked Questions on 18-Wheeler Accidents on I-12 Interstate 12 spans over 85 miles connecting Baton Rouge with I-10 and I-59 in Slidell. As one of the main thoroughfares in Louisiana, this highway helps commuters and visitors alike traverse the Bayou State. Unfortunately, many accidents occur on this road, with car accidents, bus accidents, motorcycle accidents, and truck accidents occurring regularly. In particular, 18-wheeler accidents can be […]
- Frequently Asked Questions on 18-Wheeler Accidents on I-49 Interstate 49 is the main north-south highway in Louisiana. As such, it sees a high volume of 18-wheelers making their way through the state to facilitate commerce, which can make driving on I-49 more dangerous than on other Louisiana roads. Here are answers to frequently asked questions about 18-wheeler accidents on I-49. How Many 18-wheeler […]
- How Many Hours Can a Truck Driver Work? Learn about the rules and regulations regarding how many hours a truck driver can drive or work for.
- How Much Longer Do Commercial Vehicles Take to Stop? Learn how factors like weight, speed, and road conditions affect the stopping distance of large vehicles. Stay safe on the road!
- The Impact of Speeding in Truck Accidents: Risks and Consequences Learn about the speeding consequences, legal implications, and steps to reduce speeding related collisions.
- TRUCK DRIVERS AND IMPAIRED DRIVING: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Sharing the road with big rigs and semis is dangerous enough. They are massive vehicles with huge blind spots and long stopping times even in the best of circumstances. Add drinking, substance abuse, and distracted driving to the mix, and they can become lethal. If you are struck by truck driver who has been drinking […]
- Understand the Blind Spots on a Commercial Vehicle Large commercial vehicles fill our roads. Driving alongside them can be scary when 18-wheelers can weigh 40 tons and move at 65 mph or more. You wonder if they even see you in your car or smaller truck. Sometimes they cannot. Big trucks have large blind spots. You can drive better and safer if you […]
- WHAT ARE NO ZONES? No Zones Are Blind Spots for 18-Wheelers. Here’s How to Identify & Avoid Them. Blind spots are hidden dangers for any vehicle. With tractor-trailers, those blind spots can be like the Bermuda Triangle, hiding multiple cars from truckers’ view and greatly increasing the risks of crashes. No matter where or when you share the roads with big […]
- What Causes Oil-Field Trucking Accidents? Many common causes of oilfield trucking accidents can lead to severe injuries. Learn more about these dangerous accidents and their causes.
- WHAT DOES AN ELEPHANT RACE MEAN FOR TRUCK DRIVERS? An “elephant race” is what happens when a truck driver merges into the passing lane in an attempt to pass another truck. The unintended consequence is that the passing truck driver may block both lanes for several minutes, and if frustrated drivers don’t realize what’s happening, they could inadvertently cause a crash. To help explain […]
- What is a Mansfield Bar and Why Do Big Trucks Have Them? You’ve probably seen that horizontal metal bar stretching across the back of truck trailers while driving on Louisiana or Texas highways. This T-shaped steel barrier serves a critical safety function most drivers don’t fully understand. Its fascinating origin story involves Hollywood tragedy and life-saving federal regulations that continue protecting families today. These rear underride guards, […]
- WHAT IS A RUNAWAY TRUCK? Whether you’re driving across the country or through any mountainous region, you may have seen a dirt road at the end of a steep decline that says “runaway trucks ramp.” But what exactly is a runaway truck, and how often are these ramps used? Let’s find out. Runaway Truck A runaway truck describes when either […]
- What is Commercial Vehicle Jackknifing? Jackknife Truck Accidents Are Some of the Worst Big Rig Wrecks. Here’s Why & What Causes Them Jackknifing happens when an 18-wheeler’s trailer swings out from behind the cab, closing towards it like a pocket knife would close. Often horrific, jackknife truck accidents tend to involve multiple vehicles, catastrophic injuries, and death. In some cases, […]
- What is included in a Truck Inspection? Learn about the regulatory bodies and the different levels of roadside truck inspections.
- What to Do After a Commercial Vehicle Accident Learn the essential steps to take after a commercial vehicle accident to protect your rights, seek compensation, and ensure a smooth legal process.
- WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT TRUCK DRIVER DUIS There’s a silent problem in the trucking industry. Drivers are using alcohol and prohibited drugs while on the job, and the crisis is getting worse. Tens of thousands of truck drivers have been suspended, yet many more remain on the roads. To help illustrate this crisis, we need to look at why truck drivers need […]
- WHO CAUSES TRUCK ACCIDENTS? When it comes to the issue of truck crashes, people are split. Car drivers claim that truck drivers are unsafe because they are disproportionately more likely to be in a crash. Truck drivers tell a very different story, and many cite statistics claiming that the smaller vehicle is found at fault in about 80% of […]
truck-accidents
- 3 Surprising Causes of Truck Accidents Revealed This page describes three less-obvious causes of truck accidents. Tire blowouts can cause sudden loss of control and send heavy tire fragments (often 50-100 pounds) flying into traffic. High winds can knock over trailers because of their large surface area, leading many drivers to stay off roads above 60 mph. The article frames these alongside more common causes like rear-endings and poor merging, and suggests increasing following distance near trucks.
- 7 Safety Tips: Driving with Commercial Trucks This page offers safety tips for driving near commercial trucks and 18-wheelers, which carry unique risks due to their size and weight. It explains the truck's "no zones" or blind spots, which extend to the front, rear, and both sides and are far larger than a car's, advising drivers to stay where they can see the trucker or the truck's mirrors. It also covers leaving plenty of space around tractor-trailers.
- AN UNEXPECTED CAUSE OF TRUCK STOP ACCIDENTS Some of the deadliest truck accidents happen in truck-stop parking lots, not on highways. A truck driver who pulls forward or backs into a space without clearing the area can strike a pedestrian inside the truck's no-zone, where visibility drops to nothing roughly 20 feet ahead, 30 feet behind, and to either side. Driver inexperience and tight parking layouts add to the risk, and the impact can be fatal even at low speeds.
- ARE TRUCK DRIVERS OVERWORKED? Rising shipping demand and an ongoing driver shortage are pushing truck drivers toward longer hours. Federal Hours of Service rules cap driving at 11 hours after a 10-hour break, 14 worked hours in a 24-hour period, and 60 hours in 7 days or 70 in 8. Pressure to exceed those limits leads to fatigue at the wheel.
- Big Trucks on I-20 are Breaking the Law Since December 2023, Louisiana Revised Statute 32:237 has banned 18-wheelers from the I-20 construction zone through Shreveport and Bossier, where narrow lanes raise the risk of scrapes and multi-car crashes. Despite digital signage, many truckers ignore the detour; police issued more than 300 tickets in early 2024. This page explains the ban and why violations endanger nearby drivers.
- Driving an 18-Wheeler: Safety Tips and Legal Insights 18-wheeler crashes are often catastrophic, especially in collisions with smaller vehicles. This page reviews common causes, including poor vehicle maintenance, improper cargo securement, overloading, and driver fatigue, and explains FMCSA standards such as cargo-securement rules and Hours of Service limits. It offers safety practices and a basic overview of legal rights for those involved in a truck accident.
- How Many 18-Wheeler Accidents Happen on I-30? Interstate 30 in Texas sees regular 18-wheeler accidents, including multi-vehicle fatal crashes near Royse City and Lake Ray Hubbard in 2023. Texas leads the nation in large-truck collisions, with 22,322 large truck accidents in 2022 and 6,710 in the first four months of 2023, per FMCSA data. Oil and gas freight and congested urban corridors contribute to the high crash volume.
- How many 18-wheeler accidents happen on I-35? Interstate 35, a 588-mile trucking corridor running from the Oklahoma border to Laredo, is one of the most dangerous highways in Texas. In 2018 alone, 20,401 traffic accidents were reported on I-35 and 153 motorists died. Heavy commercial truck volume, since Texas carries 85% of U.S.-Mexico truck trade, plus congestion through Dallas-Fort Worth, Waco, Austin, and San Antonio drives frequent 18-wheeler crashes.
- How Many 18-wheeler Accidents Happen on I-45? Interstate 45, running from Galveston through Houston to Dallas, has been ranked the most dangerous road in the United States, averaging 56.5 fatal accidents per 100 miles. In 2019, 73 people died on the Houston stretch alone. Urban congestion, speed, construction, and distracted driving contribute to frequent 18-wheeler crashes, which tend to cause greater damage and more severe injuries than passenger-vehicle collisions.
- HOW TO PASS A SEMI-TRUCK Passing a semi-truck is riskier than it looks because trucks have large blind spots, known as the no-zone, where the driver cannot see nearby vehicles. This page explains those visibility limits, including blind areas in front of the cab, behind the trailer, and along the passenger side, and outlines safe passing technique so drivers can overtake without putting themselves at risk.
- SCOTUS: Freight Brokers Can Be Sued for Picking Unsafe Trucking Companies On May 14, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 9-0 in Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II that the FAAAA's safety exception (49 U.S.C. 14501(c)(2)(A)) preserves state negligent-hiring claims against freight brokers, ending a common preemption defense. A broker that arranged a load along a Louisiana or east Texas corridor like I-10, I-20, or I-49 can now be named as a defendant for picking an unsafe carrier.
- The Most Dangerous Highways for Truck Accidents in Louisiana and Texas Texas leads the nation in truck accidents, recording 38,909 truck crashes and 620 fatalities in 2023, about a quarter of all U.S. truck crashes. Louisiana recorded 3,785 truck accidents the same year, with roughly a third occurring on interstates. Heavy freight traffic, congestion, speeding, and driver fatigue make corridors in both states particularly hazardous for truck collisions.
- Top Commercial Driving Safety Tips: Protect Yourself on the Road Commercial driving poses challenges for truck operators and everyone sharing the road. This page compiles practical safety tips: prioritize rest, hydration, and healthy food; wear a seat belt at all times; and plan trips in advance to avoid distraction and unsafe routes. It notes that, per NHTSA, about half of vehicle occupants killed each year are unrestrained, underscoring why buckling up matters.
- Top Distracted Driving Tips for Truck Drivers Distracted driving causes hundreds of fatal truck crashes each year. This page explains the three main distraction types facing truck drivers: manual (hands off the wheel, such as texting, eating, or adjusting controls), cognitive, and visual. It outlines why each is dangerous for large trucks and offers tips to help drivers stay focused and reduce collision risk.
- Truck Accident Regulations Truck accident regulations are the body of safety and operating rules that govern commercial trucks, the drivers who operate them, and the companies that put them on the road. They cover how long a driver can stay behind the wheel, how a truck must be maintained, what a driver must be qualified to do, and how cargo must be loaded and secured.
- Truck Accidents Causes A crash involving a tractor-trailer is not a larger version of a car wreck. The physics are different, the parties involved are different, and the question of what caused it can be harder to answer than in almost any other kind of collision.
- Truck Accidents Corridors A truck accident corridor is a continuous stretch of highway where large-truck crashes cluster at a higher rate than surrounding roads. The term describes a pattern across a length of road, not a single point. Researchers study these stretches because the contributing causes repeat along the whole segment, which is why work like the Truck Corridor Crash Severity Index treats the corridor, not the individual crash, as the unit of analysis.
- Truck Accidents Insurance A truck wreck almost never involves a single insurance policy. A commercial truck often carries a stack of coverages that work together, each one designed for a different kind of loss. Knowing which policy responds to your injuries, your vehicle, and the cargo on the road tells you where the money to pay a claim actually comes from.
- Truck Accidents: Causes, Statistics, Injuries, and Legal Options A truck accident is a collision involving a large commercial vehicle, the kind of heavy rig built to haul freight rather than an ordinary passenger car or pickup. The distinction matters from the first phone call. A wreck with a tractor-trailer often pulls in a corporate owner, a commercial insurer, and several other companies, none of which appear in a routine two-car fender bender.
- Types of Commercial Truck Accidents: Definitions, Causes, and Liability Factors Most truck crashes fall into a recognizable set of patterns: jackknifes, rollovers, underride and override collisions, rear-end and head-on impacts, T-bone angle strikes, sideswipes, blind-spot collisions, wide-turn squeeze plays, lost-load spills, and tire or mechanical failures. Each type has its own physics, its own typical cause, and its own evidence trail.
- What Is the Truck Accident Claims Process? Get medical care first, preserve what the scene can tell you, and say as little as possible about who caused the wreck. A passenger vehicle stands no chance against the weight and force of a loaded tractor-trailer, so injuries are often serious and not always obvious in the moment.
- WHAT TO DO IF YOU SEE A SEMI-TRUCK DRIVING POORLY Semi-trucks are among the most dangerous vehicles on the highway because of their weight and speed, and reckless operation can cause severe injuries. This page explains how to recognize poor truck driving, such as lane weaving, unpredictable braking, aggressive driving, and missed blind-spot checks, and outlines safety steps, starting with giving the truck plenty of space.
- Who Can Be Held Liable In A Louisiana Truck Crash Claim Louisiana truck crash attorneys at Morris and Dewett explain who can be held liable, the two-year prescription period, and how injured victims recover compensation.
- Who Is at Fault in a Truck Accident? Fault in a truck accident comes down to whether one or more parties failed to act with reasonable care, and whether that failure caused the crash. Unlike a typical two-car wreck, a truck collision rarely traces back to a single person.
- WHY FALL MEANS MORE TRUCK CRASHES Truck accidents tend to rise in the final months of the year. The article points to several contributing factors: winter weather and high winds that make trucks prone to hydroplaning or jackknifing, holiday delivery pressure that pushes drivers toward longer hours and fatigue, and demands from management that lead some drivers to speed or bend hours-of-service limits. It explains why fall and the holiday season correlate with more truck crashes.
- Why Hire an Attorney for a Commercial Vehicle Accident Claim After a truck accident injury you may be entitled to compensation, though the law does not require you to hire an attorney. This article explains why commercial vehicle claims are more complex than ordinary car accidents: multiple parties may share liability, including the driver, the vehicle owner, cargo loaders, maintenance companies, and parts manufacturers, and strict federal and state regulations such as the FMCSA's hours-of-service, drug-testing, inspection, and training rules apply.
- WHY TRUCK ACCIDENTS ARE MORE COMMON NOW Truck accidents have increased over the past five years, and this article ties the rise to changes in driver training. As experienced drivers retire and a shortage grows, trucking companies have pushed to reduce training requirements and put less-experienced drivers on the road. It outlines the prior licensing standards, including classroom and behind-the-wheel hours plus written and driving tests, and explains how the shortage drives the trend.
- WILL FEWER TRUCK DRIVERS MEAN MORE TRUCK ACCIDENTS? As more truck drivers retire, the industry faces a shortage in the tens of thousands, yet fatal truck accidents have risen. This article explains the paradox: experienced older drivers who could spot hazards are leaving, and in response the industry successfully argued to relax minimum training-hour requirements so drivers could reach the road sooner. It outlines the prior licensing standards and how reduced training contributes to more crashes.
types
- Bobtail Truck Accident Lawyer Louisiana Bobtail truck accidents create a specific kind of legal problem. The truck is running without a trailer. The insurance rules shift. The physics change.
- Gross Vehicle Weight and Truck Accident Claims in Louisiana Overloaded trucks are a specific, documentable category of negligence. When a carrier
- Louisiana Oversize Load Accident Lawyer Oversize load crashes in Louisiana involve overlapping state and federal permit rules and multiple liable parties, from the motor carrier to the escort company. Morris & Dewett has handled Louisiana truck injury cases for over 25 years.