Semi-trucks are designed to carry large amounts of cargo weighing tens of thousands of pounds, but like any machine, these vehicles have maximum weight limits that should not be exceeded in order to keep the truck in good working order and to keep other people sharing the road with that truck safe. Unfortunately, not every trucking company is as diligent as they should be about complying with truck weight limits set by state and federal law, and some companies even deliberately ignore these laws in order to save time and money transporting goods.
Trucks that are too heavy are much more difficult for their drivers to operate safely and much more likely to break down in transit, and both those factors make the odds of a serious accident much higher than necessary. If you have been hurt in an overloaded/overweight truck accident in Mount Dora recently, you may have grounds for legal action, which a qualified truck accident lawyer could help you achieve the best possible result from.
How Heavy Can Tractor-Trailers Be?
Under federal law, the maximum “gross vehicle weight rating”—in other words, the maximum weight across cab, trailer, and cargo combined—for a tractor-trailer traveling on interstate highways or across state lines is 80,000 pounds. Additionally, no truck can put more than 20,000 pounds of weight on a single axle or more than 34,000 pounds on a tandem axle group, with the underlying assumption being that the gross vehicle weight is distributed equally across all axles.
The maximum gross vehicle weight rating limits and axle load limits for trucks traveling solely within Florida’s borders change somewhat depending on the number of axles, the length of the truck and trailer, and the route the truck driver plans to take. Drivers with special permits may also be able to exceed the normal limits under specific circumstances.
In general, though, weight limits for in-state trucks are similar to those established under federal law, and any trucking company that puts an illegally overweight truck on the road has violated the “duty of care” they owe everyone else using that road, regardless of whether the violation was accidental or intentional. If such a “breach of duty” directly causes an otherwise preventable truck crash in Mount Dora, any person injured through that wreck will likely have grounds to file suit.
Building a Strong Case Against an Irresponsible Trucking Company
In some situations, civil fault for a truck being dangerously overloaded lies with an individual truck driver or a third-party supplier based on their failure to ensure the right cargo was loaded into their trailer or attached to their cab. Most of the time, though, overweight truck crashes in Mount Dora and throughout Florida stem from intentional misconduct by trucking companies that want to get as much cargo as possible into each truck they send out regardless of whether they endanger other people as a result.
On top of that, trucking companies that knowingly allow their trucks to be overloaded are often not above engaging in further illegal actions in an attempt to hide what they have done, especially if their flaunting of the law directly leads to a wreck. Support from seasoned legal counsel is especially important to finding and preserving important evidence before it can be modified or destroyed, or barring that, to proving that a trucking company tampered with important evidence that would otherwise have proven them liable for a crash.
Contact a Mount Dora Attorney for Help Following an Overloaded/Overweight Truck Accident
No matter the reason or excuse they give, trucking companies that allow overweight trucks out on routes are extremely irresponsible and put everyone else who comes near that truck at risk of catastrophic harm. Even if it seems obvious to you that a trucking company is to blame for a crash involving an overloaded tractor-trailer, though, actually holding them civilly accountable for your injuries can be far from a simple process.
In the wake of an overloaded/overweight truck accident in Mount Dora, the quality of legal representation you retain can have a massive impact on your odds of recovering any compensation at all, let alone the full amount you deserve. Call Largey Law Firm today to discuss your legal options with one of our hands-on attorneys. Our team will keep you in the loop throughout every step of your case.
