Overloaded/Overweight Truck Accidents in Toledo

Lawyers at The Law Firm for Truck Safety have successfully handled numerous oversize, overweight, and overloaded truck crash cases. Commercial tractor-trailers are by far the biggest and heaviest vehicles on any highway. However, even though manufacturers design these vehicles to carry thousands of pounds of cargo, not every trucking company behaves responsibly in how its employees load their trucks, the routes they send them on, and even intentionally breaking the law by allowing overweight trucks on our roads.

The truck accident attorneys at the Law Firm for Truck Safety take a comprehensive approach in investigating our clients claims, including investigating the weight of the load, how the truck was loaded, and if the company has a pattern of running overweight trucks.

When Is a Truck Illegally Overweight?

Under current federal laws, trucks traveling on interstate highways or crossing state borders on other routes cannot have a gross vehicle weight rating–meaning a total weight across the cab, trailer, and cargo–over 80,000 pounds. Most vehicles are subject to the same 80,000-pound maximum under local state law. However, truck drivers and their employers can apply for special permits that allow them to transport oversized loads within state borders on a pre-approved route.

Even if a commercial truck involved in a crash in Toledo was under the 80,000-pound limit, it may still have been illegally overweight if it placed too much weight on any single axle or axle group. For trucks on interstate routes, the maximum limits are 20,000 pounds per single axle and 34,000 pounds per single axle group. Mathematical calculations determine restrictions for in-state traffic, taking various aspects of the truck’s design into account. Our attorneys can explain this in more detail during an initial consultation and while we investigate your case.

Proving a Trucking Company Violated Federal or State Law

Many overloaded truck wrecks in Toledo stem from a trucking company knowingly loading an illegal amount of cargo onto one or more of their trucks. Whether they do it to save time on routes, deal with understaffing or a lack of available trucks, or for any other reason, this behavior is against the law and extremely dangerous. It can also provide grounds for proving legal negligence and possibly allow a jury finding of punitive damagesDamages designed to punish a defendant or set an example (in some states, called exemplary damages)., designed to punish a truck driver or company for especially egregious conduct.

Truck companies that knowingly break the law by overloading their trucks may also be willing to participate in cover-ups, such as falsifying, altering, or even destroying records of their unlawful practices. Having a skilled and experienced attorney on your side is crucial when it comes to identifying inaccuracies in evidence, such as shipping manifests and driver’s logs, and addressing those inaccuracies in a lawsuit or settlement demand.

Contact a Toledo Attorney for Help With an Overloaded Truck Crash Claim

Even if it seems obvious to you that the truck driver involved in your recent collision was carrying far more cargo than the law allows or their vehicle could safely handle, proving it in court must be done in a way that conforms with Ohio’s Rules of Evidence.

At the Law Firm for Truck Safety, we focus exclusively on truck accident litigation and have more lawyers with commercial driver’s licenses than any other firm, which means we could bring unique experience and skill to help you pursue fair compensation for your injuries. Call today to learn more about your legal options following overloaded/overweight truck accidents in Toledo.