Employee or Independent Contractor? The Excel Direct Case
News broke the other day of a settlement in the case of Villalpando v. Excel Direct Inc. et al. The case involves a group of truck drivers and Excel Direct a trucking company that claims the truckers were independent contractors. The truckers saw things differently, given the many hoops they had to jump through at...
Attention Truckers: You’re Not Always On The Clock When You’re In the Sleeper Berth
When an trucker is injured while in the sleeper berth of his rig, he may have an injury lawsuit on his hands, not a workers' comp claim. In most instances, when an employee is injured on the job, their losses (wages, medical bills, etc.) are covered by a worker's compensation plan, meaning they file a...
Mechanical Failures in Single-Vehicle 18-Wheeler Accidents
Single-vehicle 18-Wheeler Accidents happen far too often. Sometimes, the cause is one for which the truck's driver would be considered at fault: failing to maintain speed, failing to adjust to weather conditions, distracted driving, driving while intoxicated, or some other factor loss of control. These are all common reasons for an 18-Wheeler getting into a...
How Trucking Companies Gain Upper Hand In A Case & What You Can Do About It
In an accident involving a commercial truck or 18-wheeler, the truck driver and the company he or she works for will always have the upper hand at the outset of the case. Sure, there are things their victims can do to level the playing field, but they always start at a disadvantage. There are two...
Cargo-Related Accidents: Who is at fault?
Cargo-related accidents are of major concern. It seems like every week we open the newspaper and read about a motorist who was injured or killed by cargo that fell off of a commercial truck. Additionally, people may be killed or injured by cargo that hasn't fallen off trucks, but merely hung too far off the...
How And Why Trucking Companies Conduct Surveillance on Accident Victims
Something I continually encounter in truck accident cases are the various surveillance operations launched by trucking companies and their insurers against my clients. As crazy as it sounds, trucking companies spy on people who file claims against them all the time. Why they do this. Before I go into this, there is a misconception about...
