O'Connor Law

Because truck drivers often suffer from fatigue or sleeping problems as a result of the unrealistic schedules imposed on them by their companies, there are many truck drivers that use drugs or alcohol to sleep, wake up, or combat depression. Although drivers may initially be cautious, their use turns to addiction and overrides their caution, making them much more likely to get in an accident on the road. To prevent the threat of drug and alcohol abusers from driving large trucks, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration rules demand that all drivers undergo six types of drug and alcohol use tests:

• Pre-employment
• Reasonable suspicion
• Post-Accident
• Random
• Return-to-duty
• Follow-up

These rules are designed to prevent drivers who abuse alcohol and/or drugs from getting on the road, and they seem a significant safeguard against abusing drivers sitting behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler, but they are lacking for several reasons.

1. First, the employer gets to perform all tests and determines what constitutes "reasonable suspicion" of drug or alcohol abuse.
2. Second, all tests are conducted in two phases, a screening test and a confirmation test. Since these are administered by the employer, it is possible for the employer to help employees pass the confirmation test by waiting a significant length of time before performing it.
3. Third, in terms of drug abuse, the employee is contacted before the employer and given a chance to explain any positive tests with "legitimate medical use." Many drug users know how to explain away positive results.
4. Fourth, only five drugs are tested for:

• Marijuana
• Cocaine
• Amphetamines
• Opiates
• Phencyclidine

Drugs other than these five can pass undetected, and all drivers know this list and know what they can get away with.

As a result of these weak rules on drug and alcohol testing, a number of drivers with habitual patterns of drug and alcohol abuse continue to get on the road, endangering you and your family. If you have suffered as a result of a truck accident involving drug or alcohol abuse, contact the law firm of Michael J. O'Connor & Associates, LLC today for a free initial consultation and case review.

Hazardous materials are one of the negative side-effects of our post-industrialized society. From wastewater sludge to byproducts of fuel refining to used paint stripper, every industry produces or uses toxic chemicals on a daily basis. And sooner or later these chemicals have to be moved from where they are produced to where they are used or disposed of, and, as with all freight, most of these wastes are transported by large truck.

Unfortunately, when a truck leaves one industrial facility en route another facility or disposal site, it travels on the same highways you use and drives through your town and your community. Once out on the highway, hazardous material, or hazmat, trucks are subject to the same potential causes for accidents as other large trucks, including:

• Overloading
• Driver fatigue
• Improper maintenance
• Aggressive driving encouraged by unrealistic delivery schedules

And when hazmat trucks are in an accident, they are 50% more likely to spill their cargo than non-hazmat trucks, according to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration statistics. In addition, although most hazardous materials are produced and used in urban areas, rural highways were the site of over 70 % of crashes involving hazmat trucks.

If your community has suffered as a result of a hazmat truck accident, contact the experienced truck accident attorneys at Michael J. O'Connor & Associates, LLC.

It seems that with regular inspections, it should be impossible for poorly maintained and dangerous trucks to stay on the road, but somehow it happens. Some reasons why these unsafe trucks can keep operating are:

· Drivers are required to carry out inspections after every day's work, but the drivers are uncompensated for this time, and after a long day of work, the drivers are often fatigued and conduct cursory inspections or none at all.

· Driver-owners or motor carriers who operate only one vehicle are not required to carry out daily inspections.

· There are no requirements that Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) personnel carry out an inspection at a weigh station, simply that they are authorized to.
· Periodic annual inspections can be carried out by the trucking company.

All of these factors combine to take the teeth out of the inspection process, meaning that FMCSA officials may never see a vehicle and may never know what its condition until a truck accident occurs.

In the face of such lax guidelines, the only way to keep dangerous trucks off the road is to make it too costly for trucking companies to afford an accident. If you have been in an accident with a tractor-trailer truck, you can receive compensation and protect others from suffering your pain by contacting an experienced trucking accident lawyer at Michael J. O'Connor & Associates, LLC.

If you have been involved in an accident with a tractor-trailer truck, there are a number of things you should do to protect your rights. First, you should obtain the following information:

· Information about the truck driver, including name, license number, insurance information, and contact information for the driver and the trucking company
· Truck information, including names and license plate numbers on the cab and trailer
· A copy of the police report
· Names and information for any witnesses
· Condition of truck

Once you have gotten that information, you should get an examination by a medical doctor, even if you feel fine. In addition, you should try to take photos and/or measurements of:

· Skid marks (if present)
· The truck
· The scene of the accident
· The condition of your vehicle

Then make sure you contact an experienced truck accident lawyer. You can guarantee that the trucking company has a stable of lawyers chomping at the bit to minimize your claim. You need someone equally eager to protect your rights. If you have been injured in an accident with a tractor-trailer, contact the experienced truck accident lawyers at the law firm of Michael J. O'Connor & Associates, LLC.

Tire technology has come a long way. Truck tires today are heavily-reinforced, designed to withstand tremendous forces for long periods, with mileage ratings that continue to increase while performance also improves. However, they are also designed with cost in mind to fit a very specific set of parameters, including amount of continuous mileage, temperature, pressure, weight, and instantaneous performance demands. When a truck is overloaded, it puts undue stress on the tires. When a trucker is pushing himself and his truck for almost a thousand miles a day to meet the company's unrealistic schedules, it puts undue stress on the tires. When a fatigued trucker responds slowly to road conditions and tries to compensate by stopping or turning his truck suddenly, it puts undue stress on the tires, and the tires can fail.

When tires on semi trucks fail, the truck goes out of control. Tire debris scatters on the road, forcing other drivers to react and leading to other cars going out of control from panic or tire punctures. In short, chaos ensues, and in that chaos people are hurt or killed. If you or someone you love has suffered as a result of a truck tire blowout, contact the experienced truck accident lawyers at the law firm of Michael J. O'Connor & Associates, LLC.

Truck accidents are a tragically common occurrence on Pennsylvania highways. In 2006 alone:

· 5726 Large trucks were involved in crashes in Pennsylvania
· 2930 Large trucks were involved in serious injury accidents
· 4342 People were injured in accidents with Large Trucks
· 183 Large trucks involved in fatal accidents
· 193 People killed by large trucks in accidents

For the victims, these statistics represent a tragic change of life, for which no amount of money can compensate them. For the trucking industry, this is business as usual. If you or someone you love has been involved in an accident with an 18-wheeler, do not let the company write you off. Contact the experienced trucking accident lawyers at the law firm of Michael J. O'Connor & Associates today.

Adderall and Adderall XR (extended release) are pharmaceutical amphetamines manufactured by Shire and used to treat attention-deficit disorder/attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADD/ADHD) and narcolepsy. These drugs have also been used to treat severe cases of depression. Adderall was first introduced in 1997; Shire later introduced Adderall XR, a gradual release form of the drug. Adderall is prescribed most often to children and adolescents to treat their attention disorders and may produce several side effects including decreased appetite, difficulty falling asleep, emotional instability, headache, and weight loss. Serious adverse effects of the drugs are aggression, abnormal thoughts/behaviors, mania and growth suppression.

Adderall and Adderall XR are often misused, abused and used recreationally by individuals who do not have a valid doctor's prescription for the drug. Tolerance, psychological dependence, and social disability can occur when amphetamines are not used properly. Because Adderall helps the user concentrate for long periods of time, many students request the drug from their doctor as a study aid, and the drug is becoming increasingly popular on college campuses for study purposes. Because the drugs suppress the appetite, individuals trying to lose weight often seek the drug out illegally.

If you would like more information about the dangers involved with the prescription drugs Adderall and Adderall XR, contact the Law Offices of Michael J. O'Connor & Associates at 800-518-4529 or visit our website to fill out one of the contact forms (http://www.oconnorlaw.com/). The initial consultation is free and the firm works on a contingency fee basis, so you pay nothing unless we recover money for you.