Truck Accidents: Common Causes & Serious Injuries
Because of the risks of serious injuries and fatalities in collisions involving large trucks, the trucking industry is heavily regulated. It is difficult to operate a commercial truck, and drivers must secure special licenses to drive them. Truck collisions are frequently complex and require extensive investigation to determine the causes. In many cases, truck drivers might have engaged in negligent conduct in the moments leading up to their crashes. Other causes can also be involved in a collision, making it important to thoroughly investigate a truck collision to identify all of the contributing factors and parties that might be liable for the crash. An experienced commercial truck accident attorney at Raynes & Lawn understands how to investigate catastrophic truck accidents to determine liability.
Causes Of Truck Accidents
Truck collisions can be caused by truck driver errors, other driver errors, and third-party negligence.
Some of the common types of truck driver negligence that might be involved in a truck accident include the following:
- Speeding
- Distracted driving
- Drowsy driving
- Inattentive driving
- Lack of experience
- Following too closely
- Aggressive driving
- Judgment errors
- Traffic rule violations
- Impaired driving
Tractor-trailers can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds. Because of their large sizes and heavy weights, large trucks are much more difficult to maneuver and to come to a stop. It takes a significantly greater braking distance for a large truck to stop in time to avoid a collision. If the driver is speeding, distracted, or engaging in another negligent driving behavior, he or she may not be able to stop in time to avoid a collision.
Passenger vehicle drivers may also be at fault for collisions with large trucks.
Some of the types of errors that passenger drivers might make include the following:
- Driving in blind spots
- Passing on the right
- Passing uphill or around curves
- Following too closely
- Distracted driving
- Cutting off trucks
- Impaired driving
- Running traffic control devices
- Speeding
Other common causes of truck accidents include the following:
- Improper loading or securement
- Failing to maintain and repair a truck
- Failing to properly hire, train, and supervise truck drivers
- Placing unrealistic deadlines on drivers
- Allowing drivers to violate the hours of service rules
- Defective components or trucks
- Road defects
Liability In Truck Accident Claims
One of the reasons truck accident claims can be complex is that multiple parties might have contributed to the collisions. To recover full compensation, injured plaintiffs must correctly identify all parties that share fault for their accidents. If they fail to name a defendant that a jury later finds to share a percentage of fault, the plaintiffs will not be able to recover compensation for the percentage of damages that are attributed to the unnamed defendant.
Since truck accidents can be caused by multiple factors, an experienced Philadelphia truck accident attorney will conduct an in-depth investigation of the collision to determine liability.
Some of the potential parties that might be liable in a truck accident include the following:
- Truck driver
- Trucking carrier
- Leasing company
- Third-party repair company
- Distributors/Loaders
- Third-party motorists
- Entities responsible for maintaining the roads
- Designers and manufacturers of defective trucks or truck components
By investigating a case and determining the causes of a truck accident, an attorney can also identify each party that was responsible for the various factors that resulted in the collision and name them as defendants in a lawsuit.
Injuries In A Trucking Collision
Since trucks are much larger and heavier than passenger cars, collisions involving both large trucks and passenger vehicles are much likelier to result in catastrophic injuries or fatalities.
People who are involved in large truck accidents might suffer the following types of injuries:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Permanent paralysis
- Amputations
- Head, face, and neck injuries
- Severe lacerations
- Crush injuries
- Thoracic injuries
- Fractures
- Injuries to the extremities
- Burn injuries
- Death
Because of the substantial physical forces that can be released in a large truck crash, many victims might suffer multiple serious injuries and be left facing permanent disabilities. The severity of injuries in a large truck collision might mean that a victim may never fully recover and might face ongoing expenses and losses for the remainder of his or her life.
By filing a truck accident claim, you might recover damages to compensate you for all of your losses. An attorney at Raynes & Lawn can review what happened and help you to understand whether your claim has legal merits.
Get Help From An Experienced Commercial Truck Accident Attorney
If you have sustained serious injuries in an accident involving a large truck or have lost a close family member in this type of collision, you should request a free consultation with the experienced injury lawyers at Raynes & Lawn. Our attorneys have decades of experience representing the victims of negligence and have amassed a successful record on our clients’ behalf in hundreds of cases. To learn more about the legal rights that you might have, call us today at 1-800-535-1797.
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