Truck Accidents

Doing some research for a client, I found some startling statistics on truck accidents. There are more than three accidents a minute where an American is injured or killed in a truck accident. Thousands of people in this country every year are injured or lose their lives in truck accidents involving tractor-trailers, 18 wheelers, big rigs, fire engines, semi trucks, and other large commercial vehicles. Most frequently, these accidents are on highways, I-24, I-40 and I-65. Poor driving, overworked drivers that are being paid by the mile, over sized truck loads and various other unsafe practices increase the dangers in operating these heavy trucks that weigh over 80,000 lbs and the average passenger car weights approximately 3,000 pounds. No match!

While working my way through law school, I worked for a trucking company and I have some idea about how these businesses are run.

A lawyer must consider whether the company that hired the driver may also be responsible under the theory of negligent entrustment or negligent supervision if they failed to properly screen the truck driver before the accident or if they failed to properly train the truck driver. It is amazing how many operators of trucks are improperly trained or have unacceptable driving records. There can also be a claim for negligent maintenance, a related legal theory lawyers pursue in truck accident cases when the company and/or truck driver failed to properly maintain the truck. Some companies in the region have a horrible reputation for hitting our streets with an aging, poorly maintained fleet.

In these truck accidents, 97% of fatal truck accidents are victims in passenger cars or trucks, not at-fault driver of the commercial truck. But the trucking industry is a $600 billion dollar business and these companies have many qualified truck accident lawyers at their disposal to vigorously fight personal injury claims from injured victims. We can stand up to these companies to get fair compensation for our clients who have been injured in a truck accident. We will look at logbooks, receipts and other crucial evidence to find the evidence to bring about a just result.