Large commercial trucks make up a good portion of motor vehicles on our nation’s highways, especially in Florida. The state’s roads are wide and flat, and trucks often travel at 55 mph to 65 mph speeds as they carry their cargo to their destinations.
These commercial cargo trucks, also known as semi-trucks, 18-wheelers, and tractor-trailer trucks, share a common attribute: they could get into a major accident at some point on the highways and roads.
Trucks get into accidents for many of the same reasons that cars do. Maybe the truck driver is overworked, drowsy, distracted behind the wheel, or driving too fast for conditions. A truck could also take a turn too rapidly, causing a rollover accident, or maybe a mechanical error spins the truck out of control.
In all these scenarios, the accident may produce far more severe injuries due to the size, weight, and force of impact that a truck has over a passenger car.
If you or someone you love has been in a crash involving a large commercial truck, consider contacting a Winter Park truck accident lawyer in the weeks following the accident.
Our legal team at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine can review the crash’s details and circumstances during a free consultation. Call us today to speak with one of our representatives about your accident.
Fatal Crashes with Semi-Trucks
Accidents involving trucks with other cars, motorcycles, buses, and even other trucks happen more than we expect. These accidents usually involve not only traumatic personal injuries but also a high number of traffic deaths.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reported that more than 5,000 large trucks and buses were in crashes that produced deaths in 2018. This was a slightly higher number of truck fatalities than the previous year but still lower than 13 years prior.
In Florida, overall, more than 37,000 accidents involving medium- to heavy-sized trucks (weighing more than 10,000 pounds) and other light trucks (weighing less than 10,000 pounds) took place in the state in 2018, according to a Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) report.
Truckers and Safety Considerations
The trucking industry, its leading business owners, and its managers are responsible for maintaining safety standards and guidelines. Because trucks in commercial transportation help keep products moving across the United States, those parties involved with the trucking industry strive for safety among professional truck drivers.
The National Safety Council (NSC) is a truck safety organization that offers professional truck drivers courses to learn how to be a safe driver. In addition, leading trucking companies also have their own internal safety driving courses.
But sometimes safety is compromised, and your car gets totaled due to the negligence of a distracted truck driver. You may even end up in the hospital for weeks afterward recovering from your injuries. This is when you and your loved ones may want to consider reaching out to a Winter Park semi-truck accident lawyer at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine.
Our legal team can work to uncover evidence that could help you win financial compensation from the at-fault parties. This could include the truck driver, the trucking company, the cargo load company, or others. To explore your legal options in your semi-truck accident, call the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine today for a free consultation.
Reasons for Semi-Truck Accidents
Trucks get into accidents on the road for many reasons. Some of these causes of accidents are related to how the driver handles the truck. Other causes are outside the responsibility of the truck driver, as in a possible manufacturing issue or tire blowout. In any case, reasons for truck accidents are varied and may lead to a personal injury claim or lawsuit against the trucking firm for any one of the following reasons:
- Drowsy or distracted driver
- Inability to stop when cars in front are all braking
- Speeding too fast for conditions
- Poorly trained driver or inexperienced driver
- Faulty mechanical error
- Cargo loaded with errors, leading to imbalance on the road
- Jackknife (when the trailer of a large truck folds in toward its cab)
- Tire blowout
After an accident with a truck, all the circumstances that led to the crash might not be clear. An attorney can review an accident police report, eyewitness testimonies, dashcam video footage, or highway camera footage to determine the reason the accident occurred.
Our team of semi-truck accident lawyers can be your support. We can guide you through the paperwork, the reasons for the accident, the liability involved by all parties, and any other details that may lead to a conclusion.
Liability in a Truck Accident
Incredible amounts of damage and devastating injuries may occur in crashes involving commercial semi-trucks. This is a result of the truck being a massive vehicle, weighing more than 10,000 pounds.
When a truck loaded with heavy cargo, speeding on the highway at night at 60 miles per hour, crashes into a barrier or other vehicles and creates a multi-vehicle pileup, the damage caused in the wake of the accident can be terrible. Thus, insurance companies may not be able to cover the costs of your injuries, including the medical costs for surgeries and treatments. A small insurance payout may not even cover one week in a hospital bed.
You could work with a law firm that can help you hold parties in your accident accountable and seek to have them cover your medical expenses and other losses. A firm like ours can be your support leader in a negligence lawsuit against the at-fault parties.
Contact a Winter Park semi-truck accident lawyer with the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine today. Call us to discuss your accident during a free consultation.
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