Truck accidents ordinarily cause much greater damage than car accidents. A tractor trailer on the road can be more than 60 feet long and weigh more than 80,000 pounds. Because of a semi-tractor’s size and weight, victims of trucking accidents are far more likely to sustain very serious and debilitating personal injuries or even be killed. Most truck accidents result from one or a combination of the following causes.
1) Driver error is often the result of fatigue, distraction or inattention. Whenever one of these situations is experienced by a driver, the risk of an accident increases significantly. In all of our truck cases, we subpoena the phone records of the driver to determine whether he or she was texting or on the phone at the time of the wreck.
2) Whenever weather conditions deteriorate, the risk of an accident increases. Because of their massive size and weight, trucks have greater stopping distances than cars, even in perfect weather. When conditions deteriorate, stopping distances increase even more. Driving too fast for adverse conditions is a primary cause of many truck accidents.
3) Equipment failure from lack of maintenance or defective design or manufacturing is also a common cause. We often see equipment failure in the context of pieces of truck tires scattered on the roadway. Improperly maintained brakes also create serious hazards. Federal regulations require complete inspections of a truck before every trip. Unfortunately, these inspections are not always as diligent as they should be. We make it a practice of subpoenaing all the maintenance records in our truck cases and hiring qualified experts to work with us.
4) Improper loading is also a common problem. An improperly balanced load can cause a tractor-trailer to flip over. Even if that doesn’t happen, a catastrophe can occur when the trailer doors are opened and the load spills on the trucker or loading dock worker. Because of the way some drivers are compensated, overloading of trucks is another hazard which makes it more difficult for a truck to stop.
Springer and Lyle is a compassionate, experienced and highly successful personal injury law firm whose practice includes the representation of people injured or killed in truck accidents on Texas roadways and other states. You and your family deserve just compensation for your injuries. Call us today at (940) 387-0404 for a free consultation.
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