Common Types of Trucking Accidents
Anyone driving on the highway or in a commercial district has encountered semi-trucks. These massive vehicles transport goods throughout the country and the world, making them a mainstay of roadways everywhere. As we have seen in recent years, the trucking industry is critical to the world economy.
However, due to their vast size and sheer weight, tractor-trailers are prone to causing massive damage in a truck accident, often leading to multi-car pile-ups.
The Role of an Experienced Truck Accident Attorney
Accidents involving large commercial trucks cause some of the worst traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), spinal cord injuries, and devastating personal injury claims in Tennessee. Given these trucks’ incredible size and force on the road, victims in smaller vehicles (especially passenger cars) have little protection when a serious truck accident occurs.
Truck accidents can happen for many reasons, but certain commercial trucking accidents happen more often than others. At Mitch Grissim & Associates, our professionals are prepared to advocate for you after an accident. Contact us today to schedule a free case evaluation with a truck accident lawyer. When dealing with a large trucking company, you need an expert who understands the law on your side.
Common Types of Truck Accidents
Tractor trailers and other large commercial trucks can cause many common accidents. Their size and weight make controlling them more difficult, especially when reacting to circumstances in their environment.
Semi-trucks need more space to slow down than other vehicles. It also takes longer for them to accelerate and turn. This decreased mobility makes it harder for truck drivers to respond to other drivers and situations on the road to avoid accidents.
Types of Trucks Used by Trucking Companies
There are several types of trucks that you could encounter on the road. There are tanker trucks, garbage trucks, semi-trucks, tractor-trailers, tow trucks, etc. All of them tend to be larger than passenger vehicles and can cause severe injuries in an accident. If drivers are not following safety standards when operating large trucks, you may be in danger.
Let’s explore some common trucking accidents:
Head-On Collisions
The most devastating types of accidents are head-on collisions. Not only is the combined speed and force of both vehicles massive, but the weight of large trucks makes even the slowest form of head-on collisions lead to extremely dangerous or even fatal injuries.
Whether other drivers’ actions led to the truck veering into your lane or the truck driver was negligent, you will likely suffer devastating effects from this event.
Jackknife Accident
Jackknife accidents typically happen when a truck tries to brake quickly or brake in inclement weather conditions. The trailer’s weight brings it forward against the cab, forcing it into a 90-degree angle. This move makes it impossible for semi-trucks to maneuver and avoid other vehicles until they come to a stop.
The trailer’s weight creates a scenario where the truck driver loses control of the vehicle and is virtually helpless to prevent damage to other cars, making jackknife accidents very dangerous.
Truck Rollover Accident
Rollover accidents happen more often with business trucks than other vehicles because of the heavy load and high center of gravity. If the cargo becomes dislodged and makes the truck off-balance or loses control on the road, it can lead to the truck rolling over.
If truck rollovers happen, all sense of control of the vehicle is completely gone. Just like in jackknife accidents, a rollover accident leaves the driver helpless to prevent collateral damage until the truck has come to a stop.
When other motorists are involved in rollover accidents, the size and weight of the truck can crush nearby vehicles and cause catastrophic personal injuries and fatalities.
Underride Accidents
Many cargo-hauling trucks have a very high bottom, making underride accidents possible. Underride accidents occur when a smaller passenger car collides with a truck and slides underneath.
Underride truck accidents can cause horrific injuries to passengers, including severe head and neck injuries that can be fatal or decapitation.
Tire Blowout Accident
Accidents caused by tire blowouts are also common with large trading trucks. Tire blowouts can occur because the tire was not serviced properly or was underinflated. It could strike something in the road, cause a blowout, or happen because of a manufacturing defect. When a blowout occurs, a driver can lose control of the vehicle, striking other cars on the road.
Often, on the highways, you will see torn-up tires. This happens because many truck tires shred to pieces when they blow out, which happens often due to the weight they are supporting. Though not all tire blowouts result in accidents, they can be as dangerous as road debris for other vehicles.
Wide Turn Accident
When a large truck needs to turn right, the driver often swings the truck left first. This is known as a wide turn. If the driver is not paying attention, they may strike another vehicle passing in another lane. As the wide turn occurs, vehicles or pedestrians on the right side may also be struck.
Commercial drivers have special training in making wide turns safely. However, that doesn’t mean every turn will be done correctly. If the truck driver fails to account for other vehicles and objects that may fall within the radius of the turn, they can cause a truck accident.
Blind Spot Accident
Because commercial trucks are so much longer than normal vehicles, they have much larger blind spots than other cars. If a driver does not check their blind spots before changing lanes or turning, the commercial truck can hit, crush, or force another car next to it off the road.
Another side effect of a truck’s size is that other vehicles are in the blind spots for much longer when passing or being passed. This increases the likelihood that truck drivers will not see you if they are negligent and fail to check their blind spots, leading to an accident. Convex mirrors are meant to help truck drivers avoid blind spot accidents, but it all depends on whether they are used.
The best way to avoid blind spot accidents as a passenger vehicle is to pass trucks quickly and move through those areas faster so that you are less visible to the driver for a shorter period.
Rear-End Truck Accidents
Rear-end accidents also happen frequently with large commercial trucks. This type of accident can happen where stops are expected, like at a stop sign or stoplight, but the most devastating rear-end accidents happen when a stop is not expected, such as during a gridlock on the interstate. When a truck driver is not paying attention and fails to brake in time (as with distracted driving), rear-end collisions can cause catastrophic injuries or death to those in the other vehicle.
Rear-end truck accidents caused by negligent truck drivers are often the result of cutting in front of a semi-truck too closely. Even if they slow down at once, truck drivers may be forced to brake suddenly, and there may not be enough space due to the weight of the tractor-trailer.
To avoid rear-end collisions with semi-trucks, allow ample space when passing before you move into their lane in front of them. Additionally, trucks take longer to respond to a red light, so leave plenty of space behind you when approaching intersections.
If you get into this type of truck accident, the back of your car could crumple easily underneath the weight of the tractor-trailer.
What to Do After a Truck Accident
These common types of truck accidents can happen to anyone. The driver may be negligent when a large commercial truck runs into you, poor road conditions may have caused the semi-truck to swerve into oncoming traffic, or other circumstances may have led to the truck accident.
If you were involved in a truck accident that resulted in serious injuries to yourself or your passengers and damage to your vehicle, you need expert assistance. Therefore, you should contact truck accident lawyers as soon as possible.
Truck accident cases are very common, and Tennessee law allows injury victims to seek compensation for damages incurred in an accident with large trucks. Why call truck accident attorneys to help with your claim? Let’s examine some benefits of working with these specialized legal experts.
Why You Need an Experienced Truck Accident Lawyer
Accidents are often traumatic, and crashes involving large trucks are even more devastating. Dealing with a powerful trucking company, its lawyers, and the insurance company is challenging. Here’s why you need experienced truck accident lawyers like Mitch Grissim & Associates on your side:
We Have Experience Proving Fault Lies With Truck Drivers
When commercial truck accidents occur because of the driver’s negligence, they will have a truck company, insurance company, and other entities on their side attempting to avoid a large payout of damages to truck accident victims.
A truck accident lawsuit attorney from our firm has dealt with this situation in the past, helping clients earn the compensation they deserve for their suffering. Our law firm will help you prove you are innocent of fault. Truck accidents have a long-term impact on their victims, and you deserve expert legal support.
We Hold the Truck Driver Accountable
Semi-truck accidents happen, but when caused by negligence, the drivers must correct their behavior. Filing a claim and holding the responsible party accountable can help ensure that these mistakes will not be repeated, saving the lives and well-being of many people. Either the punishment will convince the driver to be more cautious moving forward, or truck driving schools will enhance their training programs to prevent future truck accidents.
Truck accident attorneys will hold the driver accountable for their negligence. If you have questions, a free case evaluation will help you understand our process.
We Assist with Your Recovery
One of the most difficult aspects of being involved in truck accidents is the injuries, property damage, and financial burden you experience. A serious injury could lead to ongoing medical expenses and physical therapy, emotional distress, or other negative effects. There could also be delayed injuries that crop up later.
Therefore, it is your right to pursue a fair settlement to make up for these financial losses after a semi-truck driver runs into you and creates unwilling lifelong truck accident victims. This money can help pay for medical bills, lost wages, or other financial ramifications that result from these truck accidents.
We Defend Your Rights
The law involving truck accidents and proving fault is complicated. The trucking company may try to assert that your actions led the driver to lose control of the truck’s trailer.
Our firm will work to defend your rights under the law and protect your interests during the claims process. These large trucks are often the property of trucking companies with vast resources, which can be intimidating to go up against.
With our expertise in past truck accidents, we are not afraid to advocate on your behalf and pursue the justice you deserve. If you have questions about your claim status, our team will give you a free consultation to discuss the details of your case.
Contact Our Truck Accident Attorneys Now
Other motorists are in extreme danger in large truck crashes because of the limited protection that smaller vehicles offer from the massive weight of tractor-trailers and other trucks. Since the trucking industry will always be influential, you must consult a knowledgeable truck accident lawyer who can help you after collisions with large trucks.
We vow to uphold the rights of all our clients and help them physically and financially recover from all types of truck accidents. That’s why we offer a free consultation to explore your case and answer any questions.
If you or someone you know has been devastated by a trucking accident, contact the law firm of Mitch Grissim & Associates today. Schedule a free case evaluation of your personal injury claim with one of our Nashville truck accident lawyers now.
Resources
NHTSA Crash Avoidance Research
April 30, 2021
