Common Truck Accident Injuries

Common Truck Accident Injuries

Driving on the highways and byways of Kentucky can be very intimidating especially with the number of large trucks, big rigs or 18-wheelers. Large trucks can pose a real hazard to passenger vehicles. Commercial trucks or trucks operated by FedEx, UPS and DHL can also be involved in collisions. There are roughly 8.9 million workers in the trucking and related industries, with 3.5 million considered to be truck drivers.

Commercial trucks are involved in approximately 2.4 percent of all car accidents and one person is killed or injured in a truck accident every 16 minutes. With over 15 million trucks on the roads today accidents are common. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Transport (USDOT) there are over 500,000 truck accidents every year. Passenger vehicles cause over 75 percent of trucking accidents and 16 percent of trucking collisions are due to trucker error.

Why does it seem like truck accidents may be on the rise? Truckers are often pressured to do more, go further and go faster to meet deadlines. In order to keep up, truck drivers make mistakes. To save time, trucks may be improperly loaded, not secured properly, not maintained according to schedule and not inspected as regularly as they should be. Driving further, faster and longer may result in a wreck caused by a fatigued driver.

Truck accidents are serious

An accident involving a large truck rarely has a good outcome and can leave those involved catastrophically injured or dead. The sheer weight and size of a big rig means that it cannot stop right away. When large trucks collide with smaller, lighter vehicles, the results can be horrific.

Injuries sustained in a truck accident can include:

  • Internal hemorrhaging
  • Severe organ damage
  • Spinal cord injuries
  • Partial paralysis
  • Full paralysis
  • Nerve damage
  • Fractures
  • Amputations
  • Brain trauma
  • Skull fractures
  • Facial injuries
  • Blindness
  • Dental injuries
  • Burns
  • Sprains/strains
  • Back injuries
  • Neck injuries
  • Dislocations
  • Soft tissue injuries
  • Lacerations
  • Scarring
  • Psychological trauma
  • Chronic pain
  • Death

What causes truck accidents?

There are numerous causes for truck accidents, and they may include, but not be limited to:

  • Speeding
  • Not adjusting speed according to weather or road conditions
  • Distracted driving
  • DUI
  • Speeding while entering a curve
  • Not obeying traffic rules, signs or signals
  • Overloading the trailer
  • Incorrectly loading the trailer, causing shifting
  • Improperly securing a load
  • Lane changing without checking blind spots
  • Making hazardous turns
  • Fatigue
  • Reckless driving
  • Not signaling
  • Improperly trained drivers

What types of accidents are trucks typically involved in?

While each truck accident is unique and no two collisions are ever the same, there are common types of accidents that are most frequent. These include:

  • Jackknifing: Trailer slides up into the tractor at an angle
  • Rollovers: Taking a curve too fast, shifting load, lack of experience
  • Blind spot accidents: Driver did not check all four blind spots for vehicles
  • Sideride accidents: Car hits truck from the side and slides under it
  • Underride accidents: Car hits truck from the rear and slides under it
  • Shifting load accidents: Rollover accident

Truck accident law is exceedingly complex because it often involves multiple parties and jurisdictions. This is why reaching out and connecting with Hessig & Pohl can help you to secure the compensation you need to move forward with your life, deal with your injuries and heal.

The attorneys at Hessig & Pohl know the applicable state and federal trucking rules and regulations, understand trucking technology, are familiar with mandatory insurance requirement for trucks, are skilled in multi-state discovery for court cases and have your back every single step of the way to justice.

Hessig & Pohl are highly experienced personal injury attorneys who know how to handle trucking accidents. They make sure you get fair and equitable damages for your injuries. They do not quit until they get justice. Call them today for your free consultation at (502) 777-1111.

Marty fought for me when the insurance company denied my claim. We sued and got the insurance limits.

- JERAMY

Louisville personal injury lawyer