If you or a loved one was injured in a recent truck accident, you can recover damages for your medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and additional expenses and losses. A local truck accident lawyer will review the nine most common causes of semi-truck accidents and identify the specific cause of your accident.
When a lawyer represents you, they use a range of investigative tools that help get to the root of the accident’s cause. Your personal injury lawyer will prove negligence and identify the right at-fault party to pursue for financial compensation.
Driver Actions and Errors That Cause Semi-Truck Accidents
To identify the action that caused your accident, your lawyer will prove the following elements of negligence: duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages.
Trucks are massive machines that require specialized training and concentrated focus to maneuver safely on roads and highways. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), research identifies several common causes of large truck accidents that can be traced back to driver errors.
Driving Too Fast for Conditions Is a Common Cause of Semi-Truck Accidents
Speeding is dangerous since it can make stopping—especially for a vehicle as massive in size and height as a semi-truck—difficult or impossible. Trucks traveling at appropriate speeds already require up to 40% greater stopping distance than a smaller passenger car.
In addition, when a truck is speeding or driving too fast for conditions, surrounding vehicles may not be able to maneuver out of its way. That can lead to catastrophic accidents, especially if the truck is carrying potentially caustic, toxic, or flammable cargo.
Illegal Driving Maneuvers Are a Common Cause of Semi-Truck Accidents
Overlooking or disregarding traffic signs and signals can lead to single and multi-vehicle truck accidents. They can also cause dangerous wrong-way collisions. A lawyer can consult an accident reconstructionist who can determine the cause of your accident and document it for the at-fault party’s insurance provider.
Driver Fatigue Is a Common Cause of Semi-Truck Accidents
Truck drivers travel many miles but are protected from potential causes of fatigue by FMSCA hours of service regulations. Fatigued driving can happen when truckers:
- Drive longer hours than are allowed
- Driver while taking medication
- Driver without sufficient sleep
Your lawyer can access the truck’s black box data or in-cab camera to determine whether or not a sleepy driver caused or contributed to your accident.
Driver Distraction Is a Common Cause of Semi-Truck Accidents
Distracted driving is just as dangerous as impaired driving. Truck drivers can be distracted by various things, such as their GPS systems or radios. A distracted driver might take their eyes off the road, resulting in a visual distraction, take their hands off the steering wheel, resulting in a manual distraction, or lose focus, resulting in a cognitive distraction. Either type of distraction can cause an accident.
Drug or Alcohol Use Are Common Causes of Semi-Truck Accidents
Like the driver of any vehicle, when semi-truck drivers are under the influence of intoxicating substances, their ability to safely operate their vehicle is severely impaired. Drivers under the influence cannot:
- Focus on the road ahead
- Make fast judgments
- Gauge surrounding traffic
If the driver in your accident was impaired by drug or alcohol intoxication, your lawyer can request BAC testing results to support your compensation request.
For a free legal consultation, call 404-214-2001
Environmental and Other Factors That Commonly Cause Semi-Truck Accidents
In some cases, a semi-truck accident can have causes that do not involve driver behavior. These can include environmental and other factors beyond the driver’s control. Your lawyer will determine who bears liability for these commonly reported truck accident causes.
Road and Weather Conditions Are Common Causes of Semi-Truck Accidents
When the roadway—particularly, a fast-moving highway—is wet or slick, it can significantly increase stopping distance. It can also cause a truck’s wheels to lose contact with the road.
Road conditions that can lead to accidents include snow and ice, including invisible black ice. They can also include spills and debris that have not been cleaned up.
Weather conditions can contribute to dangerous roads and can decrease visibility, another common cause of semi-truck versus car accidents.
Improper Driver Training Can Cause Semi-Truck Accidents
Driving a semi-truck is a huge responsibility that requires specialized training. If a trucking company fails to properly vet and train a commercial truck driver, it can be held accountable.
Insufficient training can mean the truck driver cannot maneuver the truck correctly or accurately and safely load and secure cargo. Your lawyer will document the trucker’s training, driving record, accident history, and other details of their licensure.
Other ways a truck company can bear responsibility for a trucking accident is if it allowed improper loading of cargo or failed to perform regular maintenance.
Manufacturing or Design Flaws Can Cause Semi-Truck Accidents
Your lawyer can have the truck involved in your accident forensically examined or request access to any such testing results. If a medical failure that led to an accident stemmed from a design or manufacturing flaw, liability could rest with the truck manufacturer.
Unfamiliar Roads Are a Common Cause of Semi-Truck Accidents
Trucks move goods and products all over the country and can sometimes encounter new and unfamiliar roads and routes. Unfamiliar routes can cause drivers to end up on unsafe roads or roads without the proper infrastructure or support. It can also cause drivers to drive too fast in an attempt to make up for the time they lost traveling in the wrong direction.
Driving on untried roads can also cause the driver to brake more frequently or aggressively, make sharp or unexpected turns, and make dangerous U-turns. All of these negligent actions can compel the at-fault party to compensate you.
Get 24/7 Support Uncovering the Cause of Your Semi-Truck Accident
If you or someone you love was injured in a collision with a large truck, our truck accident lawyer will identify its cause. We will also pursue appropriate financial compensation on your behalf.
Find out if one or more of the nine most common causes of semi-truck accidents is what led to your collision by contacting our case evaluation team at Kaine Law today.
Call or text 404-214-2001 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
