Top Truck Accident Causes and Injuries
I’m Ed Smith, an Ione truck accident lawyer. California is a state where drivers commonly see big trucks transporting materials, merchandise and produce from one location to another. With around five million big trucks registered, as reported by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), almost four tons of products are being transported on a daily basis.
Reasons Truckers Cause Accidents
While most collisions with a large commercial truck are because of negligence on the part of a motor vehicle driver, truck drivers also cause accidents. A few of the critical issues that cause accidents are listed below:
- Performance: A truck driver may be inexperienced, poorly trained or overreacts in an emergency situation, applying the wrong brakes, overcorrecting or stopping too quickly. These types of maneuvers in a large truck can result in jackknifing or a rollover.
- Poor decision making: The driver misjudged another driver’s speed or distance, followed another vehicle too closely or was speeding.
- Driver distraction: The truck driver was too fatigued to be behind the wheel of the vehicle, missed seeing a slowdown or stoppage of traffic ahead or other forms of distraction.
- Nonperformance: The driver suffered a medical problem, was driving drowsy or fell asleep behind the wheel, causing a truck accident.
Other Factors That Contribute to a Truck Accident
Many factors come into play when talking about reasons that big trucks cause accidents. Following are some of the most common reasons that were reported by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA):
- Problems with brakes such as brake failure or worn brakes
- Use of prescription or over-the-counter drugs that make a driver drowsy and slow reaction time
- Roadway problems such as lack of maintenance, potholes, and other obstructions
- Traveling within the speed limit but too fast for weather or traffic conditions
- Sudden interruptions in the flow of traffic such as accidents ahead or bottlenecking
- Being unfamiliar with a road
- Becoming distracted such as looking off the road at an accident or talking on a cell phone
Injuries in a Motorcycle Accident
When the driver of a motor vehicle is involved in a collision with a commercial truck, there are often serious injuries as a result. This is due to the much larger size and weight of the big truck compared with smaller vehicles. Injuries suffered in such accidents may include the following:
- Bone fractures are a common result of motor vehicle accidents.
- Head and brain trauma can range from a mild concussion to traumatic brain injuries, which require lifelong care and create permanent disability.
- Chest trauma can damage the heart, lungs or blood vessels and may be caused by striking the steering wheel or dash.
- Abdominal injuries may cause damage to organs in the body.
- Spinal cord and back injuries may range from compression fractures to the vertebrae moving out of place. Spinal fractures may result in paralysis and loss of sensation.
Ione Truck Accident Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, an Ione truck accident lawyer. Being involved in a traffic accident with a large truck can be traumatic and cause devastating injuries that require a long period of recuperation. If you or someone in your family has been injured in a motor vehicle accident caused by the negligence of another person or entity, you may call me at (209) 227-1931 for free, friendly advice. You may also contact me toll-free at (800) 404-5400.
In my 36 years as a practicing injury lawyer, I’ve assisted many people in Northern California and Ione to obtain the compensation they need and deserve for their personal injuries and in cases of wrongful death.
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Photo Attribution: By “Sean Johnston” via Pexels
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