So part of the responsibility for preventing truck accidents is on the shoulders of other drivers. It is not an onerous weight however, because most of the things we can do to avoid being in any truck accident are things we should be doing anyway for the sake of safe and courteous driving.

1.) Stay out of the truck driver’s large blind spots. A big rig has four blind spots much bigger than those of a small vehicle, one on each side of the truck. Because the trucker is seated so high relative to other drivers, he needs you to be further away from him to be visible. The general rule is that if you cannot see the trucker directly or in one of his mirrors, he cannot see you, and though you can obviously see his vehicle, he cannot see yours.

2.) Never dart in front of a big rig. You may suddenly realize your exit is coming right up, but if there is an 18-wheeler blocking your access to the exit lane, slow down and let it pass rather than speeding up and darting in front of it to make the exit. If you misjudge the time you have in that maneuver, the truck may well be unable to slow down for you to cross in front of it. In such a collision, the smaller vehicle always fares worst and truck accident injuries tend to be more severe than those of other accidents

3.) Change lanes if you see a big rig speeding down the hill behind you. Never assume that it will slow down before hitting your vehicle. Sometimes, on a downhill grade, the truck’s massive weight overpowers the driver’s ability to stay within the speed limit. Or in some cases there is a mechanical failure that prevents the driver from braking effectively. You might also want to use your horn to alert other drivers further down the hill. In mountainous areas there are always extra truck lanes running uphill next to the downhill highway and a good trucker can always steer into one of these lanes to stop his vehicle. In the flatter areas such as are found in mid-western states like Missouri and Kansas, visibility and safety can be greater.

4.) Always allow a trucker to change lanes if you see him signaling. Again, because of the truck’s size and weight, the driver needs extra time and distance to change lanes and cannot do it impulsively, as so many small vehicles do. It is good driving courtesy to stay out of the trucker’s way and allow him to get his behemoth to where he needs it to be. He may be preparing to exit and needs to start early so as to be ready when the exit comes up. Or he may be behind schedule and wanting to get into the fast lane and be off to his next drop-off point. There is no benefit to getting in his way.

Truck accidents are increasing as the number of 18-wheelers increases. As a passenger car, SUV, or light truck driver, you will almost certainly sustain severe injury should you be involved in a truck accident. Typically, a person injured in a truck accident needs an attorney to fight for their full and fair compensation to cover medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Truck accident personal injury cases can be complex and time-consuming. There may be a lot of discovery required, to examine the trucker’s log book, ascertain facts about his driving qualifications, delivery schedule and job history, about the truck’s load and maintenance, about your emergency medical care and injury complexities, and many other factors.

If you are in the area of Kansas City, St. Louis, or Jefferson City in Missouri and have indeed been injured in a truck accident, you will be well-served by the Bradley Law Firm, where attorneys are highly experienced in litigating truck accidents and can fight to obtain fair compensation for you.

• Over 23.2% of trucks inspected had mechanical defects
• Driver fatigue accounts for many of the truck crashes

When a truck hits a passenger car the resulting damage can be horrific and the injuries sustained by the occupants of the car often fatal.

There are many reasons why collisions occur between large trucks and cars. It can be as simple as negligence and poor driving on behalf of the truck driver or one of many other factors such as the truck driver being tired, trying to meet unrealistic schedules, aggressive driving, using a mobile phone while driving, poor maintenance of tires, brakes or lights.

A large truck is any vehicle over 10,000 pounds in weight and as such it is governed by specific rules and regulations. All truck drivers must get a commercial truck license and are subject to drug and alcohol tests in a limited capacity.

Truck accidents have increased over the last 10 to 15 years mainly due to driver fatigue, the carrying of unsafe loads and dangerous vehicle operation. Truck crashes caused by tired drivers have become such a concern that regulations were brought in to limit the number of hours that drivers can be on the road. These rules have helped reduce the number of truck accidents but it still thought that between 20 and 40% of truck crashes are caused by driver fatigue. Alcohol and drugs are also involved in many of the fatal truck crashes.

Trucks going above the allowed speed limit of 55 mph are much more likely to jack knife or roll over, causing serious accidents.

Large trucks have blind spots or ‘no-zones’ to the front, rear and sides of the vehicles. A truck driver cannot see a car in these spots and may turn right into the car. Accidents can also occur if trucks are following other vehicles too closely as a large truck requires forty percent more room to stop than an normal passenger car.

Out of an inspection of 2 million trucks on the roadside a massive 23.2% were found to have serious defects. This is a leading cause of truck accidents.

Occupants of cars involved in collisions are at high risk of serious injury if not death. For legal information on claiming for injuries caused by a truck accident you can click here to visit the website of the Barber Law Firm of Dallas, Texas.

]]> http://truckaccidentattorneys.org/collisions-with-trucks-lead-to-serious-if-not-fatal-injuries/feed/ 0 http://truckaccidentattorneys.org/lawsuit-funding-for-truck-accident-victims/ http://truckaccidentattorneys.org/lawsuit-funding-for-truck-accident-victims/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 08:03:35 +0000 admin http://truckaccidentattorneys.org/?p=71 Each year over one hundred thousand people are injured in truck related accidents. These accidents are caused by many different reasons, including driver impairment and faulty trucks. Often the victims are killed or left disabled for life. They seek some compensation for their loss and to cover excessive medical bills brought on by the accident.

Unfortunately, it can a long time to complete an accident liability case. Victims and their families are forced to pay for their care out of pocket until the case is settled. Many accident victims were struggling, often living paycheck to paycheck or forced into bankruptcy.

When a truck accident happens there are going to be several investigations to determine liability. These will be conducted by state and local law enforcement and official agencies. This can take time depending on the severity of the truck accident.

When liability has been established it places the blame for the accident on a person or company. Depending on the circumstances of the accident, this might be the truck driver, the trucking company, or the manufacturer of the truck. The initial investigation could find all of them at fault, or just one or two of the parties.

When a person or company is found liable they may face both legal charges and a civil lawsuit. The attorney for the defendant will want to do a crash investigation of their own. This will also take time. The defendant’s attorney will want to go over all the evidence carefully and conduct interviews. Their goal is to get the charges dismissed or for their client to be found innocent.

Unfortunately, the accident victims have to wait for all the investigations to be completed before the case goes to trial. This wait could last for years, during which time they may be struggling financially because of the burdens brought about by the accident.

Lawsuit funding is a service that some lawyers offer to help accident victims receive money while their case is being investigated and tried. This funding can help pay for any medical care that is needed due to the accident. It can also help replace an income for a person who was killed or disabled because of the accident.

Lawsuit funding provides truck accident victims with fast payouts to take care of their medical bills and other expenses while their attorney works to get them compensation for their injuries. This is also called pre-settlement lawsuit funding. Each case is reviewed individually, and the amount and payment schedule is based on the strength of the case.

Lawsuit funding can help truck accident victims by providing funds to cover their costs and expenses. It is important that victims understand that these are actually loans. Victims should look for a lender who offers non-recourse cash advances, which means the lender does not receive payment unless the victim wins their case. Because of this policy, both the attorney and the lawsuit funding lender are going to review all requests and may only give funding to cases they feel are strong. They want to ensure that the victim will win their case or receive a settlement from the liable parties.

This article should not be construed as legal advice.

Additional Legal Pages: If you have been involved in an accident and need additional information please visit the Law Offices of Gordon & Elias, LLP. Serving clients nationwide and South Florida.