Tag Archive for: truck accident

Truck Size and Weight and Truck Accidents

How Truck Size and Weight Contribute to Accidents

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Truck accidents are unfortunately all too common on Montgomery roadways, and the size and weight of these vehicles play a significant role in the severity of these accidents. Understanding how truck dynamics, size, and weight contribute to accidents is crucial for all drivers to stay safe on the road.

Have you been injured in a truck accident in Alabama? It’s time to find out how attorney Aaron Luck at McPhillips Shinbaum can help you. Call us at 334-262-1911 to set up a time to meet with our team now.

The Impact of Size and Weight During Accidents

In the event of a truck accident, the sheer size and weight of these massive vehicles significantly affect the outcome. The force of a large truck is so strong that it can lead to catastrophic damage to smaller vehicles, often resulting in serious injuries or even loss of life for the occupants. The bulk and mass of a truck mean that any impact carries with it the potential for severe consequences.

When considering the damage to property, trucks again pose a unique threat due to their size and weight. Structures, barriers, and other vehicles can suffer extensive damage when involved in an accident with a truck. These factors underline the importance of understanding and respecting the potential dangers posed by large trucks on the road.

Legal Weight Limits and Their Role in Safety

To safeguard our roads from the hazards of overloaded trucks, laws have established specific weight limits for commercial vehicles. FMCSA regulations are designed to ensure that trucks do not carry more than they are safely able to, maintaining the balance between efficiency and safety on the highways. Exceeding these weight limits not only poses a threat to the structural integrity of the roads and bridges but significantly increases the likelihood of accidents. 

Overloaded trucks have a harder time stopping, are more difficult to control, and have extra weight that can lead to tire blowouts or mechanical failures, all of which can result in devastating consequences. Compliance with these legal weight limits is monitored through weigh stations and random checks by transportation authorities.

Navigating the Aftermath of a Truck Accident

After a truck accident, taking the right steps quickly is crucial for your well-being and legal rights. First and foremost, seek medical care, even if you think you’re not badly hurt. Some injuries aren’t immediately noticeable. Next, document everything about the accident scene. If you can, take pictures of your car, the truck, any visible injuries, and the surrounding area. These photos could be very important later. Also, get contact information from witnesses and the truck driver.

Then, it’s vital to get in touch with a personal injury lawyer experienced in truck accidents. They understand the complex laws and regulations involved and can guide you through the process of claiming compensation. Your lawyer will work on your behalf to make sure you’re compensated for medical bills, lost wages, and other damages.

Preventative Measures and Safe Practices

To minimize the risk of truck accidents, it’s essential for all drivers to adopt safe driving habits and understand the unique challenges that come with sharing the road with large trucks. Staying out of a truck’s blind spots, which are much larger than those of smaller vehicles, can significantly reduce the risk of a collision. Keeping a safe distance behind trucks is also crucial since they require more time and distance to stop. When merging or changing lanes near trucks, make sure you can see the driver in the mirror before moving in front of them.

Truck drivers, on their part, must strictly adhere to the set weight limits and ensure their vehicles are well-maintained. Regular checks and maintenance can prevent mechanical failures that could lead to accidents. Obeying all traffic laws, including speed limits and regulations on rest periods, is also critical to maintaining safety on the roads. By working together and respecting these guidelines, both truck drivers and other motorists can contribute to a safer driving environment.

Start Your Case with McPhillips Shinbaum

If a truck accident has left you injured and unsure of how to pursue compensation, let’s talk. You can reach our team online or call us at 334-262-1911 to claim your free consultation.

Trucking Accidents

The Importance of Getting a Lawyer Involved Early in a Trucking Accident

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Truck accidents ruin thousands of lives every year, leaving victims with serious injuries, totaling. vehicles, and causing preventable fatalities. Unfortunately, a tractor-trailer’s size makes it capable of causing extraordinary damage in any type of collision. That’s why it’s so important for victims to fight for fair compensation after a crash—without it, they are left paying their medical bills, replacing their vehicle, and handling time off of work on their own.

The team at McPhillips Shinbaum is committed to helping victims like you fight for full and fair compensation after a collision. Ready to get started? Call us at 334-262-1911 to set up a consultation.

Trucking Companies Have Lots of Legal Support

One of the main reasons you should talk to a lawyer as quickly as possible is that trucking companies have lots of resources. These are companies that bring in millions of dollars every year—just one big accident could cause their insurance policies to skyrocket in price, cutting deeply into their profits. For that reason, they go to great lengths to protect themselves from lawsuits. 

The trucking companies usually have in-house legal teams or external law firms waiting on standby. The moment a crash happens, they leap into action, looking for ways to protect the company from. liability. How do you go up against a force like that? You choose an aggressive, proven law firm that works hard to get victims what they deserve.

There’s Lots of Evidence to Process

Truck accidents have substantially more evidence to process than crashes involving smaller vehicles. Not only is there likely more damage and therefore more to investigate, but there are other legal factors at play. To start, truck driving is a field with heavy regulations governing how long drivers can operate, how frequently inspections must happen, and how cargo must be loaded. 

The FMCSA is very serious about these regulations, and any violations could be key pieces of evidence for your claim. You’ll want to work with a Montgomery truck accident lawyer who knows how to access important pieces of evidence, look for violation regulations, and use that information to strengthen your claim.

Additionally, many trucking accident attorneys have access to a wealth of resources outside the walls of their law firm. There’s a lot at stake in a truck accident claim, so why wouldn’t you want an attorney who will cover all of their bases while advocating for you? The right lawyer can talk to accident reconstruction specialists, medical experts, and economic specialists who can strengthen your claim and prove how much you’re owed.

Trucking Accidents Involve a Substantial Amount of Money

Perhaps the most important reason to hire an attorney right away is that there is a lot of money on the table. Your losses are likely severe, from a totaled vehicle and massive medical bills to unpaid time off of work and mental trauma. Insurers know that trucks are capable of causing this type of damage, which is why they require them to carry such large insurance policies. 

These policies are enough to cover your losses. But without an attorney, your odds of getting what you’re actually owed are low. Both insurers and truck companies do whatever it takes to protect their own bottom line, even at the expense of victims.

It is also important to remember that punitive damages may be on the line. Punitive damages are only awarded in extreme cases in Alabama, generally requiring that you prove wanton negligence or intent on the part of the liable party. For example, a truck driver who was drinking and driving with a BAC four times the legal limit could be considered grossly negligent. So could a trucking company that hired a driver with a known history of at-fault crashes and a suspended license. Your Montgomery truck accident lawyer can help you explore these options.

Start Your Claim with McPhillips Shinbaum

If you are owed compensation after a truck accident, the team at McPhillips Shinbaum is your next stop. Let’s talk about your accident, learn more about your injuries, and come up with a winning plan. Give us a call at 334-262-1911 or send us a quick message online to get started.

Tractor Trailer

Woman Dies in Accident with Tractor Trailer

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A woman has died after colliding with a semi. Lashunda Patrice Wells, 38, of Tuscaloosa, was driving on Interstate 65 near Hayden, Alabama, in Blount County on July 1st. For reasons not yet reported, Wells lost control of her 2005 Nissan Altima. The Altima struck a metal guard rail, bouncing back into traffic. When the car returned to the lanes of traffic, it was struck by a 2005 Peterbilt tractor trailer, as driven by Rick Griesbach, of Westborough, Wisconsin. The Altima then came to rest on the center concrete median. Wells was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Griesbach was uninjured.

Tractor-trailers and semi trucks can be highly lethal presences on roads and highways. While many professional truckers are experienced and skilled at what they do, there is simply more risk of harm involved should anything go wrong on the road either with or near a large truck. Tractor-trailers require almost 150% as long to come to a complete stop when traveling at highway speeds than would a passenger vehicle. Factors such as weather conditions can also come into play, as can any excessive wear-and-tear on the truck’s tires. Where a passenger vehicle may have been able to swerve around a car that quickly merged into traffic, tractor trailers bear a much greater risk of jackknifing or overturning, due to the weight of cargo in the trailer. Thus, attempting to avoid a hazard in the road could result in even more damage than simply colliding with the car or object immediately in front of a tractor trailer.

Accidents with tractor trailers or other large trucks can be highly destructive. Due to the number of components that can fail on a large truck, and the various parties that may be involved in maintaining, operating, and owning a tractor trailer, legal and factual issues involved in an accident with a tractor trailer can be convoluted and hard to keep straight. If you or a loved one have been injured in an accident with a semi truck or tractor trailer, seek experienced legal help to determine if you may be owed compensation for your injuries in the crash. Contact the skilled Montgomery, Alabama personal injury attorneys at McPhillips Shinbaum to discuss your options. Our truck accident attorneys are available to offer a free consultation on a possible claim for individuals based in and around Montgomery, including Coosada, Pike Road, Deatsville, Lapine, and Titus. Call 334-262-1911 today.