Legal•Info

Truck Accident FAQs

Call (888) 471-3714 to speak with a car accident attorney.

What are some of the common causes of truck accidents?

Truck drivers work long hours and travel long distances, resulting in extreme tiredness. Fatigue and lack of alertness can lead to various truck accidents. Trucks are also far bigger, heavier, and more difficult to maneuver than most other vehicles, which can also contribute to injuries and even fatalities caused by accidents. In some cases, the accident can be due to other factors such as the driver's negligence, or even faulty parts on the truck. Of course, it is important to remember that a truck accident may not be the truck driver's fault. It may be the result of another vehicle driving dangerously. Some of the other causes of truck accidents can include weather conditions, obstructions in the road, and even illness of the truck driver.

What are some of the common injuries caused by truck accidents?

Some common injuries caused by truck accidents include:

Head Injuries: Injury to the head is very common in truck accidents, especially in head-on collisions. Head injuries can be as minor as a concussion, or a mild headache, or serious enough to cause damage to the brain.

Brain Injuries: This is among the leading type of injuries caused due to truck accidents. Brain injury refers to damage to the brain, resulting in neuropsychological performance problems, such as contra coup injuries. A truck accident can also cause bruising of the brain stem, brain hemorrhage, coma, subdural hematoma, brain concussions, and bleeding in the brain lining.

Back Injuries: A leading concern with back injuries due to truck accidents is injury to the spinal cord. If there is any injury to the spinal cord, a person could become paralyzed for life. An injury to the lower back could leave you with chronic back pain, which can make even mundane tasks such as sitting and sleeping very difficult.

Neck Injuries: Whiplash, herniated neck discs, and spinal cord injuries can all result due to an injury to the neck.

Knee Injuries: An injury to the knee could take away your ability to walk. Knee replacement surgeries are often required to correct knee injuries due to truck accidents.

Fractures: A truck accident can leave you with multiple fractures in your arms, wrists, elbows, legs, and other parts of the body. These can be treated with casts, physical therapy, and rehabilitation programs, but often people with fractures end up with limited use of the fractured body parts for the rest of their lives.

Burns: If you are involved in a truck accident with a Hazmat carrier, burn injuries due to chemical and other spills are very common.

What is a HAZMAT carrier?

Hazmat carriers are those carriers that carry any kind of hazardous (HAZ) materials (MAT). Examples of hazardous materials include, but are not limited to:

Flammable oils, petrol, and petroleum products
Gasoline
Compressed gases such as compressed hydrogen gas, compressed oxygen cylinders etc.
Radioactive materials such as spent nuclear fuel.
Chemical gases and liquids
Inflammable hazardous waste products

Does the weight of a heavy truck contribute to these accidents?

Heavy trucks are considered trucks that weigh in excess of 10,000 pounds. But this is just the qualifying line. In reality, most heavy trucks weigh anywhere between 50,000 and 100,000 pounds. Big trucks are typically used to carry heavy loads, which can increase the overall weight of the trucks considerably. These heavy loads, and the resulting weight, are a major cause for truck accidents.

Who normally ends up getting killed in truck accident fatalities?

A high percentage 11-12% -- of all truck accidents end up killing at least one person, if not more. About 75-80% of the time, the fatalities are of the driver of the passenger vehicle involved in the truck accident, whereas 16% of the fatalities are of the truck driver or another person in the truck, with the rest of the fatalities being of non-drivers.

How many deaths are caused in the United States from these accidents?

In 2004, according to the statistics released by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), there were as many as over 4,000 deaths caused due to truck accidents, with the number of injuries being a great deal higher. Truck accidents form a considerable percentage of traffic accidents in the United States.