Kansas City Truck Accident Lawyer
The Dangers of a Trucking Accident
Large trucks and semis have a high center of gravity. They are usually carrying large, heavy loads. If those loads were loaded improperly or not fully secured, the load may shift in transport. This could result in an entire truck and trailer tipping over and causing serious damage, injuries and fatalities. There are many other factors, of course, which could bring about truck accidents. Driver training and skill, weather conditions, road conditions, traffic, distracted drivers and more can all play crucial roles in truck accidents.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, in 2009 there was a total of 1,517,000 police reported injury crashes, and of those, there were 33,808 fatalities representing all types of traffic crashes. The U.S. Department of Transportation also reports that in 2009, there were a total of 74,000 injuries from large truck crashes and 3,380 fatalities stemming from large truck accidents.
While fatalities from truck accidents may be less common than passenger sized vehicle crashes, they can and do occur. The problem is that large commercial sized trucks can easily weigh from 10,000 pounds to 80,000 pounds or more when loaded, and that's dramatically more than a passenger sized car that weighs from 3,000 to 4,000 pounds. The disparity between the two weights means that when a smaller sized vehicle is involved in a crash, the chances of the driver and passengers walking away from a truck accident are not encouraging.
Texting and cellular phone use has taken the world by storm, and as much as texting has become standard practice for most adults, commercial truck drivers are no different. On Tuesday, January 26, 2010, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced federal guidelines that clearly prohibited texting and driving by the drivers of commercial vehicles of large trucks and busses. In the announcement, not only did Ray LaHood place a federal ban on texting and commercial drivers, but he also made it clear that truck and bus drivers that text while driving commercial vehicles will be subject to civil or criminal penalties up to $2,750. Texting while driving is just one of the forms of distracted driving that have led to commercial truck accidents and taken the lives of innocent people.
In cases of truck accidents, you must retain high quality legal representation immediately following the accident. Seeking counsel from a skilled Kansas City personal injury attorney at our firm is your first line of defense in ensuring your rights will be protected. Once we are representing you, we take aggressive and immediate action to gather accident scene evidence, secure all accident reports, challenge any inaccurate or false claims and build your case for compensation for damages. Time is of the essence in truck accident cases. Obtaining and preserving the supporting evidence after the accident could be a critical issue in the final outcome of your claim.
Common Causes of Truck Accidents in Missouri
Accidents can be caused as the result of many circumstances or situations. Some of the most commonly reported causes of truck accidents include:
- Insufficient driver breaks resulting in fatigue or falling asleep at the wheel
- Overly aggressive driving
- Missed, erroneous or inadequate safety inspections
- Improperly secured loads
- Improper vehicle maintenance
- Lack of sufficient equipment
- Speeding, in order to meet impossible schedules or deadlines
- Drug or alcohol use
- Driver distractions such as talking on a cell phone, texting, etc.
No matter what caused the accident, there is no reason you should leave your fate in the hands of an insurance company. They answer to shareholders and the clients they represent, not the injured victim. Their interest is in closing your case and paying out the lowest possible monetary settlement. Our firm and our attorneys work for you. We fight tirelessly to ensure you get the financial compensation you deserve. We go the distance to ensure justice will be served against those responsible as well.