While all rear-end collisions present severe risks to the drivers and passengers who get rear-ended, collisions involving commercial trucks are particularly dangerous. These accidents regularly result in serious traumatic injuries, and most victims will face a long road to physical and emotional recovery.
If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a rear-end collision involving a semi-trailer, 18-wheeler, or other large commercial truck, a truck accident attorney can help you fight for just compensation.
COMMON FACTORS IN REAR-END COLLISIONS
With proper truck maintenance, adherence to trucking safety regulations and careful truck driving, rear-end collisions involving commercial trucks simply should not happen. There is no excuse for a commercial truck driver to rear-end another vehicle – not on the highway, not on side streets, not at intersections and not in heavy traffic. Yet, these accidents are a regular occurrence throughout Florida, from I-10 in Tallahassee to I-95 in West Palm Beach. This is because trucking companies and truck drivers routinely make mistakes such as:
- Failing to conduct routine maintenance on commercial trucks
- Failing to make necessary repairs
- Exceeding federal limits on hours spend behind the wheel
- Driving commercial trucks without adequate training and experience
- Driving while drunk or drowsy, and falling asleep behind the wheel
- Texting, using social media, communicating with dispatch and giving in to other distractions behind the wheel
- Speeding, following too closely, braking too late and other types of driver errors
While trucking companies will often be liable for rear-end accidents involving commercial trucks, there are various circumstances under which other large corporations may be responsible as well. For example, perhaps your accident occurred not because the truck driver applied the brakes too late or because the truck was past due for a brake job, but because the truck’s brakes were defective out of the factory. In this situation, the truck manufacturer could be liable. Or, maybe the truck driver was unable to stop because the truck was overloaded with cargo. If this was the case, the shipping company could be liable for violating the relevant safety standards.
Regardless of the cause of your accident, when an attorney takes your case, they will work quickly to determine the cause so that they can help you recover just compensation as soon as possible.
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