Some of the most devastating automobile accidents involve tractor-trailers. These behemoth machines can weigh several tons and travel at high speeds. When tractor-trailers strike other vehicles, the result is often catastrophic personal injury and death.
In early November, a tractor-trailer traveling on Interstate 40 West veered off the road into oncoming traffic, crossing a median and slamming into a commercial truck carrying vehicles. The two trucks then smashed into a passenger car. All three drivers perished as flames overtook the site of the crash.
TRACTOR-TRAILER ACCIDENTS IN THE UNITED STATES
According to the United States Department of Transportation, a little over 10 percent of all fatalities due to motor vehicle accidents involved tractor-trailers. The vast majority of those killed were not occupants of the truck. TruckAccidents.org notes that an astonishing 98 percent of tractor-trailer accidents end in at least one fatality.
There are several reasons a truck accident might occur, and in order to help the families of those who die in truck accidents recover damages for their loss, we have to look at these causes. Many times, truck accidents are the result of driver negligence. This can include things like drunk driving, driver fatigue or the driver making illegal maneuvers. Other times, truck accidents are due to defective equipment or lack of maintenance, which places liability on the company that owns or maintains the truck. Truck accidents can even be the fault of shippers or loaders who fail to secure products properly, causing injury.
No matter the cause of a truck accident wrongful death, the services of a truck accident attorney are very valuable during the intense and distressing time following the death of a loved one.
John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”