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The Fox Law Firm is Reviewing Potential LARGE TRUCK INJURY Claims Throughout the United States, each and every year, thousands of people are either seriously injured or lose their lives after being involved in large truck accidents. As the statistics for 2007 alone show, the problem posed by large truck injuries is a huge one: There were 4,808 fatalities in accidents that involved large trucks There were 139.587 non-fatal accidents in which large trucks were involved There were nearly 57,000 injury crashes involving large trucks There were more than 83,000 cases of large trucks being involved in tow-away crashes
A detailed and exhaustive study entitled The Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS) that was published by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 2006, revealed a significant body of data in its findings and conclusions. The purpose of the LTCCS was to study and understand the basic reasons behind serious accidents in which large trucks are implicated (large trucks being those vehicles that specifically have a gross vehicle weight rating that exceeds 10,000 pounds). Of the approximately 120,000 large truck crashes that took place within the United States in the period from April 2001 to December 2003, a national, core sample of cases was carefully selected, studied, scrutinized and analyzed. The criteria that had to be met in each case were that (a) it must have involved one or more large truck; and (b) the result of the accident had to have involved an injury and/or a death.The LTCCS subsequently sampled 967 crashes in total, which collectively involved 1,127 large trucks. Of the overall total, approximately three-quarters were tractors pulling a single semi-trailer, and 5 per cent were trucks loaded with potentially hazardous substances. Of the 967 crashes addressed in the LTCCS, nearly three-quarters of the overall total concerned a large truck that was in collision with one or more other vehicles. According to the conclusions of the LTCCS, the top 10 reasons that led to large truck accidents in the April 2001 to December 2003 cases under study were: Brake-problems and failures Congestion on the highways Problems caused to the driver’s mental and physical faculties by prescribed drugs Driving recklessly, negligently or carelessly in adverse weather conditions Being unfamiliar with the roadway where the accident occurred Problems with the road itself, such as poor maintenance Failure to stop at traffic control devices, such as traffic lights and cross-walks Mental and physical problems caused to the driver by the use of over-the-counter medications A failure to pay careful attention to circumstances on the roadway Fatigue
Each and every one of these issues has resulted in deaths, serious injury, tragedy and misery for the victims of such accidents, as well as for their loved ones. In a legal case that involves personal injury or death that may have been caused by a large truck accident, the person who decides to bring the action – the plaintiff – has to be able to demonstrate that either (a) the trucking company or (b) the truck driver was negligent, and that they summarily failed to execute what would be termed a reasonable standard of care. The various criteria for such evidence may include: A truck that had been loaded incorrectly or a truck that had been overloaded to a point where it was in violation of current, federal trucking safety rules A driver who drove his or her truck in a fashion deemed to be reckless, careless or negligent A truck that was not correctly maintained in accordance with current safety regulations – either by the trucking company and/or the driver of the truck in question A truck-driver who was mentally and/or physically affected in an adverse fashion by medication (which may include prescription medications, over-the-counter products, and/or illegal substances); alcohol; and/or tiredness
Additional information: Whitehouse.gov Transportation Research Board CDC
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