Truck Accident Attorneys in Valparaiso, IN

Common Causes of Truck Accidents

If you are the victim of a trucking accident, you should know that you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries, repair costs, and pain and suffering. In cases where the truck driver is determined to have acted negligently or wrongly, causing the accident, he or she can be held liable for their actions.

Truck accidents can result from a number of mistakes or failures on the part of the truck driver and employer:

• Driver fatigue: Truck drivers are often pushed to meet deadlines and if they fall behind, can be tempted to violate standard working guidelines and drive over time. This can lead to driving under fatigue.

• Underriding/overriding: Some of the most horrific truck accidents involve overriding or underriding. Override is when a truck runs over a car in front of it, and underride is when a car is caught underneath the trailer of the truck.

• Equipment failures: Trucks are to be maintained and checked before setting out on the road. If a malfunction, like brake failure, is traced back to a failure to maintain the truck, the truck driver and possibly the employer may be found liable for negligence.

• Jack-knifing: Jack-knifing is one of the most common types of truck accident and occurs when a driver loses control over the truck and fails to regain control. While the drive attempts to brake, the velocity of the trailer overtakes the cabin, causing the truck to jack-knife and sweeping over anything in its way.

Truck accidents often result in catastrophic injury to its victims, and even death in serious cases. If the accident was the result of negligence or a blatant failure on the part of the truck driver, he or she should be held liable and the victim should be rightfully compensated.