Tractor Trailer Accidents

Tractor trailer accidents are potentially devastating particularly if a passenger car is involved. Tractor trailers such as semi trucks or big rigs, are an essential part of the commercial transportation industry in the United States. In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase nationwide in the number of tractor trailer accidents, both fatal and non-fatal. The truck attorneys at Gordon & Elias, L.L.P. have extensive experience handling lawsuits for clients who have been seriously injured in accidents involving large tractor trailer trucks. Call us for a free consultation at 800 - 773 - 6770 or fill out the form for a tractor trailer lawyer to contact you.

Tractor trailers can also be involved in rollover or jackknife accidents. These types of accidents are not as common as other types of truck accidents, but potentially can result in injuries that are more critical to the driver or other motorists as well as significantly more damage to the vehicles that are involved. You may be familiar with the type of knife, called a jack knife, whose blade pivots to fold into a recess in the handle, or are familiar with a "jack knife dive". An accident of a commercial truck, big rig, or 18-wheeler looks like jackknife when its trailer folds in such a way that it resembles the acute angle of a folding pocket knife. Many jack knife accidents are caused by the driver suddenly applying the brakes that are improperly adjusted of the truck. In addition, jackknife truck accidents can also be caused by the truck driver entering a curve too quickly, downshifting, accelerating on a low friction surface, or faulty engine retarders which serve to slow heavy vehicles, or maintain a steady speed on declines, and help prevent the truck from 'running away' by accelerating down a decline.

Head-on collisions between a a fully loaded commercial truck and a paseenger car are the most deadly. For those folks who happen to survive such devastating head on accidents, they may end up suffering with a lifetime of pain and disability. Many head-on collision suvivors are paraplegics, quadriplegics, and / or burn victims due to the severity of their imjuries.

It is important to hire a tractor trailer accident lawyer as soon as possible, if you or a loved one are injured in a tractor trailer accident. Physical evidence at the truck accident site such as impact marks on the road surface, skid marks, yaw marks, accident debris, in addition to oil, gas, and radiator fluid stains can quickly disappear due to weather or other vehicles traveling over the same stretch of highway. To investigate, develop and prosecute tractor trailer accident cases, Gordon & Elias, L.L.P. has a team of not only experienced truck accident lawyers, but also legal assistants and investigators who work with accident reconstruction experts, engineering experts and health care providers (medical doctors / rehab specialists). Time is of the essence to gather evidence.

Some reasons for tractor trailer accidents include:

• Poorly maintained brakes and other faulty maintenance practices
• Failure to yield the right of way
• Dangerous or reckless truck drivers
• Failure to have install an under-ride protection under-guard
• Shifting or fallen cargo
• Truck driver operating the truck while DUI
• Bad weather conditions
• Poor road conditions

Due to the dramatic increase in tractor trailers sharing the roadways with an increased number of passenger cars that has resulted in a rise in the number of accidents and fatalities every year involving semi trucks, more attention has been given to commercial trucking safety issues. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration -FMCSA- (http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/") and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration -NHTSA- (http://www.nhtsa.gov/) of the U.S. Department of Transportation have conducted studies of the cause of accidents involving large trucks. The Large Truck Crash Causation Study, which you can see at www.fmcsa.dot.gov/facts-research/research-technology/analysis/ltccs.htm is based on data collected from an assortment of accidents involving large trucks. The study concluded that there are three main critical events that cause most truck accidents.

According to LTCCS, the three major critical events that lead to large trucks accidents include:

• Running out of the travel lane, either into another lane or off the road (32 percent)
• Vehicle loss of control due to speeding, cargo shift, a failure in the truck systems, poor road conditions, among other reasons (29 percent)
• Rear-end collision with another vehicle in the truck’s travel lane (22 percent).

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a tractor trailer accident, contact the law offices of Gordon & Elias, L.L.P. Please fill out the form above or call TOLL FREE at 800 - 773 - 6770 and speak to one of our truck accident attorneys.

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