Law & Legal & Attorney Accidents & personal injury Law

Commercial Vehicle Accidents - Who is Liable?

Truck accidents are one of the most dangerous road mishaps that happen each year.
This is because their structure can be quite deadly once it runs out of control.
Studies have shown that one out of every eight accidents that resulted in fatalities involves a truck.
This just goes to show that trucks can be very lethal once their drivers fail to navigate them properly.
This is why in most road networks, separate lanes for large trucks are usually provided.
Such things, nevertheless, sometimes fail to prevent trucks from veering off, resulting in collisions with other vehicles that are on the same road.
So what usually cause these accidents to happen? Trucks can be very hard to handle during extreme situations like the need to immediately step on the brakes or suddenly spinning the steering wheel to make the truck veer to one side in order to avoid another vehicle.
Doing these things sometimes, however, may even make matters worse because the driver might find his truck suddenly become a deadly weapon.
It could also be that the brakes on the truck did not function very well and made the truck skid sideways.
Under such circumstance, the forward momentum of the truck will continue to propel it onward even though the wheels already run counter to the thrust.
This may even cause the truck to knock over its side and in the process, mowing down small vehicles in its path.
Liquor intoxication of the driver is also one of the causes why trucking accidents happen.
It obliterates the driver's ability to make clear and proper decisions while holding the wheel of a massive vehicle.
The lethality of runaway trucks are proven by the fact that out of the five hundred thousand trucking accidents that happen each year, around ten percent result in fatalities.
A large part of these mishaps result in permanent injuries and may cause the victims to lose one of their limbs or may totally debilitate them.
During such occurrence, the question of who is liable usually comes to mind.
Though a large part of the accident may have been the truck driver's fault, there are other prevailing circumstances which may hold the owner of the truck liable for any sustained damages on the part of the victim.
Even construction companies can be held liable if it is found out that they were not able to provide a sufficient warning regarding a steep incline, hole in the road, or other road hazards that may cause a vehicular accident.
It is not enough that they shoulder the immediate medical treatment of the victim.
There is also the question of lingering injuries like suffering a great degree of trauma and whiplash.
Any permanent or temporary disability like loss of any of the limbs of the victim or inability to perform any of his normal routine should also be remunerated by liable entities.
Under such conditions, the services of a personal injury lawyer can really help.


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