What are some types of trucking accidents?
Because of their size and velocity, semi trucks can cause severe, even deadly injuries when they crash into passenger vehicles. Unfortunately, these accidents affect hundreds of people every year in Atlanta.
Victims rack up huge medical bills and lost wages, but you can recover that money with the help of an experienced Atlanta truck accident attorney. If you were injured in a truck crash, contact Andrew Goldner today for a free case consultation, and keep reading to discover some of the most common types of truck accidents.
Semi Truck Jackknife
Jackknifing occurs when a semi truck’s trailer swings from side to side until it eventually swings around and hits the cab of the trailer. This most often happens when the trailer is connected on a low pivot point. Jackknifing is most common with empty or lightly-loaded trailers. Heavy trailers bear down more on the road, increasing the traction the trailer has with the road.
Some other causes of jackknifing include:
- Driving too fast on curvy roads
- Hazardous weather conditions
- Improper maintenance of a truck’s braking system
One of the easiest ways truck drivers can avoid jackknifing is by driving at safe speeds and avoiding hard braking around turns and curves.
Truck Rollovers
Semi truck rollovers happen when a truck travels along a curve and centrifugal force causes the trailer to lean away from the direction of travel. While this can happen to any vehicle, it happens to semi trucks more often because the trailers have a high center of gravity and can weigh several dozen tons.
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, about half of all rollovers happen due to speeding along a curve, which side of the truck the load was packed on, the condition of the truck’s brakes, road surface conditions, and intersection conditions. They may also happen due to inattention or oversteering. Unfortunately, inattention is a real issue for many truck drivers, and one mistake can cost lives.
If you or a family member were injured in a big rig accident, contact an experienced Atlanta truck accident attorney at the Law Offices of Andrew Goldner today.
Wide Turns
When semi trucks need to make tight turns, especially right-hand turns, they often swing outward to avoid hitting obstacles such as the sidewalk or utility poles. Unfortunately, when they do so, they may hit other vehicles to the left of the truck. In addition, they may pin down drivers on the inside of the turning lane, crushing their vehicle.
Though truck drivers receive training for making these turns safely, and passenger vehicle drivers are taught to give trucks a wide berth for turns, wide or swing turns can result in devastating accidents, especially if the truck driver was negligent. As an Atlanta personal injury attorney, Andrew Goldner has years of experience representing his clients and proving that the truck driver was negligent in their actions.
If you were injured in a truck accident, don’t let the trucking company or their insurance talk you out of hiring a lawyer. Call Andrew Goldner today at (404) 869-1580 to schedule a free, no-obligation case consultation.
Truck Rear-End Collisions
Semi truck accidents can happen for a variety of reasons. Passenger vehicle drivers may cause the accident, or a system malfunction within the truck may cause a collision. However, about 22% of semi truck accidents involve a truck rear-ending another vehicle within the truck’s lane of travel.
This may happen for several reasons, including the truck driver losing control of their rig due to speeding, brake systems malfunctioning, poor road conditions, and more. Rear-end collisions can cause devastating damage and injury.
Lost Load
Truck accidents can happen for a variety of reasons. One that seems the most avoidable is lost a load. This happens when cargo shifts around in a trailer and eventually causes the trailer doors to open. The cargo then falls out onto the road, which can cause a highway to be shut down while the lost load is being cleaned up.
That may seem simple, but it isn’t for drivers traveling behind the truck. A lost load of cargo can cause serious injuries. The driver may lose traction with the road due to the cargo on the ground, or their car may be directly impacted by the cargo as it exits the trailer. Many of these accidents are due to insecure ties or fastenings. This is an unacceptable mistake that can cause serious injury, and the truck driver should be held responsible for failing to secure their cargo appropriately.
Atlanta Truck Accident Lawyer
If you were injured in a big rig crash, you know how expensive rehabilitation and recovery can be. You have to pay for medical bills, lost wages, and many other expenses. You need someone to fight for you relentlessly; call Andrew Goldner today for a free case consultation.