Truck Crash Lawsuit

If you or a loved one were seriously injured in a truck crash, you may be entitled to compensation.  Please contact us today for a free consultation.  We are investigating serious injury and wrongful death truck cases nationwide.  Call Toll Free 1-866-777-2557 or use our online contact form and a lawyer will respond within 24 hours.

18-wheeler accidents are a scary reality. No one wants to imagine one of those things instantly losing control behind them and plowing into their vehicle, as the odds of survival – especially in a compact car – are close to none. This is because a truck like that is carrying some massive weight behind it, and while regular cars cannot stop on a dime, that is all the more true for 18-wheelers. 

Similarly, while falling asleep behind the wheel may result in injuries or fatalities in a compact car, the driver of an 18-wheeler may escape injury but has a higher likelihood of killing or injuring someone in a crash. This is something many drivers fail to realize when they cut off a large truck and stop short. They are putting their lives in danger by playing with fire in assuming that the truck will see them and be able to immediately stop.

Statistics are compiled annually by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) concerning large truck and bus crashes that result in injuries ranging from mild to fatal, as well as crashes in which no one is injured but wherein property is damaged.

Knowing these statistics can be helpful to truck drivers in knowing just what to avoid, whenever possible, to prevent becoming one of these statistics themselves. Here are a few sample statistics from 2014 that were reported by the FMCSA and that illustrate the frequency and seriousness of accidents involving 18-wheelers:

• Most of the fatal crashes (nearly 85 percent) and nonfatal crashes (nearly 90 percent) wherein a large truck was involved happened during the week, which makes sense when considering the rush people tend to be in when they travel to work in the morning.

• 30 percent of fatal crashes that occurred in work zones in 2014, along with nine percent of work zone injuries related to crashes, involved at least one large truck.

• On average, in a majority of those accidents that were unfortunately fatal (90 percent), only one person died. This is perhaps an illustration of the likelihood that the driver of a large truck will be fine in a crash, but the car that collides with that truck may not be as lucky.

• Out of the over 400,000 crashes that were reported in total in 2014 involving large trucks, at least one person was killed in one percent of those accidents. Further, at least one nonfatal injury was reported in 20 percent of that total number of accidents.