Driving on New Jersey’s busy highways, like the Turnpike or Interstate 295, means sharing the road with massive 18-wheelers. A fully loaded tractor-trailer can weigh 20 to 30 times more than the average passenger car. The vast difference in size and weight makes commercial vehicle collisions especially dangerous.
When these devastating trucking accidents happen, the resulting injuries are usually catastrophic and life-altering. When severe crashes occur, assessing fault and determining compensation for victims can be complicated, making it challenging to hold negligent parties accountable.
Common causes of trucking accidents
Truck crashes rarely result from simple misfortune. They often stem from negligence that goes far beyond a momentary driver mistake. Several key factors contribute to these severe accidents:
- Driver fatigue: Federal Hours-of-Service (HOS) rules strictly limit the amount of time a commercial driver can be on the road. Trucking companies sometimes pressure drivers to violate these rules to meet tight deadlines, despite fatigue severely impairing their reaction time and judgment.
- Poor maintenance: Large commercial trucks require rigorous and routine maintenance. When a trucking company fails to properly inspect its fleet, critical failures can result from negligence, including brake malfunctions and worn-out tires.
- Distracted driving: Just like other drivers, truckers can speed, make aggressive lane changes or drive while distracted by a cell phone. However, a truck’s longer stopping distance and large blind spots magnify the danger posed by these reckless maneuvers.
- Improper cargo loading: When a loading company fails to properly balance or secure cargo, the truck can become unstable, potentially causing the semi to jackknife or roll over, bringing a third party into the sphere of potential liability.
These multiple layers illustrate the complexities of assessing blame and calculating compensation accurately.
Life-altering consequences
The sheer force involved in a commercial vehicle collision means that minor “fender-benders” are rare. Instead, truck crashes typically inflict severe, lifelong disabilities on occupants of passenger vehicles. Common injuries include:
- Traumatic brain injuries: TBIs can result from a severe blow to the head or the violent acceleration and deceleration of the skull. Trauma can range from a concussion to a severe brain injury, leading to long-term cognitive, physical, and emotional impairments that affect every aspect of your life.
- Spinal cord injuries: Damage to the spinal column often results in partial or complete paralysis, such as paraplegia or quadriplegia. These injuries frequently necessitate lifelong medical care, adaptive equipment and constant support.
- Other severe trauma: Victims can suffer crushing injuries, internal organ damage, and severe fractures that require extensive surgeries and rehabilitation. High-impact accidents can also lead to serious burn injuries.
These injuries typically demand substantial resources for immediate medical care and future quality of life.
Determining liability and pursuing compensation
Unlike typical car accidents, truck accident lawsuits often involve multiple layers of potential fault, making them more complicated to investigate. You may have claims against several parties, including:
- Truck driver: The individual driver is liable for their negligent actions, such as fatigue or distraction.
- Trucking company: The company can be liable for negligent hiring, improper driver training or failing to maintain its fleet. Companies may also be liable if they pressured the driver to violate federal HOS regulations.
- Third parties: Component manufacturers may be liable for defective parts. Cargo loaders or shippers may be liable for improperly securing the load.
Trucking companies and their insurance providers act quickly to protect their interests, making the immediate preservation of evidence critical, including maintenance logs, driver records and the truck’s event data recorder (EDR), also called the “black box.”
By successfully proving negligence, you can recover various damages, including medical expenses (past and future), lost wages and earning capacity, property damage and compensation for your pain and suffering.
Protect yourself from insurer tactics
The aftermath of an 18-wheeler accident puts you against powerful opponents, trucking companies and potentially other parties, each represented by their own attorneys and deep-pocketed insurance carriers.
While you face catastrophic injuries and mounting medical bills, these companies immediately work to minimize their financial responsibility. They may try to shift the blame to you and even attempt to conceal crucial evidence. They fight vigorously to pay you as little as possible.
However, you do not have to face this battle alone. A skilled truck accident attorney acts quickly to preserve critical evidence and identify negligent parties. Crucially, an experienced lawyer knows how to fight back against these aggressive tactics. You deserve a dedicated voice to pursue justice and secure the fair financial recovery you need.