Trucking Accidents
Large trucks, also called tractor trailers, semis, or big rigs weigh around 10,000 pounds. They pose a significant threat due to their size, particularly when operated by negligent drivers, therefore Pennsylvania trucking accidents typically involve some of the most devastating and fatal injuries on the road. Although trucks comprise around 3% of vehicles in the U.S. they are involved in 12% of all fatal accidents.
A truck can strike a vehicle with the force of 20 cars, leading to catastrophic injury for the affected party. As a result, accidents of this nature can lead to complex litigation between large commercial trucking companies, big insurance providers, and severely injured victims and their families.
It can be a daunting situation for an injured victim to find themselves fighting an uphill battle against large companies with seemingly endless resources. Do not feel like you are all alone. The Erie personal injury lawyers at The Veitch Law Firm have made it our cause to represent people in circumstances just like this.
Truck accidents often cause the most serious injuries, and often death, just given the speed and velocity of impacts and the mass of the forces involved.
Representation of injured clients is most easily shown by violation of both federal and state regulations which govern the operation of tractor trailers by commercial operators. Defenses of brake or equipment failures by companies or truckers often appear simply as attempts to duck and avoid liability on most cases. After all, the owner and operators of a fleets of trucks have a duty to properly maintain the fleet of trucks by regular maintenance and service of each tractor. Unless the potential defendant can show the company regularly and routinely serviced a truck, including brakes, which are most commonly raised as a defense in a brake failure case, the chances of escaping liability by the truck company are slim. Brake failure defense cases are very difficult to prove and win when defending against a rear end collision. Brake failure is easily preventable with routine maintenance, service and repair.
Often tractors are leased to others. The keys to locate and identify the both the owners, lessees and operators who could be potentially at fault before filing suit to insure you have named everyone, assuming the case cannot be settled.
- Roll over collisions.
- Trucks and tractor trailers which stray out of their lane and into another vehicle's lane the interstate.
- Trucks which have lost their load causing a collision for those following at a safe distance from behind of the truck.
- Head on collisions.
