Truck accidents are not inevitable. Instead, most truck wrecks are preventable. Different actions taken by drivers, trucking companies, mechanics, and others could make a significant difference in decreasing the number of crashes that occur on our roads. Unfortunately, the preventable causes of crashes are not always avoided and serious truck accidents do occur.
If you’ve already been hurt in a truck crash, then you need to know what caused your accident in order to prove that a specific party was legally responsible for the crash and is now legally responsible for paying your damages. This will require an extensive investigation so that relevant evidence can be gathered. An experienced truck accident lawyer can do that investigation for you and protect your rights during settlement negotiations and in court.
Common Causes of Truck Accidents
While we consider all of the possible causes of your accident, there are some truck accident causes that are more common than others. All of these potential causes will be considered. They include:
- Distracted truckers. Truckers who are distracted by electronic devices or who take their eyes off the road, their hands off the wheel, or their attention off driving safely for any reason may be distracted and may cause a significant accident.
- Drunk or drugged truckers. Truckers may not operate their vehicles safely under the influence of alcohol, illegal drugs, and even some prescription medications. Drugs and alcohol can interfere with a trucker’s ability to drive safely and to prevent a crash.
- Drowsy truckers. Some studies show that driving while drowsy may be as dangerous as driving drunk. While hours of service regulations are in place to help prevent drowsy truckers from causing crashes, the job and lifestyle of a trucker may contribute to these types of accidents.
- Speeding truckers. A trucker who exceeds the posted speed limit or who is driving too fast for the current weather or road conditions may put himself and other motorists at risk of serious injury.
- Health conditions of truckers. A medical emergency can cause a trucker to lose control of his vehicle and to cause a crash. Federal regulations require that truckers be screened for some medical conditions before getting or renewing a license. However, the required medical screenings do not prevent every medical emergency or resulting accident and injury.
- Improperly loaded or balanced cargo. Cargo that is not properly loaded or balanced in the truck can cause the truck to become unstable and tip over. If another vehicle is in the way of the truck when it falls over, then serious accident injuries may result for the driver and passenger of the other vehicle.
- Blind spots. Trucks have blind spots—areas that trucker drivers just can’t see. If another vehicle is traveling in the trucker’s blind spots, then the trucker may have difficulty avoiding a crash. However, there are steps that truckers can take to check their blind spots and to avoid these types of collisions.
- Maintenance issues. Some truck accidents are not caused by trucker error, but instead they are caused by faulty maintenance of the truck. This may be the fault of the trucking company that failed to have the vehicle maintained or fixed or the fault of the mechanic who was supposed to keep the truck in good working order but who failed to do so.
Sometimes truck accidents happen for more than one reason. Each potential cause must be fully explored in order to get the fair recovery that you deserve.
We Can Find Out What Truly Caused Your Accident
Our Iowa truck accident lawyers will use the legal discovery process to find out why your accident happened. Through interrogatories, depositions, and requests for production of documents, we will learn the truth and we will use that information to hold those who caused your crash accountable.
To learn more about how we can help you or to get started with your claim, please contact us online or by phone at 800.800.5678. We would be pleased to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with you so that we can learn more about your potential claim and so that you can learn more about your legal rights.
