Unfortunately for travelers of the road like you and me, truck accidents are an everyday occurrence. If you or someone you know has been involved in an accident involving a tractor trailer, it is important to be able to differentiate what type of truck accident it was.
Realizing the type of accident helps, when you do decide to speak with a truck accident attorney. If you are not sure of what type it was, a truck accident attorney can also determine for you what it was based on the details of the accident.
One type of truck accident is the malfunction of the air brake. Air brakes are designed to stop a tractor-trailer in around 100 feet with a traveling speed of 35-40 mph. Malfunction of the air brakes mostly occur when a tractor-trailer is going downhill. These monstrous 80,000 lb vehicles cannot handle the stress put on the air brakes when going downhill.
Even when a driver is continuously applying the brakes when driving on an incline, the air brakes could malfunction. This can be a dangerous scenario for passenger vehicles driving in front of the truck or within its vicinity.
Truck rollovers are the most common type of truck accident. These accidents will sometimes happen when a driver loses control of the vehicle and the truck begins to slide sideways. When this occurs, something can trip the vehicle and cause the rollover to take place. A curb, guardrail, or soft or uneven grounds on the side of the roadway are objects that can trip the vehicle. An aggressive turning truck will also cause a truck to rollover, if it is done at high speeds with a tight turning radius. The statistics of fatalities caused by the rollover of a truck are very high, because the severity of this type of accident s can be brutal.
After an accident, you should never try to negotiate with a trucking company without speaking with a truck accident attorney first. A truck accident attorney will tell you not to sign any releases of medical records, because this allows the adjuster to speak with doctors without you being present.
Truck accident attorneys are experienced in handling cases that involve tractor-trailer accidents. They will help you to recover the actual expenses associated with property damages and medical costs. If you have been injured in an accident that involved a tractor-trailer, you should talk to a truck accident lawyer right away. A truck accident attorney can begin investigating your case immediately.
