Personal Injury, Truck Accidents

Truck Crashes Increase During Holiday Season

There are commercial trucks on the highways and roads around Austin at any time of the year, but this number can increase significantly during the holidays due to all of the additional online orders and deliveries. Not only do more trucks have to deliver goods to stock the shelves of retail stores, but they also are making deliveries to homes around the city and throughout Texas. 

 

If you get injured in a truck crash during this hectic delivery season, speak with an Austin truck accident lawyer about a possible injury case.

Trucks on the Highway

We tend to think of trucks as driving mostly on the interstate highways, as they are making deliveries across the country in many situations. Trucks can be particularly dangerous on the highways, as the speed limit is so much higher, and a faster-moving truck can often cause additional damage and injuries.

 

Trucks can crash in different ways on the highway, including:

 

1. Jackknife accidents, where the trailer of a truck folds sideways into oncoming traffic lanes
2. Rollovers, which can happen due to taking a turn too fast, hitting an obstacle in the road, or even due to high winds
3. Runaway trucks, when a truck driver cannot slow the truck down or stop due to brake failure
4. Rear-end crashes, which can also lead to overriding or underride collisions with smaller vehicles
5. Cargo spills, which are common in high-speed truck crashes or rollovers and can lead to chain-reaction crashes

 

Any of these common highway truck accidents can result in life-changing injuries.

Trucks in Your Neighborhood

We see more and more delivery trucks in our neighborhoods, which might range from smaller vans to box trucks to full-sized semi-trucks. Residential areas also present the risk of other types of accidents with trucks, including when a truck driver hits a pedestrian or someone riding a scooter or bicycle. Even though the speed limits are much lower in most neighborhoods than on the highway, these crashes can still cause serious injuries and losses for victims.

Who is Liable for Your Truck Crash?

Truck accident claims are often complicated, as there are different parties that might share liability for your injuries and losses. These parties might include:

 

1. Negligent truck drivers – Distracted driving, speeding, impaired driving, fatigued driving, or violations of other traffic laws or trucking regulations can lead to the liability of a truck driver.
2. Trucking companies – Trucking companies might be vicariously liable for the negligence of employee drivers, or they might be negligent in their own rights, such as by poor truck maintenance or negligent supervision or retention of drivers.
3. Cargo loaders – Many crashes happen because of improper cargo loading, as the cargo might shift and throw the truck off balance, causing a crash.

Speak with Our Austin Truck Accident Attorneys

The best way to know who should be liable for your truck crash and injuries is to set up a free case assessment with Terry & Kelly Injury Lawyers. Contact us to learn more about how our Austin truck accident lawyers can help you.