Large trucks can weigh much more than twice as much as an automobile. 18-wheelers can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds. The average large passenger car weighs only 3,500 pounds.
The causes of tractor trailer accidents are numerous and varied:
- An unsafe or unbalanced load
- Improper truck maintenance
- Inadequate trucking company safety and training policies
- Defective tires or other defective equipment
- Driver fatigue
- Negligent hiring practices on the part of the trucking company – hiring drivers with DWI records or poor driving performance
- Lax trucking company logbook requirements
- Driver intoxication – either alcohol or drug use
- Falsified driver logs
With multiple trucking companies and drivers traveling across the country, and the opening of our borders to trucking companies from Mexico and Canada, the potential for accidents among large trucks and other vehicles is significant. There is not only the financial cost to the company for loss of business and/or goods as a result of the crash, but the cost to compensate victims and their families when an 18-wheeler collides with another vehicle and they are harmed or killed.
If you are involved in a truck accident with a tractor trailer in Waco, San Antonio, Laredo, or anywhere in Texas, your most immediate focus will be on obtaining urgent medical treatment. Life-altering injuries can be a tragic consequence even with the best medical care. So it is important to consider the cause of the truck accident, and whether someone else is to blame for an accident that may have long-term impact on you and your family’s future.
Barry & Loewy LLP has experience handling truck accident cases. If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a 18-wheeler accident, please contact the Texas truck accident lawyers at Barry & Loewy LLP today.
