Truck Accidents Can Leave Life-Changing Effects

You can’t surprise anyone with truck accidents nowadays. They’re everywhere.

You see them on the road while driving your car, thanking God that you weren’t close to that truck just seconds ago. Or you hear some tragic story about victims involved in a truck accident on TV.

Earlier this year, one person died and nine others suffered injuries as a result of a collision with a truck in Los Angeles.

Getting distracted behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler, carrying heavy cargos, drunk or sleep-deprived driving, driving improperly maintained trucks… There are so many causes of truck accidents, and each of them can wreck the lives of multiple people that are sharing the road with you.

But despite the life-changing consequences of truck accidents, truck drivers and trucking companies keep making the same illegal mistakes over and over again.

Here’s why you should stay away from trucks

Due to the mammoth size of the vehicle, crashing into a truck is far more life-threatening than smashing into a sedan.

Among all truck accidents involving fatalities, the truck’s driver survives a car crash almost 99% of the time. And the accident is the truck driver’s fault in almost the same number of cases.

Trucking companies tend to disregard trucking laws that impose strict regulations on trucks. Under federal and state laws in Los Angeles, truck drivers can drive no more than 11 hours each day only after 10 consecutive hours off duty.

Moreover, a truck driver is not permitted to drive more than 60 hours in seven days in a row.

Many drivers also disregard the regulation that single axle trucks are allowed to carry no more than 20,000 pounds, while two-axle trucks can carry up to 34,000 pounds.

In order to carry more cargo in fewer trips, drivers and trucking companies tend to exceed the limits, which can lead to life-changing effects and fatal consequences in truck accidents.

When a vehicle of this size carrying this kind of enormous cargo smashes into your sedan, you can’t possibly expect anything good.

What are the consequences of truck accidents?

Due to the complexities of trucking laws and investigative requirements, it can be quite a headache to prove the truck company or truck driver’s liability in Los Angeles.

Truck accidents can cause catastrophic injuries, while in many cases it’s almost impossible to fully recover from the life-changing injuries when involved in a serious truck accident.

Besides suffering minor or severe injuries as a result of a direct collision with a truck, truck accidents can also cause the following consequences:

• fires and/or explosions that can put pedestrians and people living in nearby buildings in harm’s way;
• human exposure to chemicals if the truck is transporting hazardous cargo;
• environmental contamination that can cause life-threatening effects in the entire area or even city, depending on how fast the contamination was eliminated.

In any outcome of a truck accident, there are quite a few legal and bureaucratic hoop-jumping stunts that must be performed in order to get compensated for your damages.

Trucking companies oftentimes order their own, independent investigation in order to minimize the compensation, which is why it’s important to hire a Los Angeles truck accident attorney who has experience handling such cases.

Timing is everything in truck accidents, which means the longer you wait, the bigger the chance that you will not be fully compensated for your pain, suffering and damages.

JML Law has helped hundreds of clients recover from truck accidents and obtain the maximum compensation for their damages. Call an experienced truck accident attorney at 818-835-5735 today to schedule a meeting.