Truckers provide a valuable service to the people of this country, but it comes with great risks. The rigs these professionals have are large and heavy. They can flatten a passenger vehicle easily.
It’s imperative that truckers always drive safely. Semitruck wrecks can cause a host of catastrophic injuries for the victims. When a person is injured in a wreck with a big rig, they may opt to pursue legal action. Determining the cause of the crash enables them to ensure the proper defendants are named in the case. Here are two of the most common causes of truck accidents:
1. Trucker error
Truckers can make errors when they drive. This is often the case when aggressive driving, fatigue, impairment, or distractions are present at the time of the crash. The issue with these is that they’re all preventable, so there’s no reason for innocent people to suffer an injury or die because of them. In some cases, improper training might be a contributing cause, as can hours-of-service violations.
2. Improper maintenance
Some semitruck crashes are caused by improper maintenance on the truck. The same is true for defective components on the truck. Far too many independent operators and fleets are on the road in trucks that need major repairs — and others are on the road with shoddy repairs.
3. Poorly secured loads
Not securing a load properly can also lead to crashes. When these are contributing factors, the entity responsible for the issue may not be the trucker, so that entity can be included as a defendant in the claim.
Victims of semitruck crashes must ensure they get medical care to address their injuries. The expenses related to the crash can be considerable. Seeking compensation enables you to try to recover the money you’ve spent on this, as well as others related to the crash.