The transportation industry has undergone tremendous growth in the last few years. More and more 18-wheelers, vans and tour buses are sharing the road with passenger vehicles. Crashes involving commercial motor vehicles and passenger vehicles including automobiles, pickup trucks, vans and sport utility vehicles are on the rise. Large trucks account for a 2.3 fatality rate per 100 million miles traveled vs. 1.5 for vehicles. In 2003, almost 5000 persons died in large truck crashes and 122,000 injured. The highest numbers of truck crashes by crash type are rear-end, ran off road/out of lane, side swipe, rollover, turning across path/into path, and intersecting vehicles. The top factors of truck crashes include driver drug use, traveling too fast for conditions, unfamiliar with roadway and fatigue.

Trucks handle about half of the tonnage carried between cities in the United States. With bigger vehicle, freight can be moved at lower cost. The current federal limit is 80,000 pounds that the standard tractor/trailer is allowed to weigh. When an 80,000 pound 18-wheeler runs into a vehicle, it usually results in a substantial crash.

NEBLETT, BEARD & ARSENAULT has successfully litigated cases involving serious injuries and wrongful death from 18-wheeler, tractor-trailer, bus and automobile accidents.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Victims of 18-wheeler truck or large commercial motor vehicle collisions deserve an experienced truck accident attorney to represent them against the trucking company and insurance company. An experienced truck accident attorney goes beyond the negligence of the truck driver and investigates the trucking company for negligence in hiring, supervision and entrustment of the 18-wheeler truck. A large commercial motor vehicle is defined as follows:

I. having a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 10,000 pounds;

II. a vehicle designed to transport more than 15 passengers, including the driver;

III. or transporting hazardous materials in quantities requiring the vehicle to be placarded.

An attorney with extensive experience and knowledge of 18-wheeler or large commercial motor vehicle litigation can determine, develop and pursue a commercial truck case through extensive discovery, experts in accident reconstruction and trucking, medical consultants and the capture and retrieval of electronic crash data, as well as requesting backup of data produced through satellite systems which many commercial motor vehicles are now equipped.

If you have been in an 18-wheeler or commercial trust accident, please contact us immediately for more information and a free case review.