Need an Injury Attorney for Your West Virginia Trucking Accident?
Every time you watch the news, you can probably see evidence of a truck accident. Thousands upon thousands of these horrific accidents happen every year in the U.S., with injuries, fatalities, and more being the end result. In fact, the statistics in West Virginia tell us many things:
- In 2015, in West Virginia, there were 268 fatalities in general crashes, with 22 of these stemming from trucks. This is out of a population of 1.8 million people.
- When statistics were re-calculated in 2016, it was found that there were 27 large truck crash fatalities out of a total of 269 in general.
Does this mean, as a trend, that trucking accidents are increasing on our roadways? Many truck accidents are extremely serious in nature due to the sheer size of these vehicles. For instance, a passenger vehicle is only a couple thousand pounds. But large trucks could be tens of thousands of pounds in some cases, even up to 80,000 in the largest vehicles! If you have been involved in one of these accidents, you may have experienced catastrophic injuries and need our help.
Reasons Why Truck Accidents Occur
There are many reasons for these catastrophic, life-changing accidents in West Virginia. When these accidents do occur, they almost always come with injuries, even the most minor of such. Here are some of the top reasons for truck accidents in West Virginia:
Equipment Failure: Trucks rely on a variety of operating systems to do exactly what they’re supposed to. This means that, when one part of the truck breaks down, it could lead to devastating results on a large scale. With thousands of other people on the roads at any given time, some of these accidents even take out multiple parties, especially when a truck isn’t able to stop in time. This could happen very easily in cases where the brakes are not working properly or tires have been lost. In these cases, it may not just be the truck driver who is responsible for your accident – you could also see the liable hinge on a manufacturer who manufactured defective parts.
Driving Errors: Many of the truck accidents that we hear about each year stem from a driver’s negligence, or ‘driver error.’ One of the biggest reasons for driver error is hours of service violations, which occur when a driver continues to operate on the roadways even when they are not supposed to due to working long hours. When hours of service violations occur, a truck driver could be completely exhausted for many hours on the road. Sometimes, this is the fault of the driver, and other times it could be the fault of the employer if they have pushed their driver to work extra hours for more incentive. There are many regulations that control what truck drivers can and can’t do under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). This is why, when driver errors occur, it may not just be the truck driver who is liable – it may also be the truck company.
Compensating From a Liable Party
If you have been injured in a truck accident, you may wonder how you can gain compensation that you deserve in your time of need. Many people who are involved in truck accidents sustain tremendous losses. You may have had to seek extensive medical treatment or needed time off of work due to the fact that your injuries have kept you from returning to work. This is why, if a driver was driving distracted, regulations were violated, and many other forms of negligence took place, you should speak to an attorney to help you build your case against a driver or company. You may be surprised by the results. We want to work with you, so call us as soon as possible to get started.