You see them all over the road in Oklahoma – large trucks. You might call them 18-wheelers, big rigs, semi-trucks, or tractor-trailers. The one thing they have in common is that they are extremely large, heavy vehicles that can make it more dangerous for other individuals on the road. A Tulsa truck accident can result in catastrophic injuries and death. The more you know about commercial truck accidents now, the better prepared you will be if a truck crashes injuries you or your family member.
Five Things to Know About a Tulsa Truck Accident
A traffic accident involving a large truck is different in many ways from crashes involving passenger vehicles only. Five things you need to know about these types of traffic accidents are:
1. Large Trucks Can Cause More Harm to People in Other Vehicles
A semi-truck can weight about 80,000 pounds compared to the average passenger vehicle that weighs between 4,000 to 6,000 pounds. When a truck strikes a passenger vehicle, the truck’s weight can crush the vehicle in seconds. The force of the impact can cause fatal injuries to the passenger vehicle occupants before they have time to realize what has occurred.
Roughly three-fourths of the people killed or injured in truck accidents are passengers and drivers of other vehicles. Victims that survive can sustain catastrophic injuries, including paralysis, amputations, disfigurement, brain damage, and organ damage.
2. Truck Accident Investigations Are Complicated
There could be several factors that contributed to the crash. Accidents involving trucks may involve multiple vehicles. Sorting out how the collision happened and identifying the responsible parties can be difficult.
The truck’s black box might contain vital information about the accident. Steps must be taken immediately to preserve the information on the truck’s black box. If not, the data could be lost, destroyed, or erased. Also, engineers, accident reconstructionists, and other experts may be needed to determine how the crash occurred to assign blame for the accident to the responsible parties.
A truck accident investigation could take months to complete and be very costly.
3. Federal and State Laws and Regulations Might Affect Your Case
The trucking industry is subject to strict federal and state laws and regulations. Government agencies may conduct independent investigations into the cause of the truck crash. Knowing the regulations and laws governing large trucks is important because they could impact your case. If a trucking company violates the law or specific regulations, government agencies may impose penalties. Accident victims can use this information as they build their injury claims.
4. Insurance Companies Aggressive Investigate Truck Crash Claims
Injury claims involving commercial truck accidents can reach into the millions of dollars. The damages incurred by accident victims and their families for medical bills, loss of income, wrongful death claims, pain, suffering, and permanent impairments are substantial.
The insurance company for the trucking company may aggressively defend the claim to avoid liability. It has almost unlimited resources to fight claims. You need a legal team on your side to even the playing field.
5. You Need an Experienced Tulsa Truck Accident Attorney Now
A Tulsa truck accident attorney fights to protect your best interests and legal rights throughout the case. Contact The Law Office of Michael R. Green, PLLC, by calling (866) 944-4733 to schedule your free consultation with a Tulsa commercial truck accident attorney.
We have extensive experience handling accident claims involving large trucks. Our law firm has the resources, skills, and knowledge to go up against the largest trucking company and an aggressive insurance company. Our lawyers do not stop fighting until we exhaust every possible legal action to get you the money you deserve.