Union Springs Truck Accident Lawyer

Union Springs truck accident lawyersUnion Springs, Alabama is a small historic town which is also the county seat of Bullock County. Three highways feed into Union Springs, located in southeastern Alabama at the intersection of U.S. Route 82 and U.S. Route 29. Highway 29 is a southwest-northeast state highway that runs across the southeastern portion of Alabama.

Besides goods and services, large trucks carry logs through the Union Springs area. And anytime there is a truck-involved accident, the passenger vehicle occupant is sure to suffer the most injuries.

With a large truck 20-30 times the size of a passenger car, one in ten highway deaths will involve a large truck, even though they make up only about 4 percent of the vehicles on the road. A passenger car and its occupants stand little chance when colliding with a large truck.

If you or a loved one has been injured by a big-rig, please call the law office of Chip Nix to begin to seek compensation for your injuries from the at-fault party.

Big Truck Accidents

A big truck is defined as any vehicle that weighs more than 10,000 pounds and is designed to carry heavy loads. That could mean a big rig working for a big box store, or a bus carrying passengers.

Large trucks are vital to our economy, especially these days when we require more goods to be delivered to our homes.  A fully loaded large truck can weigh up to 80,000 pounds. Meanwhile, a passenger vehicle ranges from 3,000 to 5,000-pounds.

Truck safety is a challenge as more of these vehicles choke our roads. There were 5,000 Americans killed in large truck-involved accidents in the U.S. in 2017.

In Alabama, there were 10,079 truck-involved accidents in 2018, according to the Department of Transportation statistics. As a result, 121 individuals lost their lives and 2,629 were injured. The majority of these accidents occurred on state routes and interstates.

Most of those killed were the occupants of cars involved in accidents that involved:  

  • Improper Lane change or Use
  • Failure to Yield the Right of Way
  • Unseen objects, person, or vehicle in the road
  • Tailgating
  • Misjudged stopping distance
  • Avoiding an animal or person in the road
  • Improper turn
  • Driving too fast for conditions
  • Crossing the centerline
  • Failing to heed a signal
  • Improper passing
  • Running off the road
  • Driving under the influence
  • Driving over the speed limit

Common Causes of Truck Accidents
Drivers – Often a driver may be hired to deliver goods on a short deadline. When a driver is tired and has surpassed the hours allotted for driving, accidents can happen. Driver fatigue is very common. One federal study found truck drivers averaged 4.8 hours of sleep per day. When 120,000 truck crashes were studied, 13 percent of truck drivers were found to be fatigued. Hours-of-service rules require truckers to be off-duty for 10 hours for every 11 hours they drive and they are forbidden from driving more than 60 hours in a week. Drivers are supposed to take at least 34 hours off before they resume their work week. Tired truckers are also more likely to drive distracted as they use smart phones to text or talk while driving.

Vehicles – About 5 percent of large truck-involved accidents had issues such as defective brakes or tires. Besides a wrongful death case, if there are fatalities involved, we may be able to file an action against the vehicle manufacturer if there were defects on the big rig.

Share the Road to Avoid Accidents

It is important that we all share the roadways. Remember as a driver you need to avoid the blind spots near a large truck. If you can’t see the truck driver in his side mirror, he cannot see you. Make sure you give a trucker enough room to stop. Cutting off a driver can mean you are hit from behind.  If you are driving behind a large truck, never tailgate. When a vehicle hits a truck from the rear, the car submarining under the larger vehicle leads to certain catastrophic injuries.  

Alabama recently lowered the age of a commercial driver to 18 from 21 and it remains to be seen whether the younger drivers are professionally trained and responsible enough to handle a large truck.

Your Alabama Large Truck Accident Attorney

If you or a loved one have been involved in an accident with a large commercial truck, call for help immediately. Stay at the scene because you do not want to be accused of a hit-and-run. Pull over to the side of the road and turn on your hazard lights. Do not talk to the truck driver and certainly do not apologize or admit any fault. The insurance carrier for the driver or the carrier will use that against you.

If you can get their insurance information, do so safely, and take any pictures of the scene. Note the time and location and if there are any witnesses to the accident, get their contact information. Also collect information on the truck’s license plate, its make and model, the employer, and any other numbers on the side of the truck.

Liability for your Alabama truck accident may fall on several parties. The owner of the big rig may be the negligent party. We also might look at the scheduler, the driver, and the truck manufacturer if there were any defects on the vehicle that caused the accident. The rig may have been poorly loaded that caused it to tip over, so the loader may be liable.

Attorney Chip Nix will immediately investigate the cause of your large truck accident before the evidence disappears. He must identify the negligent or at-fault party in order to obtain for you the compensation you need for medical bills, lost wages, pain, and suffering.

Chip has decades of experience representing individuals who have been involved in large truck accidents. Let him become familiar with your case by arranging a complimentary consultation. To get started, call us today at 334-203-6669 or by reaching out to us online.

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