Truck Accident Lawyer Alexandria, Louisiana
It’s not hard to imagine that when large trucks collide with passenger vehicles on the road, it’s the car or SUV that suffers the most catastrophic damage and severe injuries to passengers. Large trucks and 18-wheelers are much heavier and taller and often make a mangled mess out of passenger vehicles when they collide in an accident. If you have been injured or experienced a death in the family because of a large truck accident, you need an experienced Alexandria truck accident lawyer to take on the large trucking and insurance companies and get you the compensation you deserve. Chris Roy has decades of legal experience and is a top Alexandria, Louisiana personal injury attorney. He can help you file a claim and win a lawsuit.
Did you know that a fully loaded tractor-trailer can weigh 80,000 pounds? Passenger vehicles weigh in at about 4,000 pounds, and the heaviest motorcycles top the scale at approximately 500 pounds. With these things in mind, it isn’t difficult to see why occupants of passenger vehicles and motorcycles are on the short end in crashes with large trucks.
Because of their much heavier weight and overall mass, it can take big rigs almost 720 feet to stop. If conditions are rainy or if a truck’s brakes are in disrepair, the stopping distance will be even longer. In some instances, bigger dangers also arise if the truck is carrying flammable or toxic cargo, resulting in fires and deadly chemical spills.
Large trucks are also tall and have significant vertical clearance from the roadway. In some of the worst truck accidents, passenger cars can actually slide underneath the truck, shearing off roofs, hoods and windshields.
Big rigs have blind spots at the front, side and rear and make wide turns at corners. If a truck driver isn’t paying attention, it is easy to side-swipe or pin down a passenger vehicle. Truck driver fatigue is also known to cause accidents. Drivers of large trucks are allowed by federal hours-of-service regulations to drive up to 11 hours at a stretch. Surveys indicate, though, that many drivers violate the regulations and work longer than allowed.
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Becoming involved in a lawsuit is often the last thing an injured person thinks about, yet it’s important to look down the road at your future and realize that lost wages, medical bills, chronic pain and disability can create lasting financial hardship for you and your family. A person can often be victimized twice – first with physical and emotional injuries caused by the accident, and second by long-lasting financial difficulties.
While you heal and recover, let Chris Roy handle the research and paperwork necessary to file a legal claim on your behalf. After all, your focus needs to be on getting better. Your attorney’s focus is to secure monetary compensation for you.
Consider these statistics from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI):
- 97% of vehicle occupants killed in two-vehicle crashes involving a passenger vehicle and a large truck in 2016 were occupants of the passenger vehicles.
- 11% of all motor vehicle crash deaths in 2016 occurred in large truck crashes.
- 67% of large truck occupants killed in multiple vehicle crashes in 2016 occurred in collisions involving another large truck.
- Trucks often weigh 20-30 times as much as passenger cars.
- Trucks are taller, with greater ground clearance, resulting in smaller vehicles sliding underneath trucks in crashes.
- Truck braking capability is a factor, with loaded tractor-trailers taking 20-40% more distance than cars to stop.
There are often external factors that contribute to large truck accidents in addition to driver error. Taken together, you can see why big-rig collisions can be catastrophic.
Common Causes of Large Truck Accidents in Alexandria, Louisiana
- Mechanical or tire failure
- Unsafe road conditions
- Poorly maintained brakes
- Speeding, tailgating, unsafe lane changes and other instances of careless driving
- Driving while texting/talking on a cell phone
- Driver fatigue or falling asleep
- Driver inexperience
- Alcohol or medication abuse by driver
- Inadequate lighting or road signage
- Rain, snow, wind or inclement weather.
An experienced Alexandria, Louisiana truck accident lawyer will be highly familiar with the causes of truck accidents and therefore will know which documents to request from trucking companies, what things to say — and not to say — on the phone with insurance companies, and how to craft a detailed and compelling legal argument. If you live in the Alexandria area and have been injured in an accident with a large truck, contact Alexandria, Louisiana truck accidentChris Roy for a free consultation and analysis of whether your claim can be successful. As always, you pay the law firm nothing unless we win your case.
A Closer Look at Where and When Large Truck Crashes Happen
- 60% of deaths in large truck crashes in 2016 occurred on major roads other than interstates and freeways.
- 7% of deaths in large truck crashes in 2016 happened on minor roads.
- 48% of large truck crash deaths in 2016 occurred between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m., significantly more than the 30% of crash deaths during that same time period not involving large trucks.
- 16% of large truck crash deaths in 2016 occurred on Saturday and Sunday, compared to 34% of crash deaths not involving a large truck.
Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI)
Defensive driving and driver safety are key factors in avoiding vehicle collisions, but did you know that there has been research done on when and where large truck accidents are most likely to occur? This information can cause people driving in neighborhoods to stay aware and pay extra attention to what is happening around them. Also, always be sure to wear seat belts when travelling in a vehicle.
Vehicular Crashes Nationwide
Because driving is so commonplace, we can forget that traveling in an automobile is sometimes dangerous, and even deadly. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, there were 153,662 crashes in America in 2017, involving 163,972 vehicles. They resulted in 4,617 fatalities and 75,420 injuries. State authorities are required to report crash data to FMCSA within 90 days of the accident. Friends, family and your attorney remind you to use safe defensive-driving techniques, stay alert, never text and strictly limit phone calls while driving.
Recovering damages and financial compensation is the job of your Alexandria, Louisiana truck accident attorney when you file a legal claim. Everyone thinks of damages such as the cost of the vehicle and medical bills. But did you know that there are additional monetary expenses that you can be compensated for? Some of these include loss of current and future earnings, wrongful death, medical bills several years in the future, disability, and all the suffering and pain that can result from injuries sustained.
If you or a family member has been injured or killed in a large truck accident, don’t go it alone. Hire a tough and experienced truck accident attorney in Alexandria, LA, to champion your legal claim and go head-to-head with trucking and insurance companies. The job of insurance representatives is to limit the payout in accident claims and close out claims as quickly as possible. You will need an aggressive Alexandria, Louisiana truck accident attorney at your side to ensure that your rights are enforced. Contact the law office of Chris Roy for a free consultation if you have been involved in an accident in the Alexandria, LA, area.
What To Do – And Not Do – Immediately After A Truck Crash
- Call 911 and request a response by police and emergency medical personnel.
- Exchange vehicle information with the other driver, such as name, car insurance, VIN number, license plate number and phone number.
- If witnesses are present, try to get their names and contact information.
- If you are able, use your cell phone to take pictures of the accident, including damage to both vehicles, skid marks, damaged roadside railing or signs, and your own physical injuries.
- Go to the hospital to be examined by a doctor after the crash.
- Call an attorney.
- Do not engage in dialogue with the other driver.
- Do not acknowledge blame or fault for the crash.
- Do not sign any paperwork or documents provided by insurance companies until you talk to your attorney.
The worst thing you can do is hide or be intimidated by insurance company representatives that sometimes bully accident victims into backing down. This is not only unethical, but it is also the cause of additional stress for victims.
Call An Experienced Alexandria, Louisiana Truck Accident Lawyer Now
If you’ve been injured then you need a t Let attorney Chris Roy be your protector and guardian. He can intercept communication and phone calls from insurance companies, push back, and demand compensation that you are owed. For a free consultation, contact attorney Chris Roy at (318) 487-9537. He is awaiting your call.
