Car accidents can be devastating for everyone involved—often escalating from an issue between two drivers to numerous different (and dire) impacts on the road, as in a multi-car pileup or other serious incident. Injuries can be devastating, and even lead to fatalities. But when trucks are involved, the consequences can be exponentially worse. Rather than dealing with the impact of a 4,000-pound car, motorists who may be rear-ended, sideswiped, or hit head-on are suddenly made vulnerable to a semi- or 18-wheeler truck that could weigh 80,000 pounds.
In some cases, the issue is not actually being struck by the truck itself, but dealing with cargo that may come loose, hurtling onto cars, or spilling onto the road. And this can be a probably with any size truck, whether it is an industrial truck carrying construction goods that may fall off piece by piece, or a flatbed truck carrying lumber—or the worst of all, a vehicle carrying hazardous goods—motorists on the road may be left to deal with damaged cars, broken windshields, accidents, and serious physical harm. Even just one or two pieces of debris on the road can cause a serious accident as motorists must swerve (often into another lane, and often, at higher speeds) or are forced to drive over or into foreign objects.
Securing cargo is a serious responsibility on the part of the trucking company, and one that should be double-checked before any journey is taken. Truckers should also continue to check the stability of cargo when taking breaks while traveling. Hundreds of thousands of accidents are caused each year, due to cargo falling onto the road, and while trucks are often at fault, cars and SUVs can be too. One AAA Foundation study shows that crashes related to loose debris usually occur on highways, and have been responsible for hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries. Crashes related to debris on the road usually occur as motorists ‘overcorrect’ and often lose control. Trailers that come loose from cars or trucks can lead to serious problems too. Most of these types of accidents are due to operator error and are completely preventable. Whether you are a truck or car driver, take extra special care when securing any type of cargo.
If you have been injured in a truck accident due to the negligence of others, this is not the time to go it alone! Attorney Sgt. Pike has developed a system to combat the various forces in the trucking industry attempting to defeat the rights of those wrongfully injured or killed. Based on his training and experience as a Special Forces Operator (Army Green Beret), Attorney Sgt. Pike activates the Truck Accident Response Team or T.A.R.T. ™ immediately after being hired in appropriate cases. T.A.R.T. ™ then deploys to the area of the crash.
Please call the law offices of Andrew ‘Pike’ Piekalkiewicz, PLLC as soon as possible at (713) 748-7453 for a no obligation case review.
