Damaged Roads and Freeways

Accidents happen almost every minute of the day and 3 percent of those accidents involve commercial trucks. Commercial trucks are responsible for 5,000 deaths and 130,000 injuries per year on the roads of the country. Trucks are the largest vehicles on the roads, almost 40 times heavier than passenger cars, and can cause many problems in congested areas. Commercial trucks can rollover, lose their load, become jackknifed and trap vehicles underneath the truck against roadway barriers. Commercial trucks can get involved in accidents because of defective, hazardous, and dangerous roads or highways.

Causes

Defective, hazardous, and dangerous roads or highway accidents are caused by one or more of the following:

• Bad Roads - This includes the design, friction, width of the lanes, angle of curves, and wear and tear of the road itself.
• Lighting- inadequate lighting on roadways can cause vehicles to have trouble seeing objects and people in the roadway.
• Weather- Different weather conditions provide drivers with different safety risks, including slippery and icy roads, patches of black ice, heavy rain, and fog.
• Signals and signs- signals and signs must be in plain view for drivers and if they are not, this can cause serious accidents.
• Pavement- potholes are a major problem on the roads today.
• Road construction- debris from road construction might be strewn on the roads, causing vehicles to swerve and hit other vehicles
• Improperly Installed Rails

Liability

It is difficult to determine liability in truck accidents such as these because it truly might not be the fault of the truck driver but the state’s department of transportation for not fixing roadway problems in a timely manner. It is the responsibility of the plaintiff’s attorney to prove liability on the part of the state’s department of transportation. It should also be understood that drivers of all vehicles have to control their vehicle to some extent during a problem on the roadway, which means that the driver of a commercial truck could also be held liable in this type of accident.

Injuries and Compensation

Victims of this type of accident can suffer from trauma, emotional stress, broken bones, burns, lacerations, fractures, severed limbs, concussions, comas and much more. The victims of this accident can receive compensation for pain and suffering, loss of wages, repair costs, medical bills, hospital bills, punitive damages, funeral costs, court fees, and legal fees.

Legal Help

If you or a loved one has been injured in this type of accident, contact an attorney immediately for expert legal advice regarding your case. The attorney will perform an investigation into what caused the accident, how the accident occurred, and which parties should be deemed liable in the lawsuit.