Charlotte Injury Lawyers Blog
Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: ” Is a tractor-trailer accident the same as an automobile accident?”
The scene of a tractor-trailer crash can be bloody and destructive, often involving fire, explosions, overturned vehicles, and severe injuries. Unfortunately, truck accidents are not as uncommon as it might seem.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, approximately 450,000 tractor-trailer wrecks are reported to police each year. Of these, at least 344,000 result in bodily injury, while more than 4,200 involve wrongful death.
In North Carolina alone, nearly 15,000 large truck collisions occurred in 2017. In these accidents, approximately 150 people died, and thousands sustained bodily injury.
Tractor-trailers are the lifeblood of the U.S. economy as they transport goods all over the country. Many businesses rely on trucks, which is why there are so many large trucks driving in Charlotte and other parts of North Carolina. Nonetheless, these vehicles pose serious risks to drivers, passengers, and pedestrians on roadways.
Tractor-Trailer Accident in North Carolina
A recent tractor-trailer crash in North Carolina showed the destructive consequences of truck accidents. According to Fox 8, traffic was backed up for miles after a collision near the Alamance-Guilford County line that left a truck pinned under a tractor-trailer.
The tractor-trailer crash occurred at around 7:30 a.m. last Tuesday on Interstates 40/85. As a result of the wreck, a small utility truck was pinned under the rear of a tractor-trailer. The driver was pinned in the vehicle, while two other victims were also injured in the collision.
A major causation study revealed that driver error is responsible for 87% of all tractor-trailer accidents in the United States. The truck is to blame for 10%, while the environment causes the remaining 3% of these collisions.
How a Charlotte Truck Accident Attorney can Help
Regardless of how a tractor-trailer collision occurred, these crashes are more likely to cause permanent injuries and fatalities compared to regular car accidents in North Carolina. Luckily, with a knowledgeable Charlotte personal injury attorney by your side, you can seek compensation and justice under the purview of personal injury law.
Crashes involving large trucks often require accident reconstruction experts to help determine fault. Having a lawyer by your side helps strengthen your case and increase the likelihood of obtaining a reasonable settlement offer.
Preserving evidence is a critical part of navigating a tractor-trailer accident case. After all, most truck drivers in North Carolina are employed by trucking companies, which will do whatever it takes to protect themselves from liability.
Time is of the essence after a tractor-trailer crash because most trucks are owned by trucking companies and insured through a Commercial Insurance Policy. Many insurance companies choose to deploy investigators after a report of a truck crash has been made to gather as much evidence as possible.
Contact a Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney
The thing is, the trucking company may be responsible for the tractor-trailer wreck just as much as the truck driver. In the course of their investigation, trucking companies might tamper with evidence or hide critical pieces of evidence to conceal their fault (e.g., not being able to find the driver’s logbook or maintenance records if there were hours of service violations or the truck was not maintained regularly).
Before speaking with the trucking company, insurer, or anyone affiliated with the two, consult a Charlotte personal injury attorney to investigate your case and determine fault in your tractor-trailer crash. Contact Arnold & Smith, PLLC, to establish liability in your case. Call us at 704-370-2828 for a consultation or fill out our contact form. Now taking cases throughout North Carolina with offices in Uptown Charlotte, Mooresville and our new location in Monroe.
The skilled personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to maximizing the financial recovery and obtaining justice for every personal injury client injured by another party’s negligence. The issues our personal injury clients may be facing include, but are not limited to, slip and fall injuries, wrongful death, product liability, catastrophic injuries, dog bite claims, car and truck accident injuries, motorcycle injuries, traumatic brain injury (TBI), nursing home negligence, spinal cord injury, boating accidents, and defective medical device injury. Our personal injury attorneys understand the devastating impact such an injury can have on a person’s life, and that the effects so often go beyond physical pain and suffering. The personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to helping clients determine the strength of their claims, and to aggressively pursuing the means necessary to achieve the best possible end result for each client’s particular situation.
Source:
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/data-and-statistics/large-truck-and-bus-crash-facts-2017
https://connect.ncdot.gov/business/DMV/DMV%20Documents/2017%20Crash%20Facts.pdf
Image Credit:
https://www.freeimages.com/photo/truck-accident-1450067
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