Houston Truck Accident Lawyer Blog

There are quite a number of factors that lead to the increased risk of serious injury or wrongful death following an accident with an 18-wheeler as opposed to an accident with another passenger car. The first factor is incompatibility in disparity of maneuvering. Big rigs and tractor-trailers just do not dynamically maneuver the same as a passenger car. Both cornering issues and breaking compatibility and performance are key factors in many truck accident cases.

Not only do big rigs take much longer to stop but more room to turn and generally take more time to reach highway speeds than a typical passenger car. What are typical emergency maneuvers for passenger cars can lead to very serious consequences when the vehicle being driven is a tractor-trailer. Rollover propensity for 18-wheelers is very high and with heavy loads can be a real risk factor for truck driver. Rollover accidents account for 50 to 60% of fatalities by truck drivers mainly due to the higher center of gravity.

Some of the steering problems come from the articulated vehicle, which is a combination of the tractor plus the trailer. When articulated vehicles attempt emergency maneuvers stability of the semi truck is affected much quicker than a passenger car.

Stopping distance can be a huge risk factor in analyzing semi truck accidents. The stopping distance for a typical passenger car is less than 200 feet at 60 miles an hour. But the stopping distance for heavy commercial vehicles easily can exceed 300 feet and further depending on the specific makeup of the commercial vehicle. Factors such as the type of truck and whether it is loaded or unloaded can affect the actual stopping distance.

Increased risk of a fatal accident is a real and legitimate statistic when a commercial truck is involved. Generally, there is one fatality for every 500-passenger car to passenger car collisions. Unfortunately, the risk of fatality goes up seven times when a tractor-trailer is involved in the accident. About one out of every 70 car to truck accidents result in a fatality.

The biggest single factor in the increased fatality ratio of a truck accident is the sheer size and weight of the 18-wheeler. When 70,000 pounds meets 6000 pounds the passenger car is always going to be the loser. This is called the mass ratio and is the reason that the odds are so great that an occupant of a passenger car is so much more likely to be seriously injured or killed when struck by a semi truck.

Studies have shown that car-to-car collisions result in only 0.2% of fatalities while a car to a medium-heavy truck is 1.5%.

Continue reading "Passenger Cars vs. Big Rigs" »

A blown tire by a semi-truck driver initiated a chain reaction on a Texas highway that sent one man to the hospital. The driver of the automobile realized too late that the rig's tire had exploded. He swerved and lost control of the vehicle - flipping it before it came to a stop. Two children in the car were surprisingly unharmed.

In a nearby state an elderly couple's SUV was fully stopped behind a truck. A semi-truck was unable to stop and rammed them from behind - literally crushing the smaller vehicle between the rig and the truck in front of it. The passenger was killed instantly and the driver was air-lifted to a nearby hospital in critical condition.

In another Texas semi-truck accident a female driver was exiting a public parking lot when she was struck by a semi-truck. While the cause of the accident is still under investigation - the woman is in critical condition in a Texas hospital.

And...in another horrific semi-truck accident in another state a semi-truck driver struck a compact car while changing lanes on the highway and literally pushed it along the concrete median for one hundred feet. The car then fell onto the lanes of traffic heading in the other direction and was struck again by a semi-truck traveling in the opposite direction. The woman was killed instantly.

Semi-truck accidents are some of the worst on American roadways. They can be the result of driver distraction, improperly maintained 18-wheelers, driver fatigue or even bad tires on the 18 wheeler.

Drive defensively.

Continue reading "The Many Causes of Truck Wrecks" »

Semi-truck accidents are some of the worst on the roads. Statistics about 18 wheelers and collisions confirm this.

*In a single year recently there were nearly half-a-million semi-truck accidents across the United States that resulted in over 5000 deaths. This translates to a semi-truck accident fatality every 16 minutes somewhere in the country.

*Two-thirds of semi-truck accidents occur with rigs that are hauling a single trailer - the rest are collisions with rigs that have multiple trailers.

*Texas leads the nation in semi-truck accidents and deaths. Other states with high rates of semi-truck accidents include California, Florida and Pennsylvania.

*The majority of semi-truck accidents occur on dry pavement, during daylight hours and on 2- lane, rural roads.

*Semi-trucks logged close to a half billion miles on American roadways in a recent year. This number is expected to increase as the trucking industry is one of the few industries that are expected to grow in the next decade.

*In an accident between a semi-truck and passenger vehicle - 98% of the fatalities are to persons in the car.

*The trucking industry raked in well over half a billion dollars in revenue last year alone. Some of that money is used to employ lobbyists who keep the pressure on Washington to avoid adding more rules and regulations to their business. Unfortunately, we need the regulations to protect our families.

Stay informed.

Continue reading "Regulations Needed to Prevent Truck Accidents" »

Spinal cord injuries can be the result of a variety of causes from automobile or truck collisions to work-related accidents and more. Often they are life altering and can even lead to a permanent condition such as paraplegia, quadriplegia or myelopathy.

There are two types of spinal cord injuries - complete and incomplete. Complete spinal cord injuries result in paralysis or loss of function below the point at which the spinal cord was injured while an incomplete spinal cord injury will result in some - but not total - loss of feeling or sensation below the area at which the spinal cord was injured.

Complete paraplegia is the permanent loss of motor and nerve function of the legs, bladder and bowels. This includes a loss of sexual sensations and functioning as well. In some cases individuals with complete paraplegia do have a measure of trunk movement but most often movement requires the use of a wheelchair.

Incomplete spinal cord injuries are much more common. The extent of damage cannot be determined completely for perhaps up to two months and only after the shock to the spinal cord has subsided. Even so - there are five main categories of diagnoses that may 'present' and result in varying degrees of sensation and movement loss including: posterior cord, anterior cord, and central cord syndromes.

It is important for an accident victim to know that many times x-rays do not show the full extent of the potential spinal cord injury. Particularly, problems with herniated discs or ruptured discs.

Often, a car accident victim will be treated at the hospital, given x-rays and discharged with instructions to follow up with another physician. It is only when an MRI study is done that they learn that they have a very serious injury that may require surgery.

The moral of the story is that emergency room treatment is for emergency situations and conditions that require immediate surgery. Other conditions that are not life-threatening or immediate are not well served by emergency rooms.

If you've been in a car or truck accident and are still experiencing issues consider talking to your doctor about getting an MRI study done to rule out disc problems.

Continue reading "Spine Injury From a Truck Accident" »