Truck Accidents

    NEWARK, NJ, December 07, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Truck accidents are relatively uncommon, but when they occur, they are very serious. Large trucks account for only 4% of all registered vehicles in the United States, but they represented 8% of vehicles in fatal crashes. Furthermore, 83% of people killed in truck accidents are not in the truck itself. Truck accidents are different for a number of reasons, including not only the size and mass of the truck, but also the complex overlapping state and federal regulations governing the trucking industry, which make truck accidents either a legal nightmare or a litigious goldmine, depending on your perspective.

Truck Accident Statistics

As noted above, vehicle for vehicle, large trucks are twice as likely to be involved in fatal accidents as passenger cars. Per mile traveled, they are 26% more likely to be involved in a fatal accident. Of the large trucks involved in fatal accidents, 62% were semi trailer trucks.

However, drivers of large trucks were less likely to be intoxicated when involved in a fatal accident. Less than 1% of truck drivers were legally intoxicated when involved in a fatal accident, as compared to 23% of passenger vehicle drivers involved in fatal crashes. Speeding was involved in only 25% of fatal crashes involving a large truck, compared with 33% of all fatal crashes.

In most truck accidents, the passenger car driver is listed as being at fault. Some specific circumstances that show this disparity:

- In fatal rear-end accidents, the passenger car struck the large truck in 16% of fatal crashes, while the truck struck the passenger car in only 5% of crashes
- The passenger vehicle crossed the center line in 16% of fatal accidents, but the truck driver in only 1%

All of these statistics combine to show that in general truck drivers tend to be more responsible and better drivers than passenger vehicle drivers, but it does not matter because large trucks are inherently more dangerous, even in the hands of skilled drivers.

Why Lawyers Pursue Truck Accidents

Lawyers like truck accident cases because they have more of a tendency to be big money cases. Not only are people more likely to suffer fatal or debilitating accidents, but the "responsible" parties are more likely to be able to pay significant settlements. In your typical car accident, attempting to get $1 million or more is like squeezing blood from a stone: people simply don't have it, not even when you add in their insurance coverage. But trucking companies have millions of dollars, and millions of dollars in insurance coverage, making them better targets. And, in some cases you can bring in other liable parties, such as the owner of the cargo, another possibly multimillion-dollar corporation.

In short, then, if you are hurt or have lost a loved one in a truck accident, a personal injury lawyer is much more likely to take your case than if you suffer the same injury in a car accident. If you are looking for help following a truck accident near Newark or Jersey City, New Jersey, you can find more information by visiting the website of the Law Office of Anthony Carbone, P.C. at http://www.anthonycarbonepc.com/.

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