Dump truck accidents affect more than construction drivers and workers. Large, lumbering dump trucks are oversized and heavy, sometimes causing injury to motorists on the roadways involved in collisions with dump trucks. These heavy-duty vehicles weigh as much as 36 tons when loaded with heavy materials like dirt or gravel. Even an empty dump truck may outweigh a typical car by as much as 24,000 pounds, placing those in smaller vehicles at high risk of life-threatening injuries in a collision.
What Causes Dump Truck Accidents?
Dump trucks are bulky, with visibility problems, blind spots, and lengthy stopping times. Accidents are not only more deadly when a dump truck is involved, but dump trucks and their drivers may have a higher likelihood of experiencing an accident due to the following:
- Inability to stop in time to avoid a collision
- Wide turns
- Blind spots causing unsafe lane changes
- Distracted driving
- Fatigued driving
- Tailgating
- Unbalanced loads
- Overloaded trucks
- Mechanical failures
- Improper maintenance
- Reversing accidents due to limited visibility
- Tire blowouts
- Falling or flying debris
- Inadequately trained or inexperienced drivers
Dump trucks are difficult to maneuver and require skilled handling and diligent attention to avoid accidents. When a driver doesn’t take all reasonable measures to avoid an accident or a construction company fails to use adequate hiring or training practices, the driver or the company could be liable for a Cherry Hill truck accident injury victim and their damages.
What Common Injuries Can Occur?
Because dump trucks far outweigh typical vehicles, they cause severe damage to standard cars and trucks in collisions or cause smaller vehicles to careen off the road or into other lanes of traffic with as much as a single sideswipe. Injuries in dump truck accidents range from mild and inconvenient with a single large emergency room bill, property damage, and a missed paycheck, to catastrophic or fatal injuries with severe, lasting consequences. Common injuries in dump truck accident claims include the following:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Fractures
- Soft-tissue damage like sprains, strains, and torn ligaments
- Internal organ damage
- Back injuries
- Neck injuries
- Facial trauma
- Lacerations, contusions, and abrasions
- Burns
- Traumatic limb loss
- Spinal cord injuries
In the worst cases, dump truck accidents cause fatal injuries, leaving family members with grief, anguish, and economic losses associated with the death. A wrongful death lawsuit against a dump truck driver or negligent construction company can recover compensation for close family members.
Proving Liability In Dump Truck Accident Claims
Damages in dump truck accident cases are often serious, with far more than property damage to a vehicle. Common damages also include personal injury expenses such as medical costs, lost income, and diminished earning capacity due to disability. Often, it also includes substantial compensation for pain and suffering.
Compensation in these claims comes from the company’s liability insurance. Even no-fault insurance states like New Jersey allow injury victims with catastrophic injuries to file lawsuits against commercial truck companies when their damages exceed their liability coverage. Proving liability requires compelling evidence of the following:
- The at-fault party owed a duty of care to others on the road to take all reasonable measures to prevent injuries
- They breached their duty of care through negligence
- Their breach of duty caused the accident
- The accident victim suffered economic and non-economic damages
Depending on the results of the investigation, liability could lie with the driver, the construction company that owns the truck, a negligent repair company, or the manufacturer of a defective dump truck part.
How Can a Truck Accident Attorney Help?
Navigating an accident claim for compensation against a dump truck driver or company requires significant experience, assertive representation, a deep knowledge base in insurance law, and access to investigative resources and medical experts. A truck accident attorney takes a results-oriented approach to achieve the best results for an injured client. Call the compassionate legal advocates at Cuneo & Leonetti today so we can take prompt action on your behalf.