Determining whether you have a personal injury claim in Miami or your Florida community often stems from understanding what caused your traffic collision in the first place. This is because you need to be able to determine whether negligence played a role in the crash. According to statistics, the most common causes of trucking accidents include:
1) Mechanical failure. Mechanical failure can stem from defective brakes or tires. In these cases, it may be possible to pursue a products liability claim in Miami or your community against the manufacture of the defective truck or truck part. However, not all tire blowouts in Miami and other instances of mechanical failure stem from poor design or from manufacturing flaws. In some cases, poor maintenance leads to roadway accidents. For example, truck carriers and drivers may fail to replace worn tires, may fail to load cargo correctly, or may fail to act on warning signs of maintenance issues. In these situations, the truck carrier or driver may be held partly liable if their recklessness leads to a roadway collision.
2) Driver error. A study conducted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) found that driver error contributes to about 88% of trucking collisions, with fatigued driving being a leading cause of error.
3) Cargo problems. Incorrectly loaded or secured cargo may fall from the truck, leading to chain reaction collisions in Miami or other communities. Incorrectly balanced or inadequately secured loads can shift during transport, putting big rigs and tractor trailers at risk for rollovers.
4) Bad weather. Adverse weather conditions can make it harder for truck drivers to stop in time to avoid a collision and poor weather can also affect visibility, which can contribute to a collision. Even in these cases, however, it is important to ask questions. For example, did poor road design contribute to the collision? Did the truck’s wipers and other systems function correctly to compensate for the weather? In some cases, an investigation shows that even trucking collisions seemingly caused by weather conditions were in fact preventable.
5) Other motorists. Some statistics show that negligent drivers in passenger cars contribute to trucking collisions. In fact, some safety experts note that drivers of passenger cars are more likely to cause roadway crashes than truck drivers, who do have more extensive training and often more driving experience.
If you have been in a trucking collision, it is important to get answers about what caused your collision and about who the liable parties may be. You may wish to contact a personal injury attorney to discuss your legal options and to get answers. A personal injury attorney can review the facts of your case and may also launch an investigation into the collision to find out what led to the crash.
Have you been injured in a trucking collision? Are you wondering where to turn? You can always contact Flaxman Law Group for a free case review to discuss your situation and your injuries with one of our personal injury attorneys.