Boulder Truck Accident Attorneys

What Catastrophic Injuries Might Happen in a Truck Accident?

Because commercial vehicles are so large, they can cause devastating injuries that require surgery, hospitalization, and months of rehabilitation. Truck accidents can often cause:

• Severe soft-tissue injuries that sever ligaments or tendons
• Second and third-degree burns
• Amputations
• Spinal cord injuries that compromise movement and sensation or result in paralysis
• Traumatic brain injuries that impair reasoning, speech, movement, and cognition

A large number of people also die every year in collisions with trucks. According to federal statistics, approximately 4,400 buses and large trucks were involved in fatal crashes in 2016.

If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a crash due to someone else’s carelessness, you deserve compensation. At the Tenge Law Firm, LLC, we have obtained money damages for a variety of losses, including:

• Medical expenses to treat the injury
• Lost wages
• Lost future wages
• Physical pain
• Emotional distress
• Reduced quality of life
• Physical impairment
• Disfigurement

It is difficult for many injured motorists to accurately estimate the amount of compensation they need to cover their injury-related expenses and losses, now and in the future. In addition to economic losses, non-economic losses like pain and suffering, emotional distress, and impairment or disfigurement are inherently subjective and challenging to prove. Nevertheless, our firm has extensive experience maximizing the amount of compensation our clients recover for both economic non-economic losses.

Injured motorists should not assume that their injuries are too minor to warrant investigation. Injuries like broken bones and cuts or lacerations can develop a host of complications that can require hospitalization and surgery to correct. Trust an experienced truck accident lawyer to identify whether you have a valid legal claim and protect your rights.

What Are Some Types of Truck Accidents?

We see several common types of truck accidents, including:

• Overrides. If a passenger vehicle stops suddenly or pulls in front of a truck unexpectedly, the big rig can ride up on top of the passenger vehicle. In serious cases, the truck crushes the trunk and back seat of the vehicle, endangering the lives of any back seat passengers.
• Underrides. If a truck stops suddenly, a vehicle following behind might be unable to brake in time. As a result, a passenger vehicle may drive under the trailer and become stuck underneath. Underrides often sheer the top off passenger cars and are frequently fatal to those riding in the front seats.
• Jackknifes. A jackknife occurs when trailer brakes fail or unsecured loads shift when the cab brakes, such that the trailer swings sideways to the cab. The trailer can swing over several lanes of traffic, swiping other vehicles.
• Rollovers. When cargo is not loaded properly, the trailer can become unstable and tip onto its side. Rollovers also happen when trucks travel in windy conditions. Other vehicles often collide when trucks roll over on the road, blocking traffic lanes.
• Cargo spills. If the driver has not properly restrained the cargo, it can fall out of the trailer. With dump trucks and other open haulers, cargo can also fly off the top when the truck is traveling at high speeds. Motorists can suffer injuries when directly struck by the cargo, or in crashes caused from swerving to avoid it.

Regardless of how it happens, a truck accident all too often causes fatalities or leaves victims facing catastrophic injuries requiring extensive medical treatment and upending lives.

What Are Some Reasons Truck Accidents Happen?

According to a study by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), driver error contributes to over 80% of all large truck crashes. Common critical reasons that lead to truck accidents include:

• The driver was traveling too fast for the conditions.
• The driver lacked familiarity with the road.
• The driver was using over-the-counter medication that impaired performance.
• The driver did not perform adequate surveillance while driving.
• The driver was fatigued.
• The driver was distracted.
• The driver followed too closely.

Unfortunately, many trucking companies compound the risks of truck driving by putting pressure on drivers to exceed maximum driving times or a safe speed. In some accidents, trucking companies are just as responsible for the accident as the truck driver.

Another 10% of accidents are caused by a malfunctioning part of the tractor-trailer, such as malfunctioning brakes. In these accidents, you might be able to hold either the manufacturer of the defective part, the company that assembled the truck, or the truck mechanic responsible for the injury.

Steps to Take After a Truck Accident in Colorado

Evidence in Commercial Truck Accidents

Trucking companies aggressively defend lawsuits and will usually have an investigator on the scene of the accident within an hour. As these investigators begin building a case to insulate the company from legal liability, injured victims need someone in their corner who can level the playing field.

At the Tenge Law Firm, LLC, our team knows how to build a case against a trucking company from the ground up. Evidence we investigate in a trucking accident includes:

• Log books kept by the driver
• Electronic logging device (ELD) data on how many hours the driver was driving and any movements the truck made before the crash
• Surveillance video or footage from onboard cameras
• Eyewitness testimony
• Evidence found by the police, such as prescription or illegal drugs in the cab
• The trucker’s driving record, training, supervision, drug tests, and prior incidents
• The driver’s cell phone records to determine if the driver was distracted

One reason to hire a truck accident lawyer is to identify what evidence is available in your case and how to obtain it.

Speak With a Truck Accident Lawyer in Boulder

If you’ve been injured or lost a loved one in an accident because of the negligence of a trucking company or driver, justice requires compensation to cover the extensive costs of your injuries and losses. At the Tenge Law Firm, LLC, we have obtained multiple jury awards and settlements for clients injured by commercial trucks. To begin the process, contact us today at (303) 665-2929 to schedule your free consultation. We don’t get paid until you get paid, so there is no reason to delay.