Commercial trucking accidents are responsible for thousands of injuries and deaths every year in the United States. With so much commercial trucking traffic moving through Louisiana on a daily basis, the potential for 18-wheeler accidents is high. Some of the 5 common causes of 18-wheeler accidents include:

1) Driver Fatigue – Unrealistic schedules and expectations of trucking companies encourage drivers to speed to their destinations without breaking or resting, causing physical or mental exhaustion and stress on the driver. Fatigue combined with speeding, poor weather conditions, and other factors, can increase the risk of a crash.

2) Overweight or Unbalanced Truck Loads – “Overweight” truck loads can cause a tire blowout, rollovers from an increase center of gravity, and an increase in speed, making it difficult to slow down and/or stop the truck. That often occurs when the truck is traveling downhill. “Unbalanced” truck loads cause the weight of the truck to shift to the rear, making it difficult for the truck driver to control the vehicle’s movement and speed.

3) Cellphones & Text Messaging – Talking or texting on cellphones can cause the truck driver to take his/her eyes off the road and become distracted from the road conditions.

4) Inadequate Training – In most situations, driver trainees have approximately 5 days in the classroom to soak-in information for the first time, about safety, mechanical procedures, and logging requirements. Thereafter, the truck driver spends just a few hours learning about inspections and test driving, before taking the truck weighing nearly 80,000 pounds, through highly trafficked areas, moving at high rates of speed. Lack of adequate training on how to handle such a vehicle and how to react to the various roadway conditions often presented, are ingredients for destruction and devastation.

5) Truck Driver Drug & Alcohol Use – Recent data collected by the Federal Motor Safety Administration of crashes between passenger vehicles and large trucks within 17 states, revealed that 3,757 deaths occurred, and 88,000 injuries were sustained by individuals involved. The data also revealed that alcohol and illegal drug use by truck drivers while behind the wheel was prevalent and a significant cause of many of those accidents.

Regardless of why trucking accidents occur, they can cause horrible injuries and even death. Because truck accident injuries are so often catastrophic and disabling, the cost of medical treatment, rehabilitation, equipment and possibly lifetime care can be extremely high. If poor maintenance or defective equipment played a role in causing an accident that results in serious injury or the wrongful death of your loved one, you may have more options and sources for financial recovery. Compensation from the trucking company and its insurer, or other responsible parties, can go a long way toward making life easier for your family and your injured family member after a serious truck crash.

The Russell Law Firm represents injured victims of 18-wheeler, trucking, and car wrecks throughout the State of Louisiana. Our firm is experienced and highly skilled in handling injury and wrongful death claims arising from 18-wheeler, trucking, and car wrecks. If you or someone you know has suffered injuries from an 18-wheeler, trucking, or car wreck, make the Right Call, Right Now and contact the Russell Law Firm, at 225-307-0088. We’ll take a fierce but personal approach towards getting you the compensation you deserve.

**Information furnished herein is only general and not a substitute for personalized legal advice.

By: Danny Russell, Baton Rouge area personal injury attorney, licensed in Louisiana and admitted in the following courts:

– All Louisiana District Courts
– All Louisiana Appellate Courts
– Louisiana Supreme Court
– U.S. Middle District Court of Louisiana
– U.S. Western District Court of Louisiana
– U.S. Eastern District Court of Louisiana
– U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

****THE PHOTOGRAPH ABOVE IS NOT A DEPICTION OF ANY ACTUAL EVENT OR SCENE, BUT MERELY A DRAMATIZATION.