Truck Accidents: Big Trucks Moving at Fast Speeds

Hammond, INA judge has recently approved a $2.8 million settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit, filed after a 22-year-old woman was killed in an accident with a semi truck. The accident occurred when the woman stopped behind a concrete truck but the tractor-trailer behind her failed to stop. The truck collided with the car, pushing the car into the concrete truck and causing the car to burst into flames.

A recent accident involving a semi truck occurred under similar circumstances in Indiana. The accident happened when a semi truck came upon a traffic slowdown but failed to stop in time. The tractor-trailer rear-ended a PT Cruiser, pushing it into a guardrail. The truck then hit an SUV, pushing that vehicle forward, and then hit a pickup truck. The semi truck finally jackknifed, trapping the PT Cruiser between the tractor and the trailer parts of the truck. The driver of the Cruiser, a 38-year-old woman, was pronounced dead at a local medical center. Other crash victims suffered injuries of varying severity.

Semi trucks can be deadly on the highways. A major problem with such vehicles is that, because of their size, they are difficult to slow down. Semi trucks require a much longer time than smaller vehicles to come to a stop, especially if they are traveling at a high rate of speed. Because of this, it is vital that their brakes are working properly and their drivers are paying full attention to the road ahead of them.

The fact is, even in the best of times on roadways vehicles have to come to a stop very quickly and with little warning. This puts people in front of semi trucks at risk of a serious accident if the truck is driving too quickly, following too closely or does not have properly maintained brakes. Semi trucks cannot, as the saying goes, "stop on a dime." They require much more time to brake and come to a stop, making it important that everything in the truck, driver included, is properly working.

Semi truck accidents often involve companies from various states, multiple vehicles and a lot of evidence to sift through in order to determine liability. If you or someone you love was harmed in a semi truck accident, contact an experienced lawyer, who can help ensure that all parties responsible for the accident are held accountable.