Dump trucks can transport cargo exceeding 50 tons, making them a significant presence on the roads. Due to their size and weight, these vehicles can pose serious hazards to other drivers and pedestrians. When accidents involving dump trucks occur, they can result in severe injuries or even fatalities. In such cases, it is crucial to seek the assistance of an experienced truck accident lawyer specializing in trucking law. These professionals understand the complexities of regulations governing commercial vehicles and can provide invaluable guidance in navigating the legal processes involved in seeking compensation for damages.
Background
Dump trucks are essential vehicles in the construction and transportation industries. They are primarily designed to haul loose materials like concrete, gravel, sand, soil, and debris. Several types of dump trucks exist, including standard dump trucks, tandem axles, and articulated dump trucks, each tailored for specific applications and having different weight capacities.
A standard dump truck usually features a hydraulic lift system that elevates the cargo bed to an angle, enabling it to dump its load efficiently at the desired location. The hydraulic system allows quick and easy unloading, making these vehicles highly effective for managing bulk materials on job sites. However useful dump trucks may be on a construction site, it’s essential to recognize the danger posed to other drivers on the roads. Anytime dump truck collisions occur, outcomes could be devastating.
Collisions with Other Vehicles
In a typical dump truck accident involving a smaller vehicle, the smaller vehicle is often crushed or damaged severely. The severity of the injuries sustained by the driver and passengers of the smaller vehicle largely depends on the speed of either or both vehicles at the moment of the crash, along with other contributing factors. Unfortunately, there is a higher likelihood that the occupants of the smaller vehicle will suffer serious, disabling injuries or, in some cases, be killed rather than escape the accident with only minor injuries or unscathed.
Dump trucks are taller than most other vehicles, and in a collision, the other vehicle frequently goes under the truck, causing severe injury or death to those in the car. Truck drivers do not usually sustain injuries unless the truck flips on its side, goes down an embankment, or the driver fails to utilize safety features. Given the frequency of dump truck collisions, understanding their repercussions is vital.
Additionally, these huge trucks have much bigger blind spots. Because of a high gravity center on the dumper vs the low weight of the truck’s trailer, there’s a danger of imbalance, causing the truck to move or even tip over. If an accident causes the truck to dump its load prematurely and the load lands on another vehicle, the weight of several tons of material like gravel or concrete will almost surely cause disabling injury to occupants of the other vehicle(s).
What to Do After a Crash
After any North Carolina trucking collision, seeking medical attention is the most important thing to do. Even if you cannot identify external injuries, call 911 anyway. You may be in shock; only a medical professional can assess your injuries properly. Some injuries, such as traumatic brain injury, may not be apparent for weeks or months. If your injuries are worse than initially thought, this could mean ongoing and devastating financial loss.
Because dump truck crashes have extreme consequences, one crash could mean paying millions to settle a claim or claims. Insurance companies don’t want to do this; they are in business to make a profit. The vehicle owner will immediately contact their insurer so they can send a team of investigators out to the accident site. If you are involved in dump truck collisions, be mindful of these consequences.
The insurance investigation team will arrive and begin doing what they can to avoid responsibility for paying a claim. They may discuss the collision with the police and even offer some “helpful and neighborly advice” to the police and point them in your direction as the cause of the crash. Therefore, you need an experienced attorney in your corner at a critical time of any investigation – the beginning.
Representation for Dump Truck Collisions
Maginnis Howard’s team of personal injury attorneys has decades of experience handling complex cases, including those involving victims of dump truck collisions.
We handle personal injury matters on a contingency basis, meaning that you do not pay any attorneys’ fees unless we make a recovery on your behalf. We have three conveniently located offices across the state in Raleigh, Charlotte, and Fayetteville. Visit our contact page for information about each location. You can submit an inquiry through our contact form; someone in our offices will respond as quickly as possible.
