During a recent Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance Brake Safety Day, a wave of surprise truck inspections revealed severe brake violations in over 500 large trucks and commercial vehicles across Canada, Mexico, and the U.S., resulting in their immediate removal from the roads.
In April, Brake Safety Day inspections resulted in 4,898 commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) being checked, with 570 of them identified for brake-related violations and taken out of service. This outcome highlights a significant risk factor in road safety, with faulty brakes clearly contributing to the potential for severe and fatal truck accidents:
- Longer Stopping Distance: Faulty brakes increase the time and distance needed to stop the truck, making it difficult to avoid collisions, especially in sudden-stop situations.
- Brake Failure: Complete brake failure can prevent the truck from slowing down or stopping, leading to catastrophic accidents.
- Skidding and Jackknifing: Malfunctioning brakes can cause the truck to skid or jackknife, where the trailer swings out to the side, potentially hitting other vehicles.
- Loss of Control: Without proper braking, a truck driver may lose control of the vehicle, causing it to veer off the road or into other lanes.
- Increased Risk on Descents: Faulty brakes are particularly dangerous on downhill slopes, where the truck can gain speed rapidly and become uncontrollable.
The sheer size and weight of commercial trucks make any failure in their braking system particularly dangerous, resulting in severe collisions that can crush smaller vehicles. Truck accidents involving faulty brakes are often devastating, leaving victims with life-changing injuries or leading to the tragic loss of a loved one. The inspections underscore the dangers of uninspected trucks.
Common Types of Truck Accident Injuries
Under federal and state law, trucking companies, drivers, and maintenance providers have a legal obligation to ensure their vehicles are safe to operate. This gives people injured in faulty brake-related truck accidents the right to seek compensation for their injuries and losses. Typically, the more severe and impactful the injuries, the more compensation an injured crash victim deserves. Common types of truck accident injuries involved in claims and lawsuits include:
- Spinal Cord Injuries: These injuries involve damage to the spinal cord, which can lead to partial or complete paralysis. Treatment often requires extensive medical care and rehabilitation, with costs that can easily reach hundreds of thousands of dollars over a lifetime.
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI): TBIs can range from concussions to severe brain damage. They often cause cognitive impairments and other long-term disabilities, with treatment that includes costly medical interventions, rehabilitation, and long-term care.
- Broken Bones: In truck accidents, broken bones can be particularly severe, often involving compound fractures where the bone pierces the skin or multiple fractures that affect different parts of the body. These injuries typically require surgeries, the insertion of metal plates or rods, and extensive physical therapy, leading to high medical bills and long recovery periods.
- Internal Injuries: Internal injuries, such as damage to organs like the liver, spleen, or lungs, are common in truck accidents due to the force of impact. These injuries are often life-threatening and require immediate surgery, followed by long-term hospitalization and ongoing medical care, all of which result in substantial expenses.
- Severe Burns: Burns from truck accidents often occur in crashes involving fires or explosions, such as those with tanker trucks. Treating severe burns can involve multiple skin grafts, reconstructive surgeries, and long-term care for pain management and rehabilitation, making the recovery process both costly and lengthy.
Truck accident injuries frequently demand extensive and expensive treatment. To avoid being shortchanged by insurance companies or those responsible, it’s important for injured crash victims and their families to be represented by lawyers with long track records of success handling 18-wheeler, tractor-trailer, and other large truck accident cases.
How an Experienced Truck Accident Lawyer Can Help
Navigating the legal challenges of a truck accident case can be overwhelming, especially when you’re dealing with the aftermath of a serious injury or loss of a loved one. But remember: By holding the responsible parties accountable, not only can you secure financial relief but you may also help prevent similar accidents from happening to others. This is where an experienced truck accident lawyer can make all the difference.
At Fried Goldberg LLC, our truck accident lawyers have a deep understanding of truck regulations and the technical aspects of brake systems. Our past case results include:
- $31 million in a case where an adult and two children were killed when a tractor-trailer rear-ended their vehicle in North Carolina.
- $2.25 million in a case where a woman needed back and neck surgery after underriding a tractor-trailer turning left in front of her in Alpharetta, Georgia.
If you’ve been injured in a truck accident and believe that brake issues played a role, we encourage you to contact us for a free case evaluation. Our experienced truck accident lawyers are dedicated to getting you the compensation and justice you deserve. We are available to hear from you 24/7. Contact us today.