Personal Injury: Truck Accidents

Why Are Truck Accidents So Lethal?

“Most deaths in large truck crashes are passenger vehicle occupants,” according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). ⁽³⁾ The institute explains, “The main problem is the vulnerability of people traveling in smaller vehicles. Trucks often weigh 20-30 times as much as passenger cars and are taller with greater ground clearance.” ⁽⁴⁾

In 2022, 70% of the fatalities from large truck crashes were people who were not in the truck itself, indicates U.S. Department of Transportation data. ⁽⁵⁾ This is largely due to the “relative size differences between the vehicles involved,” explains the ATA. ⁽⁶⁾

Truck Injury Crashes

Although truck accidents often result in fatalities, not all crashes are fatal. When truck crashes do not cause deaths, there still are significant injuries.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reports there were approximately 101,000 injury crashes involving large trucks in one year. ⁽⁷⁾

Crashes take both a physical and financial toll on crash victims. Having a knowledgeable truck accident lawyer can help. Weitz & Luxenberg’s truck accident attorneys are part of a team which has been successfully filing personal injury legal cases for more than three decades.

Truck Accident Lawyers

Whether you were hit by a truck or were driving a truck when a crash occurred, you should consider all of your legal options for compensation. A truck accident lawyer can help you explore the causes of the crash and determine any compensation from the accident that you may be entitled to get for your injuries.

One consideration in how to proceed with your case is based upon the type of truck involved. Trucks are often classified as large, medium, or small. This classification is based upon weight as determined in the truck’s gross vehicular weight rating (GVWR).

GVWR is the maximum allowable weight a vehicle was engineered to carry by the manufacturer. The weight rating is regulated by the U.S. government. For more information about GVWR visit The Association For The Work Truck Industry.

Some of the most common types of truck accidents are:

• Cement truck accident.
• Dump truck accident.
• Fire truck accident.
• Garbage truck accident.
• Log truck accident.
• Semitruck accident.
• Tanker truck accident.
• Tow truck accident.
• Delivery service truck accident.

Semitruck Accident Lawyer

A semitruck accident lawyer handles cases when the truck is a semi, also called a tractor trailer. These trucks are large and heavy, with trailers half supported by their own wheels.

You may often see these trucks on the road carrying products from one state to another. They are often quite long and travel at highway speeds.

Causes of Truck Accidents

Truck accidents are complex, with many risk factors at play. In fact, there may be no single cause of an accident. “Many factors can contribute to a serious truck crash, and the circumstances surrounding each one can be unique,” says one trucking insurance company. ⁽⁸⁾

Factors affecting crashes include: ⁽⁹⁾

• Distraction.
• Driver turnover.
• Fatigue.
• Following too closely.
• Inexperience.
• Risk-taking behavior.
• Speeding.
• Vehicle design. 

N.Y. Truck Accident Statistics

Statistics for New York state truck accidents underscore the point. According to the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research (ITSMR), there were 16,801 large truck crashes across the state of New York in 2023. ⁽¹⁰⁾

ITSMR indicates crashes in which no contributing factors were reported totaled 873. Crashes with one or more contributing factors reported were 14,850. ⁽¹¹⁾

Of crashes reported, ITSMR found 13,078 crashes were due to human factors. Vehicular factors accounted for 1,691 crashes. Environmental factors accounted for 1,725 crashes. ⁽¹²⁾

“As human factors are greatly linked to the psycho-social make-up of an individual, driver behavior plays a dominant role in controlling vehicular movement in a traffic situation,” says one traffic and transportation engineering review article. “In this sphere, trucks and the truck driver behavior operating in a complex road-traffic interface grant a potential inclination to road accidents.” ⁽¹³⁾

Truck-Car Crashes Are Most Common

Many fatal and serious injury crashes involving a truck also involve at least one car. “The preponderance of research studies find that car drivers are principally at-fault in approximately three-quarters (70-75%) of fatal car-truck crashes,” says the ATA. ⁽¹⁴⁾

On the other hand, “it does appear in nonfatal truck-passenger vehicle crashes that truck drivers may contribute somewhat more than passenger vehicle drivers,” noted a University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute Review. ⁽¹⁵⁾

Unlike car accidents which involve two automobiles, accidents that occur between cars and trucks may have different legal aspects that need to be considered.

Truck accident attorneys, such as the team at W&L, can’t prevent your accident, but we can do something about it. We can provide knowledgeable and experienced legal representation to help you receive compensation for your suffering.

Truck Accident Attorneys

From settlements to verdicts, Weitz & Luxenberg has a record of successful litigation on behalf of clients.

W&L won a $20.5 million verdict, as well as approximately $3 million in past and future medical expenses, on behalf of a man who was the victim of a hit-and-run car accident and was paralyzed for life.

W&L secured a settlement of $1.4 million for a woman struck by an ambulance in Manhattan. The 75-year-old Manhattan resident was struck while in a crosswalk then transported to the hospital by the very ambulance that hit her.

What To Do If You Are in a Truck Accident

If you are in a truck accident you should immediately do the following:

• Call the police.
• Call for medical assistance.
• Document the scene, e.g., take pictures with your cell phone.
• Exchange contact information with the other driver.
• Exercise self-control: your words may have negative impact.
• Do not post to social media.

If you or a family member has been injured or killed in the accident, contact a truck accident attorney as soon as possible.