Truck accidents and seeking compensation
It has been revealed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration that every day, truck accidents cause injuries well beyond broken bones and bruises.
Recent predictions released by the organisation show that around 80 injuries are sustained per 100 miles travelled. In the past few years, this resulted in over 2.4 million personal injuries, with many going on to filing injury claims. A high portion of these injuries involved the neck and spinal cord.
With truck accidents having devastating effects on roads and victims, there has been a call to ban rigs, after a runaway truck killed two people in California recently.
The 90-day ban covers Angeles Crest Highway with new signs that have been erected warning truck drivers with five axles or more, that they are no longer allowed on the Highway.
In England, many truck drivers are viewed as unpopular as well, and a Wigan motorway interchange which has been named one of the worst junctions in the UK has not helped with this image either.
The interchange witnesses several truck accidents a year, with one truck bringing the traffic to a standstill after it overturned full of cabbages on the M6 southbound slip road recently.
A spokesman for the council said of the matter: "We recognise that it is an area where drivers have to take special care and there is signage to tell motorists to do so.”
Badly designed junctions are also thought to be a major influence in crashes. 58% of all UK road accidents are due to poorly designed roads, and an Autoglass survey revealed that 82% of women felt nervous and scared when approaching or driving on a poorly designed junction.
“Badly designed junctions can cause serious accidents and much driver concern,” said Nigel Doggett, managing director of Autoglass.
Lorries and Trucks are the largest and heaviest form of transport on UK roads and motorways, therefore the extent of damage can be great.
When looking at the figures, it is easy to see why there are hundreds of no win no fee claims made each year by people who have suffered personal injuries in road accidents involving lorries and trucks.
Every day there are thought to be around 110,000 lorries travelling on the roads, with 400 people dying each year as a result of a collision with a truck or lorry.
A large portion of those left bereaved by these crashes go on to make a no win no fee claim for the pain, suffering, loss and grief they experience in a losing a loved one. In contrast, many survivors go on to make compensation claims for the injuries they have received due to the accident.
The Freight Transport Association (FTA) admitted that whilst lorries are “heavily regulated and well operated”, there are a minority of drivers who ignore regulations and pay little attention to safety regulations.
A spokesperson from the FTA said: “Offending operators and drivers should be the subject of intensive enforcement and must have no place to hide in the UK. They must be removed from UK roads.”
Alex Boxall, a lawyer said: “The small numbers who do cause accidents must face whatever professional and criminal sanction the appropriate authorities deem necessary. In addition, their insurers have an obligation to pay out personal injury compensation to anyone affected who finds it necessary to make a no win, no fee claim.”
Updated on 08/04/2009