Lawsuits Against Semi-Trucks for Injuries Involved in Right Turn Accidents
In 2017, the most recent year for which figures are available, more than 4,100 individuals perished in truck accidents throughout the country. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute, the vast majority, 68 percent, were in cars or other passenger cars.
Seventeen percent of those murdered were in trucks, and fourteen percent were on foot, on motorbikes, or bicycles when the accidents occurred.
Because of the size and weight of commercial vehicles, any form of a truck accident may be deadly or result in severe injuries. An eighteen-wheeler can carry up to 40 tons of cargo.
When comparing the weight of a light truck to that of a car, the term “light truck” is a bit of a misnomer. Light trucks may weigh up to five tons. Cars, on the other hand, weigh roughly 1.5 tons. Even a pickup truck or van is just around two tons.
A wide right turn is the cause of one of the most prevalent forms of truck accidents. Wide right turns are extremely hazardous because they may produce head-on or side-impact accidents or even trap cars between the truck and the opposite lane. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a truck accident, speak with a knowledgeable truck accident lawyer right away to learn about your legal options.
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Why Do Truck Accidents Occur When Making a Wide Right Turn?
When you consider what a truck must do to make a right turn, it’s simple to see why wide right turn truck accidents occur often. A commercial large rig’s design and size make right-hand turns very difficult. It’s a straightforward action, yet a car driver is turning a tiny form properly. On the other hand, a truck may reach a length of 50 feet or more, which is far longer than a car.
Right Turn Accidents: What They Are and How They Happen
A driver must swing the car to the left first before making a wide right turn. When a car swings too far to the left, the first wide right turn collision occurs. It can cross into the left lane and collide with cars.
The second form of collision occurs when a car fails to turn far enough to the left before turning right. Failure to swing left enough may result in a rollover, which is another dangerous truck accident in which the car turns over.
Rollovers may have serious effects, such as goods spilling into the road or fires caused by combustible cargo or the truck’s massive fuel tanks. If the left swing isn’t strong enough, the car might run off the road.
On a route with two right-turn lanes, the third form may arise. The car may drift into the second-turn lane as it turns. An car in that lane risks being crushed or trapped by the turning truck.
To express a desire to turn right, the truck’s driver should, of course, use a turn signal. On the other hand, many car drivers are unaware that turning right on a large rig or tractor-trailer requires swinging left first. Consequently, individuals may be unaware of the need to allow the car enough room.
A trucker’s lack of familiarity with the region, particularly driving on minor roads rather than motorways, might heighten the risk of wide right-turn accidents. Trucks transport close to 80% of all freight in the US, and truckers often travel between states. The path may take them through places they’ve never been before.
Maps may not always alert people that a large rural road narrows when it passes into a residential or commercial area. Narrow roadways may be challenging for truckers to negotiate.
Truckers are educated on how to avoid making a wrong turn.
Even for a well-trained and experienced driver, wide right turns are tough to execute. Because these turns vary greatly from those in a car, they should always be part of the business driver’s license application process (CDL).
As part of the CDL application in Colorado, which includes testing on the contents of the Colorado CDL Handbook, drivers are particularly educated on how to turn a truck right.
In our state, obtaining a CDL license requires passing several skills tests and a series of hands-on observations of the driver, including testing and monitoring their ability to make right-hand turns. A CDL driver should know how to safely perform a wide right turn.
Truck Drivers Who Aren’t Qualified or Haven’t Been Trained
However, for various reasons, trucking businesses are increasingly relying on unlicensed drivers. To begin with, truck drivers are in limited supply throughout the country. Currently, the sector is short 50,000 licensed drivers; a figure anticipated to rise in the future.
If CDL-qualified drivers are unavailable, companies may resort to non-qualified drivers. Second, some businesses may believe they can pay unlicensed drivers less and recruit them.
For each of these reasons, trucking businesses may be attempting to complete trips with drivers who are not licensed and may not even have prior trucking experience. Making a right-hand turn and managing a truck’s sophisticated air brakes are only two examples where trucks vary greatly from cars and other cars. These factors may contribute to truck accidents involving a broad right-hand turn.
In a wide right turn truck accident, how can you figure out who is at fault?
If you or a loved one was hurt or died in a truck accident, you might be entitled to compensation. Who would be responsible for making the payment? It is contingent upon who is legally responsible for the accident.
Who or what caused the accident determines culpability in all accidents. The motorist might be held liable if, for example, he or she failed to turn correctly, failed to use his right turn signal, or failed to examine blind areas effectively.
However, determining who is to blame in a truck collision is often difficult. For example, if the driver lacks a CDL, the trucking firm may be held partially or entirely accountable for failing to properly screen and train its drivers.
Inadequate Truck Upkeep
Poor truck maintenance may also contribute to wide right turn truck accidents. The federal government requires trucking businesses to check and repair their cars regularly. They must take action.
Any piece that has to be fixed should be fixed. Defective or failed brakes may cause a right turn accident, tires, or steering systems, as well as other maintenance issues.
Cargo Loading on a Truck That Isn’t Up To Snuff
In addition, trucks must be loaded appropriately. Cargo that is excessively heavy or imbalanced for the truck might make it difficult to drive and much more difficult to stop or slow down. Improper loading may cause rollovers and lead to right-hand turn accidents.
If the trucking business or subcontractors contracted to undertake the maintenance or loading were to blame for the accident, the trucking firm or subcontractors might be held liable.
Poor design or flaws in the truck’s parts and components might also result in an accident. Defective tires may cause tire blowouts, for example. If these circumstances create an accident, the manufacturer or supplier may be held liable.
Preventing Truck Accidents is a Legal Obligation
According to the law, all of these parties owe a duty of care to those who use the country’s roadways. A driver’s duty of care is to always drive safely and by all rules and regulations. Operating safe cars is a company’s responsibility of care.
To satisfy their duty of care, they must regularly examine, maintain, and repair cars. The responsibility of a manufacturer is to make safe and dependable goods. The responsibility of a supplier is to provide items that are both safe and dependable.
These parties have legally broken their duty of care if they do not fulfill it. They may be held legally accountable for damages if a breach of duty of care caused the accident.
How Can a Lawyer Assist Me in Getting Compensation for a Wide Right Turn Accident? When You Leave the No-Fault Zone.
No-fault insurance is required in Colorado
As most Coloradans are aware. You don’t have to worry about accountability or blame when you have no-fault insurance since your insurance company pays for the losses.
Medical payments coverage (MedPay) is required for all Colorado drivers (MedPay). Your insurance reimburses you for economic losses, such as medical costs, if involved in an accident.
MedPay also pays you for lost income if you cannot work as a result of accident-related injuries. Colorado law also mandates that drivers carry $10,000 in property damage liability (PDL) insurance to cover damage to their car or other property due to an accident.
However, if your injuries are serious, considerations of blame and accountability become crucial. Medical expenses and missed pay from severe injuries may easily exceed $10,000, and truck accidents often result in much more.
Severe Injuries from a Truck Accident
Colorado law permits victims of serious injuries to file a court claim for both monetary and non-monetary damages, such as pain and suffering, outside of the no-fault system. Non-economic damages aren’t covered by no-fault insurance, and individuals can’t sue for them unless they’ve suffered serious harm as defined by the law.
At least one of the following injuries qualifies as a serious injury:
Bones that have been broken or fractured (s)
Severe asymmetry
Loss of use of a physical part or organ for the rest of one’s life
A significant restriction on the ability to employ a bodily function or system
An injury that leaves you unable to work for 90 days or more.
Keep track of any medical appointments connected to an accident if you were harmed in one. Emergency rooms, ambulance transportation, doctor’s offices, hospitals, pharmacies, physical therapy, and other facilities are examples.
NEGOTIATING With Insurance COMPANIES
As specified above, victims who have suffered a significant injury may file a third-party claim with the liable entity’s insurance carrier.
For various reasons, negotiating with an insurance provider after a transportation accident may be challenging. To begin with, every insurance company has a financial incentive to pay out as little money as possible. They want to safeguard their insured from responsibility since it increases their earnings.
Consequently, insurance firms have become quite proficient in both denying and minimizing claims. They may argue that the wounded person is entirely or partially at fault, that the accident occurred differently than it did, or that the injuries were not caused by the event.
Second, trucking accident insurance is sometimes exceedingly difficult to understand. Each potentially liable party—including the firm, subcontractor, manufacturer, and driver—could be covered by a separate insurance provider or line of coverage. Each has its own set of terminologies, which might be rather different.
In negotiating with an insurance provider, like in a court case, having an attorney on your side is crucial.
By looking into the accident and the factors that led to it, you may learn more about what happened.
Because the reasons for a truck accident may be so complicated, an investigation is often required. As part of their team, lawyers typically use detectives and expert witnesses. Investigators may get data, such as police reports, from various sources (including federal and state agencies that commonly investigate truck accidents).
Witnesses may be questioned. They may check the area for security cameras and collect video if any are there. Expert witnesses may testify about the causes of accidents and the factors that contribute to them.
Defending Your Objectivities
Even though trucks may cause catastrophic damage in accidents, the injured person may be partly or entirely at fault. Even if you are not at blame, defendants in court and insurance companies might attempt to depict you as such.
Did you make a rapid shift into an area where the driver couldn’t see you due to the truck’s enormous blind spots? Opposing factions can attempt to sabotage one other’s efforts.
Claim that you are a fault since the action was so sudden. Victim responsibility charges may be used to dismiss or diminish a claim in an insurance claim.
Obtain the services of a knowledgeable truck accident lawyer.
Using the facts of the case, a lawyer may effectively argue and bargain. Contact a professional attorney with expertise in wide right turn truck accidents immediately to defend your interests.