Springfield Truck
Accident Attorneys

All traffic accidents are dangerous, but truck accidents are among the most dangerous of all. The immense size and weight of a semi help to ensure that the impact of any accident that ensues is tremendous. If you have been injured in a truck accident, don’t delay consulting with an experienced Springfield truck accident attorney.

The Truck Driver

Truck drivers are professional drivers who are held to strict safety rules and regulations, including hours-of-service restrictions. Further, truck drivers are directly responsible for driving their rigs safely in relation to the road’s condition and the traffic all around. Truck driver negligence often plays a pivotal role in dangerous truck accidents, and that negligence can take many forms, including:

• Distraction – As motorists continue to become more and more attached to their smartphones, distracted driving continues to become an even bigger problem. When a truck driver doesn’t train his or her complete attention on maneuvering the rig safely over the roadway, a life-threatening accident can be the result. Truck drivers are required to perform many important tasks behind the wheel, and when they allow themselves to become distracted by anything that is nonessential, they put everyone on the roadway at increased risk.
• Impairment – Drinking and driving is always a terrible decision, but when the person imbibing in alcohol is a truck driver, it’s that much worse. The law takes a very dim view of impaired truck drivers. 
• Aggression – Aggression behind the wheel is exceptionally dangerous, and when the wheel happens to be attached to an 80,000-pound fully loaded semi-truck, the results can be catastrophic. The hallmark of aggressive driving is engaging in multiple unsafe driving practices in quick succession – or simultaneously – including darting in and out of lanes, tailgating, baiting other drivers, ignoring traffic signs and signals, refusing to yield the right-of-way, passing illegally, and more. When the vehicle tailing you is a truck – or the driver baiting you is a trucker – it can be terrifying. Truckers are professional drivers, and they should not allow aggression to interfere with their professional responsibility to drive safely.
• Speed – Speed plays far too prominent a role in many, many life-threatening traffic accidents, and when the vehicle barreling toward you on the interstate is a massive semi, it is terrifying. Trucks require more time to come to safe stops, and when speed increases, so too does that stopping time. Increased speed translates to increased injuries in any ensuing accidents. Further, truckers are responsible for driving at safe speeds – relative to the condition of the road ahead, including the effects of bad weather, visibility, traffic, and much more. Not exceeding the speed limit does not mean that the trucker is driving at a safe speed. 
• Exhaustion – Drowsiness has many of the same physical effects as alcohol does. It leaves us groggy, less attentive, unable to focus clearly, and more. Drowsy truckers are dangerous truckers. Because the trucking industry is so bustling, however, truck drivers are sometimes pushed to drive outside the boundaries of hours-of-service regulations, which are put in place to help curtail accidents caused by drowsy truckers. The fact that truckers earn their livings by putting miles behind them can also motivate them to bypass required breaks and rest periods. Regardless of the reason, however, truck drivers are responsible for driving safely, including adhering to all rules and regulations related to hours-of-service.

Negligent truckers make our roads less safe.

Your Damages

The damages associated with truck accidents can be astronomical, including all of the following categories:

• Medical Costs – Your medical bills can range from emergency transportation to surgery and hospitalization, ongoing treatment, rehabilitation, and beyond. Serious injuries can also lead to secondary health concerns in your future.
• Lost Wages – A serious injury can lead to a serious wage decrease and can negatively affect your earning potential into the future.
• Pain and Suffering – The physical and emotional trauma associated with a life-threatening truck accident can be overwhelming – and even debilitating. 

Seek the Professional Legal Counsel of a Springfield Truck Accident Attorney

If you have been injured by a truck driver’s negligence, your damages are likely to be immense. The dedicated Springfield truck accident attorneys at Malman Law take great pride in their ability to help clients like you fully recover for their losses, and we are committed to helping you, too. Our savvy legal team is on your side, so please don’t hesitate to contact us for more information today.

Other Springfield practice areas: