When a child sustains an injury or even death involving a car and a commercial truck and tractor-trailer accident it is usually far more traumatic than suffering an injury from a two-car accident. And sustaining a severe injury involving a commercial vehicle can be legally complicated. That’s why an experienced law firm, whose attorneys have a record of success handling child injury or child death caused by trucks or tractor-trailers, should handle these types of injuries.
If your child has been injured or killed in a truck accident, you need to protect your rights. Parents or guardians of child injury truck crashes hire child injury lawyer Jeffrey Killino and his team because they know we will thoroughly investigate to ensure that our clients will receive all of the compensation they are entitled to. We employ a team of attorneys, paralegals and investigators knowledgeable about children injured in truck and tractor-trailer accidents. And we will help you fight for what is fair. Nothing is worse than losing a child—we will fight on behalf of the parents to get justice for their child.
We also understand that your child may have suffered serious, at times catastrophic, injuries, and you need a law office that will deal with the insurance companies and guide you through the maze of medical care and treatment that they face. Trucking accidents often involve multiple responsible parties and insurance companies, and obtaining compensation can be difficult. Without legal representation you’re likely to be bullied out of a fair settlement.
Make sure your child is fastened in a proper car seat. Drive Safely!
Causes Child Injury Truck and Tractor-Trailer Accidents
No one expects to get involved in a truck accident. But the most recent statistics show that 333,000 large truck wrecks occurred in the U.S. in just one year, causing 3,921 fatalities and injuring 104,000 people.
In child injury truck accident lawsuits, the defendant is typically negligence on the part of the driver or the trucking company for one reason or another. Here are five leading causes of truck accidents that can result in child injury or child death.
- Impaired drivers lose ability to control and focus: Alcohol makes your vision and hearing impaired, your reaction time and coordination slower.
- Fatigue and exhaustion also causes distracted driving and can involve drugs.
- Distracted driving, such as using a cellphone, eating and drinking while behind the wheel.
- Failing to inspect tires and brakes, Failing to secure loads, check lights, brakes and undertake other maintenance matters
- Driver Inexperience, insufficient training, or incompetence
- Speeding and aggressive driving. Accidents that involve speeding and aggressive drivers often result in serious injury and fatality.
- Overloaded and/or overweight trucks
- Mechanical failures, such as brake problems or defective tire
Employer or Manufacturer Failures Include:
- Negligent hiring, training and/or supervising truck drivers
- Negligent maintenance and overloading (the latter makes rollovers more likely)
- Negligent design, construction and/or maintenance of the trucks
- Failure to prevent driver fatigue, according to law
Other issues include debris on the road, jackknifing and load shifting.
How Truck and Tractor-Trailer Crashes Cause Child Injury or Child Death
A child involved in a truck accident is similar to any other vehicle accident – both can cause injuries in various ways. What is different, however, is the severe force of the collision and tremendous impact that trucks have on another vehicle, which likely is a car.
Types of Collisions
- Head-on Collisions occur when the truck strikes another vehicle coming from the opposite direction. The force of these accidents is catastrophic and most always cause severe injuries, including severe head injuries and/or death to everyone involved.
- Rear-end Collisions occur when the truck slams into the vehicle in front of it. The force of these accidents can also be catastrophic, with same results as head-on collisions.
- Under-ride Collisions happen when the smaller vehicle slams into the rear of the truck, and the smaller vehicle is trapped under the trailer. These horrific accidents have serious consequences for head trauma, even decapitation. Many trucks now have underride guards, which help prevent the severity of the injuries.
- Side Collisions occur when a truck crashes into the side of another vehicle, or likewise, the other vehicle crashes into the truck. The accidents often occur when one driver turns left at an intersection, fails to stop at a traffic light or stop sign, or changes lane suddenly and improperly.
- Truck Rollovers happen when the truck loses its balance. Most often these are single vehicle accident, occurring because the truck driver loses control of the truck for some reason.
- Other Collisions occur between the truck and something other than a moving vehicle, such as a pole, guardrail, animal or pedestrian.
Defective Automotive Parts
Of course, not all car accidents are the driver’s fault. Defective auto parts can result in serious accidents to children. An automotive defect or defective part can include product recalls, defective tires, or defects leading to rollovers.
Child injury lawyer Jeffrey Killino believes that companies such as auto parts manufacturers have a responsibility to American consumers and should be held accountable for making and selling defective products. Our child injury attorneys are experts at digging deep and fighting foreign manufacturers and other companies and individuals that want to save a few pennies but in the process put American’s safety at risk.
Who is At Fault in a Truck Accident?
In almost all accidents, it’s important to prove who was liable or responsible for your child’s injury– who or what caused negligence. It may seem obvious to those at the scene, but proving fault isn’t always easy for insurance companies, especially when dealing with commercial truck companies. You make a stronger case to your insurer with evidence and advice from an experienced truck accident child injury attorney or child death attorney. Our experienced attorneys determine who or what is potentially responsible for truck accidents, including any or all of the following:
- Truck Driver/Owner. The truck driver always has a legal duty to inspect and maintain his truck to ensure it is safe to drive. Regular inspection includes brakes, tires and any other maintenance.
- Trailer and Tow Owner. A person or company other than the truck driver often owns a trailer. The trailer owner has a duty to maintain, inspect and properly load the trailers before
- Truck/Trailer Leasing Company. A company that leases trucks and/or trailers is responsible to maintain, inspect the trucks, trailers, and any other leasing equipment.
- Cargo Shipper, Truck Loaders. A shipper or truck loader has a duty to load cargo that is properly secured, properly balanced and not overweight.
- Truck & Parts Manufacturers. Manufacturers are responsible if there is a defective design or part.
- Road Authorities. Federal, state or local road authorities are responsible to ensure that the design, construction, and maintenance of roads are proper and safe.
Each truck accident case is unique, just as every child’s injury is unique. The truck driver, truck owner, transport company or whoever loaded the truck may be liable. The best way to determine who is at fault is by speaking with a child injury lawyer at the Killino Firm.
