Semi Truck Accidents

Phoenix Semi-Truck Accident Attorney

Americans rely on the trucking industry to deliver many of the goods they use every single day, from the foods they eat to the clothes they wear to the fuel that powers their vehicles. Commercial trucks, in fact, move about 70% of all U.S. domestic freight. The industry rakes in close to $650 billion per year—good for around 4% of U.S. GDP.

But our national dependence on tractor trailers comes at a price. Semi-trucks are among the most dangerous vehicles on the road, responsible for a disproportionate number of fatal crashes.

The sheer size of an 18-wheeler—which may carry a 53-foot trailer and weigh up to 80,000 lb..—explains in part the danger it poses to much-smaller motor vehicles. Many trucking companies, however, by adopting unsafe business models that incentive dangerous driving and unsafe vehicles, make trucks unreasonably dangerous.

While the size of trucks all but assure severe accident injuries in the event of a collision with one, the size of many of the companies that employ truckers makes dealing with a trucking accident complicated. Truck companies have investigators, insurance adjusters and lawyers protecting their interests. They are oftentimes called to the scene within minutes of the accident to begin preparing their defense to your claim! Shouldn’t you have somebody looking out for you?

Resendez Injury Law Group is in your corner. We handle personal injury cases exclusively in order to better serve the needs of injured clients. Count on personalized, honest and aggressive representation aimed at securing maximum compensation for your Arizona truck accident injuries.

To learn more, or to schedule a free case review, call (602) 824-9444 or send us an online message.

The Dangers of 18-Wheelers

After the number of large truck crashes reached historic nationwide lows in 2009, they’ve steadily been on the rise. In a recent year, 333,000 large trucks were involved in traffic crashes that killed 3,921 people and injured 104,000.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), large trucks account for 4 percent of all registered vehicles and 9 percent of all vehicle miles traveled, yet they account for 8 percent of all vehicles in fatal crashes. Not surprisingly, passenger vehicle occupants are the ones who suffer most in large truck crashes. Only 18% of people killed and 24% of people injured in truck accidents are occupants of large trucks.

Arizona Truck Accident Figures

Arizona is home to some busy trucking routes for goods moving from Southern California to the rest of the United States and from Mexico to the U.S. and Canada.

In a typical year in Arizona around 2,500 large truck are involved in crashes. These crashes, although they represent only 1.2% of all Arizona crashes, account for 7% of all Arizona roadway fatalities.

Large Truck Safety Violations

The American Association for Justice (AAJ) reports that more than 200,000 commercial trucks are operating in violation of federal safety laws—and that is likely an underestimate.

These violations include things like bad tires, defective brakes, excessive loads and drivers with improper training and a history of substance abuse.

Cutting corners is a way for truck companies to maximize profits. By overloading and under servicing vehicles, and by paying drivers by the mile (thus encouraging them to drive virtually non-stop), companies are running afoul of the very federal safety measures that were put in place to protect Americans.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the federal body charged with overseeing truck safety, uncovered during a recent roadside safety sweep over 7 million violations. But based on the number of large trucks on the roads (more than 9 million trucks travel U.S. roads each year), for every dangerous truck FMCSA finds, there are probably several more that roar on to their destination unchallenged.

The Importance of an Experienced Phoenix Truck Accident Attorney

Truck accident cases are about as different from car accident cases as semi-trucks are from sedans.

In a typical truck accident liability could fall on the driver, the driver’s employer, the truck owner, the trailer owner, the company that loaded the trailer, the company that maintains the vehicle, and others.

Each of these parties is potentially liable for a truck accident, but you can be sure there will be plenty of buck-passing and blame-denial among them. Haggling with one insurance company can be hard enough. When multiple insurers are involved, the overall recovery potential for the injured party increases—but so does case complexity.

Keeping track of all the potential players in a truck accident case and dealing with their insurers requires an attorney who’s handled these types of cases before. If you’re dealing with severe accident injuries or the death of a loved one, you can’t afford a legal misstep.

Legal Help From an Experienced Arizona Truck Accident Attorney

Resendez Injury Law Group has helped many Arizona families collect the money they need to move on after a truck accident. If you or a loved one was injured or killed in a truck accident, it’s important that you speak with Rudy Resendez right away due to the time-sensitivity of 18-wheeler cases.

From the moment you contact us for a free case review until your case is resolved you’ll have 1-on-1 access to an experienced attorney who believes in providing honest, personalized and compassionate service. Call (602) 824-9444 to speak with an attorney now.

From our Phoenix offices we serve clients in Peoria, Avondale, Goodyear, Buckeye, Surprise, Mesa, Scottsdale, Chandler, Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek and all other areas of Arizona including Flagstaff, Yuma and Gila Bend.

Sources:

• Arizona Department of Transportation: Motor Vehicle Crash Facts (2013)
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: Traffic Safety Facts—Large Trucks (2012)
• American Association for Justice: Truck Safety Alert: The Rising Danger from Trucks, and How to Stop It
• SelectUSA: The Logistics and Transportation Industry in the United States