Traffic accidents involving large trucks are almost always serious. On a snow-blanketed highway last January 23, 4:27 AM, a 58-year old driver was at the wheel of a tractor-trailer northbound on Route 222 when his truck collided with another sending one truck up an embankment and the other skidding to a halt on the side of the road. The 58-year old driver was killed at the scene and the other driver was unharmed. While it was determined that the driver who had perished was suffering a heart attack right before he collided with the other truck, the sheer size of the colliding vehicles could have caused a greater number of fatalities.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in Pennsylvania there were 166 fatal accidents involving large trucks in 2012, an increase from 2011. As with too many large truck accidents, this accident caused a traffic jam of great proportions. Apart from the trucks and debris, there were fire trucks, ambulances, Lancaster county crash teams, and police at the scene—a common scenario when large trucks are involved in an accident. And because of state and federal regulation, trucking accidents are complicated enough without the added chaos that ensues at the scene of the accident.
Many factors outside the actual accident may prove relevant to a personal injury suit. Fatigue, lack of training, distraction and poor intersection design may come into play in a legal action against the driver, trucking company, and other parties. To determine which of these factors apply to your case, you will need an attorney with trucking accident experience.
