Injury and Accident Attorneys Serving St. Louis, Nearby Missouri, and Nearby Illinois
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the leading cause of fatal truck accidents is driver fatigue. approximately 98 percent of all deaths resulting from fatal truck accidents involve the occupants of passenger vehicles (rather than the occupants of trucks).
While these truck accident statistics are shocking in and of themselves, what’s potentially more jaw-dropping is the fact that, by 2015, the commercial trucking industry is expected to double in size, which means that the number of serious and fatal truck accidents is also expected to increase dramatically in the coming years.
Causes of Fatal Truck Accidents
Some of the most common causes of fatal truck accidents include:
- Truck driver negligence: In addition to driver fatigue, other examples of truck driver negligence that can contribute to deadly truck accidents include driver intoxication (due to drinking alcohol or taking drugs), driver distraction and a driver’s failure to obey traffic laws.
- Trucking company negligence: Some ways in which trucking companies can contribute to fatal truck accidents include by failing to properly maintain their trucks, failing to ensure their drivers have the proper drivers’ licenses to driver trucks and failing to abide by federal trucking regulations (regarding drivers’ schedules).
- Vehicle equipment manufacturer negligence:Â When vehicle equipment manufacturers install cheap, defective or faulty parts in trucks, they can cause or increase the risk that fatal truck accidents will occur.
In the event that any of these factors plays a role in causing a fatal truck accident, victims’ families can hold the negligent party liable by filing a wrongful death lawsuit. Although no sum of money can ever truly make up for the loss of a loved one, the compensation victims’ families receive from wrongful death lawsuits can help them to pay for their loved ones’ funeral costs and otherwise provide financial support during such tragic times.
Contact the law firm of Brown & Brown, LLP in St. Louis, Missouri, or at our Southern Illinois location in Illinois for a free consultation. Call the 3s for our St. Louis office (314-333-3333 / 573-333-3333) or the 8s to speak to our legal team in Illinois (618-888-8888).
