What Are the Differences Between Truck Accidents and Car Accidents?
A fully loaded commercial truck may legally weigh up to 80,000 pounds. These immense vehicles share the roads with family cars that weigh an average of 4,000 pounds, putting motorists at high risk of serious or catastrophic injury in accidents. A truck accident can occur due to a single careless moment, non-compliance with trucking regulations, or mechanical failure. Not only are accidents with commercial trucks far more dangerous to motorists, but accident claims for compensation are more complex when they involve the trucking industry.
A truck accident lawyer in Oklahoma City has experience navigating the challenging legal process to recover the compensation a truck accident victim deserves.
The Added Dangers of Truck Accidents Compared to Car Accidents
Accidents involving vehicles of any size may cause severe injury or death, but truck accidents often pose additional risks compared to car accidents in Oklahoma due to the large size and extended length of commercial trucks. For example, some types of accidents are unique to commercial trucks or to car-versus-truck collisions. These include:
- Jackknife accidents in which the truck’s trailer comes out of alignment and causes the truck to crash in the shape of a partly opened jackknife, often blocking multiple lanes of fast-moving traffic, which can result in multi-car pileups
- Underride accidents in which a car wedges under the truck’s trailer during a collision
- Override accidents caused by a truck’s large tires driving up and over a smaller vehicle in a collision
Truck accidents can also affect entire sections of roadway and nearby communities when they involve spilled chemicals, fuel, or explosions.
Liability In Oklahoma City Truck Accidents Compared to Car Accident Claims
Oklahoma’s fault-based accident laws under the modified comparative negligence system require the injury victim to prove the at-fault party’s liability. In most car accident cases, the liable party is one of the drivers. In some cases, both drivers may have contributed to the accident. In a modified comparative negligence system, even a driver who is partly at fault for an accident can recover a portion of their compensation as long as they are less than 51% at fault. In more complex car accident claims, a third party may also be found partly liable, for example, a negligent road maintenance agency that failed to repair a dangerous pothole or obscure a sign.
In an Oklahoma truck accident claim, there are multiple potentially liable parties due to the many separate entities involved in driving, loading, and maintaining a large commercial truck. It often takes an in-depth investigation to determine the cause of the accident, the negligence that led to it, the correct liable party or parties, and the appropriate insurance company.
Possible Liable Parties In an Oklahoma Truck Accident Claim
Trucks are mechanically complex and require skilled, experienced drivers to operate safely. Cargo must be properly secured to prevent sudden shifts that could throw the truck off-balance and cause an accident. All entities involved in trucking must comply with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations and take reasonable measures to prevent accidents. It only takes one party’s negligence to cause a serious crash. Potential liable parties in Oklahoma truck accidents include the following:
- The driver
- The trucking company
- A negligent truck maintenance company
- A negligent freight-loading company
- The manufacturer of a defective truck tire or part
In some cases, entities unrelated to the trucking industry may be at fault or share liability for a truck accident, such as a negligent road-maintenance or road-planning agency or a third-party driver. Proving liability requires evidence demonstrating that the at-fault party owed a duty of care to the injury victim, that they breached their duty of care, that the breach of duty caused injury, and that the injury victim suffered damages from their injury.