Accidents that involve large trucks often result in serious injuries and fatalities. Injuries often include neck and back injuries, spinal cord injuries, head trauma and brain injuries, severed limbs, as well as fractured ribs and broken bones. Injuries typically result in high medical bills, loss of income, pain and suffering, and the need for physical rehabilitation. Due to the size and weight of large trucks, many drivers and passengers involved in trucking accidents sustain internal injuries that create life threatening situations. When fatalities occur, the emotional distress caused to family members can lead to financial problems and long-term anxiety and depression.
If you’re injured in a trucking accident in Nevada, you need a Las Vegas personal injury attorney who can help you file a personal injury claim and receive fair compensation for your injuries. At Blackburn Wirth, our team of experienced personal injury attorneys can provide legal advice and assist you with filing a personal injury claim or lawsuit. We will work to make sure that you are fairly compensated for your injuries. Unless you win your case, you don’t owe us a fee.
Common Las Vegas Trucking Accidents
Large, commercial trucks, tractor-trailers and semi-trucks often weigh tens of thousands of pounds when fully loaded. Their weight, height and length can make them unstable, so they can swerve, jackknife or roll over in a crash. Passenger cars traveling near large trucks at high speeds have a much higher risk of injury and death in an accident. If a large truck swerves quickly into another lane, nearby drivers may not have time to get out of the way. A Las Vegas truck accident attorney can help with injuries and damages caused by high-impact trucking accidents. Common trucking accidents in Las Vegas include:
Head-on Collisions
Trucking accidents that involve head-on collisions often occur when another vehicle crosses a center line or median and crashes into an approaching truck. They also occur when the driver of a big-rig must suddenly react to an obstacle or traffic hazard in the road, forcing the trucker to cross into another lane.
Rear-end Collisions
Due to the size and weight of large trucks, braking takes much longer than a passenger car. A large commercial tractor-trailer can easily weigh more than 85,000 pounds when fully loaded, so injuries to drivers and passengers in forward cars are likely to be very serious, if not fatal.
Broadside Collisions
Side-impact collision, often referred to as T-bone crashes, can come out of nowhere. In a head-on or rear-end truck collision, the front or back of an involved car usually gets crushed and absorbs part of the impact. A side-impact collision with a large truck leaves no cushion that minimizes injuries. A Las Vegas truck accident attorney often sees broadside collision on Nevada roadways and highways.
Under-ride and Over-ride Accidents
Under-ride and over-ride accidents with large trucks are very common. Under-ride truck accidents often result with smaller vehicles coming to rest inside the truck. Over-ride accidents usually happen when a large commercial truck runs over a smaller vehicle, typically taking off the top of the car. Over-ride accidents are often deadly for drivers and passengers in small-sized cars, because the point of impact occurs at head level.
Jackknife Accidents
“Jackknifing” is a term that is specific to the trucking industry. It refers to large semi-trucks that are pulling a trailer. If a large truck jackknifes, the trailer can collide with anything in its path. If a jackknife accident happens with any significant speed, there is a high likelihood of a rollover accident, especially with lightly loaded trucks caught in high crosswinds.
Rollovers
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), there are about 15,000 trucking accidents each year that involve rollovers. Due to the size and mass of large trucks, rollovers often result in catastrophic injuries and fatalities for truckers and auto vehicle drivers and passengers in the path of the accident.
Filing a Nevada Personal Injury Claim
Trucking accidents can involve complex personal injuries claims, since many commercial trucks are owned by large companies, rather than individuals. A Las Vegas truck accident attorney at Blackburn Wirth can help you navigate complicated issues with commercial carriers and large insurance companies.
Nevada laws set a time limit or “statute of limitations,” of two years to file a personal injury lawsuit in a Nevada court. Generally speaking, you have two years after the date of an accident to file your case in civil court. If you pass the two-year deadline, in most cases a Nevada court will refuse to hear your personal injury case.
