Midland Truck Accident Lawyers

Why Are There So Many Truck Drivers in Midland?

There’s an influx of trucks in Midland, which could lead to more accidents if truck drivers or companies are negligent. You may be wondering why Midland is facing truck issues. It has to do with the current job market.

Midland roads are currently full of trucks because of the Permian Basin, which is causing an oil and gas boom in Texas. Big rigs are constantly traveling along Midland highways to get to the various worksites. There are so many workers and equipment traveling to and from the worksites, the roads cannot keep up with the increased traffic.

The Texas A&M Transportation Institute discovered that the heavy traffic not only congested the roads, but also the vehicles using the roads weighed about 30% more than the Texas Department of Transportation anticipated.

When the state doesn’t know where most of these loads will be located or how heavy the loads will be, they cannot allocate the right workers to prevent road degradation. They also need this information to work on road safety, like analyzing areas that have a high number of accidents and implementing measures to reduce them.

Midland County has had fatal accidents along these roads. One crash resulted in five fatalities when a head-on collision occurred between a pickup truck and a tractor-trailer rig. The pickup truck, which had four oilfield workers, crossed the center line where it crashed with the tractor-trailer. The vehicles caught fire and the four occupants in the pickup truck as well as the tractor-trailer driver lost their lives.

With such heavy traffic on the roads, one mistake could lead to multiple injuries or worse. When this happens, our Midland truck accident lawyers are here for you.

Don't wait. We're ready to fight.

What Are the Different Types of Dangerous Truck Accidents?

When you’ve been in an accident, your truck accident lawyer will need to know what kind of accident occurred. Some common truck accidents that may have happened include:

• Jackknife. These crashes are especially likely to occur when speeding, driver distraction/impairment, or poor road conditions are present. In these situations, truckers may try to slam on the brakes, and heavy loads behind them will keep traveling forward, causing the trailer to come out from behind the tractor. The driver may not be able to regain control as the truck jackknifes and the trailer can collide with cars next to them.
• Rollover. These types of wrecks are far more likely to occur when overloaded trucks are not properly balanced and truckers make quick maneuvers to try to avoid crashes. They could swerve to quickly to avoid debris in the road or a car they didn’t see. Rollover accidents can cause life-threatening injuries.
• Override. Trucks may trap other cars underneath them, whether it’s a truck trapping the back of a car or the side. When this happens, the car is stuck and the occupants are in danger of serious injuries.

Whether or not you were in one of the accidents above, our truck accident lawyers will protect your rights when you’ve been harmed in a preventable truck collision. We’ll look into the details of the crash and find out what went wrong and how you were injured.

Common Causes of Truck Accidents

Some of the most catastrophic motor-related accidents occur due to or involving big rig trucks, semi-trucks and 18-wheelers. Due to their sheer size, it is no wonder they can be so dangerous. There are many factors which can lead to a trucking-related accident. Some factors are at the fault of the drivers, others are not. If you or a loved one has been involved in a trucking accident, it is best to handle the claim sooner rather than later. With trucks being so large, it’s uncommon for only one other vehicle or person to be affected by the accident. The more people that are involved, the more claims the guilty party’s Insurance company has to deal with. This can lead to a number of setbacks when filing a claim.

Below are some of the major reasons for trucking-related accidents, followed by a general outline of which party is often at fault.

• Blind Spots​: While trucks are equipped with full range mirrors, they have much larger blind spots than the average motor vehicle. To best avoid an accident, try to give trucks more space than you would other vehicles and stray away from blind spots as quickly as possible. The at-fault party is not a clear answer when blind spots are involved. How each party was driving will come into play. If you were recklessly driving and were hit in their blind spot, you will most likely be at fault. If the truck driver was being negligent and didn’t clear his blind spots or put their blinker on prior to switching lanes, they will most likely be at fault.
• Speeding​: Truck drivers should never speed. The mass and weight of their vehicle can be up to 80,000 pounds. That is not a vehicle to mess around with. Not only is speeding causing a major hazard for other vehicles, but it makes it much more difficult to brake. Large trucks and 18-wheelers cannot brake the way smaller, lighter vehicles can. Speeding-related accidents will often be the fault of the truck if involved in an accident.
• Road Work​: Trucking accidents that are caused by faulty roads or non-maintained highways are often the fault of a third party, whether it be the city, the construction company involved, or even the risk manager of the trucking company. If you are driving in an area that is unkempt, avoid all vehicles both small and large.
• Truck Maintenance​: While truck companies are legally bound to maintain their vehicles, a lot can happen between picking up a truck and driving it across the country, or even state. The driver also holds responsibility for maintaining their vehicle. If you are in an accident involving a faulty truck or 18-wheeler, either the driver or trucking company will be held liable.

Trucking accidents are hardly minor accidents. Their mass and size is unparalleled on the road and they are certainly vehicles to watch out for. Even the best drivers have no control over things like damaged and dangerous roads. It is a best practice to know the road and avoid large trucks and 18-wheelers as best as possible to avoid crashes or worse, fatal accidents.

How Do Truck Wrecks Happen?

There can be many reasons why an accident happens, which is why you’ll need an experienced truck accident lawyer to determine who was at fault. If the driver did something wrong, they may have made a mistake that could fall into the following categories:

• Non-performance. A non-performance issue includes the driver falling asleep at the wheel, having a critical event like a heart attack or seizure, or being otherwise impaired and unable to operate the truck safely.
• Performance. Performance issues cover the mistakes the driver can make, such as poorly controlling the truck. This can include overcompensating a turn or any other action that would exhibit their lack of control of the vehicle.
• Recognition. Recognition deals with the driver’s focus. If they weren’t attentive, were distracted by something like a phone or were staring at something outside the vehicle, or didn’t register a situation occurring in front of them, then they could cause an accident.
• Decision. Decision issues include speeding, ignoring the road’s conditions—like driving too quickly in inclement weather, following other vehicles too closely, or failing to judge the speed of the vehicles around them.