Any type of accident can be traumatizing, but accidents involving large trucks are often much worse and lead to more serious injuries and even death. Unfortunately, there is no way to avoid trucks on the road, especially while on the highway or interstate, and at certain time, you may even be outnumbered by them.

Trucks are tested constantly and their drivers are trained thoroughly to prevent accidents from happening. But, just as car drivers can attest to, driving conditions can force even the most experienced driver to get into an unintended accident. To help avoid these accidents, it’s important to understand what causes them and what you can do to avoid getting into a truck accident.

Keep Your Distance

Trailing too closely behind any car is dangerous, but for trucks, if you get too close to them they may not be able to see you, which can cause serious accident. The blind spot on a truck is much larger than on a car and they may miss you if you get to close behind them or even too close next to them. To be safe, keep a healthy distance and avoid tailgating or getting too close even when getting off or on at an exit.

Pay Attention

Truck drivers are skilled at what they do, but they are also working long hours and may be tired or not paying full attention to the road. There is nothing you can do about this besides pay attention yourself. If you see a truck start to swerve or veer off the road a bit, try to get away from it as much as you can. Often, a heavy load is the only reason for the swaying, but it could also mean a driver has fallen asleep. Get to the farthest lane and slow down or speed up as safely as you can to avoid a potential crash.

Don’t Cut Them Off

It can be frustrating to get stuck behind a truck on the highway as they tend to go much slower than the average car. When a car is driving slowly, our first reaction is to switch lanes and try to get back in front of them. Avoid doing this with a truck. Truck drivers usually abide by the rules of staying out of the fast lane, so if they are in that lane, they are likely to move out of it when they are able to. Remain patient and avoid cutting them off—their ability to slow down and maneuver out of your way is much less than yours and if you do cut them off, you could be dealing with a major rear-end accident or worse.

Don’t Pass on the Right-Hand Side

This tip is a bit more specific, but it’s been proven that many truck accidents occur because a driver passed on the right-hand side, a side that is hard—and sometimes impossible—for a driver to see.

Don’t Drive Between Two Trucks

During busier commute times, you may be dealing with multiple trucks on the roadways. If you can, avoid being put in a position where you will be sandwiched between two semi-trucks. This creates a dangerous place for a car as you are essentially boxed in and unable to move out of the way should an accident occur near you or a truck swerves into your lane.

If you’ve been involved in a truck accident, you are likely looking at a long road to recovery and substantial damages. Because of this, it’s important to get an experienced truck accident attorney on your side to help you fight the truck company’s insurance company and get you the compensation you deserve. To learn more about how Stewart & Stewart Attorney’s can help you, 1-800-33-33-LAW or visit our website today.

Any type of accident is scary, but when it involves an 18-wheeler truck, it can become a lot more difficult. Unfortunately, with their long hours and heavy loads, truck accidents are extremely common, making it easy to blame the trucker when it comes to fault. But truckers are also very experienced drivers, so it is not always their fault when it comes to an accident. In fact, many people fail to practice safe driving near a truck, whether they speed up, cut them off or try to avoid them. This creates many accidents where the truck driver is not at fault.

But, when an accident is the truck drivers fault, it isn’t as black-and-white as an accident with a fellow car. Truckers are often backed by big trucking companies and are usually not the owner of the truck they are driving. Once an accident occurs, it’s this entire team of people that you will have to prove fault against, and that can get tricky.

Trucks must abide by certain federal laws, and when these laws are broken, it can be a bit easier to prove fault. But once it is proven that the truck was at fault for the accident, who is to blame? Is the truck driver at fault or the owner of the truck? What about the company that was using the truck at the time, or the manufacturer of the truck? Usually, this is when an attorney will step in on both sides to ensure that the blame is placed correctly.

Recently, federal laws have prevented companies from placing blame on the driver alone. In fact, these laws state that any company who has a trucking permit is responsible for any accidents involving their trucks. This may be good news for the victim of the accident, but it can still be tricky to deal with a large corporation’s procedures and insurance.

Besides the difficulty with proving fault and dealing with many different players, truck accidents are frightening because they often involve more injuries and worse outcomes for the victim. When a truck hits a car, the force can overpower a driver and the car can easily be crushed. The injuries and damages to the car and person are usually extensive and require hospital stays, time off work and more.

If you have been involved in a truck accident and sustained injuries, you should be compensated correctly, especially if those injuries caused you to miss work and undergo surgeries or treatments. The attorneys at Stewart & Stewart have successfully handled many truck accident claims and would be happy to take on your case. Give us a call at 1-800-33-33-LAW or visit our website for more information.

While the fault for a car crash often falls on a single driver, the blame for truck accidents can be shared among multiple parties. If you were recently injured in a truck crash, you may find it difficult to begin the process of getting compensation for your accident—especially if you don’t know which party is to blame.

At Stewart & Stewart, our Indiana truck accident attorneys investigate all the facts of your truck accident to determine who was at fault and how much they contributed to the accident. In many truck accidents, three separate parties may be held accountable:

• The truck driver – Truck drivers are required and expected to obey all traffic laws. But when they speed, drive while intoxicated or impaired, or follow too closely behind other vehicles, they can cause deadly crashes.

• The trucking company – Trucking companies sometimes prioritize profits over safety. When they do, they may overload trucks, fail to train drivers, or force drivers to work for extended periods of time without proper rest.

• The truck owner – Third parties own many semi trucks and tractor trailers, and it’s their responsibility to make sure their vehicles are well-maintained and safe for driving—especially on long-distance and cross-country trips.

Because truck accidents are legally complex and trucking companies are often represented by big insurance companies, it’s important to have an attorney on your side that won’t back down from a challenge.

At Stewart & Stewart, we’ve fought for our clients’ rights for years, and we’re ready to do the same for you. Fill out a free consultation form to get started today.

Truck drivers have one of the toughest and most important jobs in America. Through tireless hours and unrelenting concentration, they get vital resources to folks across our country. At Stewart & Stewart, we have a great amount of respect for their contributions to our society. What we can’t respect is trucking companies who put these drivers in compromising situations all in the name of profits.

A fatigued driver in a regular automobile can be just as dangerous as an intoxicated driver. Add 80,000 lbs. to that equation (what many tractor-trailers weigh), and you get a recipe for disaster. Our experienced Indiana truck accident attorneys investigate truck accidents to determine who was at fault and why. We do so to ensure our clients get treated fairly in the injury claim process and get maximum compensation for their injuries.

If you’ve been injured in a big truck accident, you need a law firm on your side that won’t stop until we get the answers you deserve. Call us today for a free consultation. We’ll review your case at no cost or obligation and work to hold those accountable responsible for what you’ve been through. The big trucking companies have teams of lawyers looking out for their best interests. Shouldn’t you have an experienced Indiana truck accident attorney looking out for yours? Contact us today.

Tractor-trailers keep our country moving. The amount of goods and materials they transport every year boggles the mind and is a reminder of just how vital the trucking industry is to our society. If big trucks stopped their march across the country, our lives would be much different. At Stewart & Stewart, we appreciate the contributions that truck drivers make to our society, and we recognize that their job requires skill, precision, and focus. However, when trucking companies expect too much from their drivers, the results can be tragic.

Tractor-trailers can weigh up to 80,000 lbs. and haul everything from boxed cereal to explosive fuel. In contrast, the average car weighs less than 4,000 lbs. Controlling that much weight at speeds up to 65-70 mph takes extreme focus and resilience. There are no second chances when it comes to big truck driving, because a simple mistake can end a life in an instant. That’s why unreasonable schedules and deadlines for truck drivers often lead to devastating results.

At Stewart & Stewart, we hold big trucking companies accountable for the damage their fatigued or overworked drivers cause. We fight for the accident victims who, from no fault of their own, suffered horrendous injuries due to a truck driver’s negligence, and if you’ve been injured, we’re ready to fight for you as well. Call us today for a free, no obligation consultation. You may be entitled to compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more. Contact us today. We’re ready to put more than 30 years of experience to work for you.

At Stewart & Stewart, we have a deep respect for truck drivers, as they make life as we know it possible in communities throughout the U.S. Without truckers, we wouldn’t have the commodities such as groceries, fuel, or clothing. That responsibility comes with a lot of pressure, especially for the trucking companies. They need to run their routes on time and often to keep the system going, sometimes at the expense of their drivers.

When truck drivers are required to drive fatigued or without proper recovery time, the results can be devastating. Many tractor-trailer loads weigh upwards of 80,000 lbs. The amount of force behind that type of load can completely demolish a car in a split second. It only takes one lapse of concentration and/or judgment to forever change the lives of a driver, a family, or an entire community. That’s why it’s vitally important that every truck accident victim stand up to the trucking companies to get justice for themselves, as well as help ensure someone else doesn’t suffer the same fate.

If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, give us a call today at Stewart & Stewart for a free consultation. We’ll hold the trucking company responsible for your injuries accountable by fighting to get you maximum compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Don’t wait to get legal help. Call us today.