Concrete truck accidents, like other types of accidents involving commercial trucks, often take place due to negligence – either on the part of the driver, the trucking company, some other party, or a combination of all of them. Like other truck accidents, collisions involving concrete trucks are incredibly dangerous. Why are concrete trucks especially risky to be around, and what kinds of accidents do they cause? Read on to find out.
The truck accident lawyers with Penn Kestner & McEwen have a vast amount of experience in accidents involving not only concrete trucks but all other types of commercial vehicles as well. We’ll get to the bottom of why the collision took place, and then we’ll work diligently to help you obtain the full amount of compensation you have coming.
Get in touch with us as soon as possible for a free consultation. You can contact us online, or you can give us a call at (800) 732-3070.
Concrete Trucks are a Unique Threat
What makes concrete trucks so dangerous? Why should they be any different from any other commercial truck on the road? There are actually a few reasons concrete trucks pose a unique hazard – especially when a driver or trucking company ignores federal regulations, making things even more dangerous.
One of the reasons is that a concrete truck can weigh as much as 66,000 pounds when at max capacity. When it has a full load of wet concrete, it’s a huge risk of an accident. Concrete trucks have a very high center of gravity. The higher the center of gravity, the more unstable the vehicle will be. That’s why they have a rollover risk of 10 times that of the typical commercial truck.
Also, drivers of concrete trucks are under even more pressure than drivers of other types of commercial trucks. When a concrete truck is filled, it only has about an hour and a half to get to its destination – that’s how long it takes before the concrete will become extremely difficult to pour out. This could increase the risk of driver error – especially when that driver is inexperienced.
Types of Accidents Concrete Trucks Cause
Here are a couple of the kinds of concrete truck accidents that take place on a regular basis.
- Rollover accidents – Concrete trucks are very complex mechanisms, particularly the barrel the truck is transporting. If it’s not perfectly balanced, that could cause the driver to lose control. When the driver and trucking company fail to perform a pre-trip inspection, they could miss signs that the barrel is out of balance. This imbalance could cause the concrete to shift unexpectedly, resulting in a rollover accident.
- Blindspot accidents – Every vehicle on the road has blind spots where the driver can’t see surrounding vehicles. The blind spot on a concrete truck is incredibly large, greatly increasing the risk of an accident when the driver doesn’t take extreme care when changing lanes.
Concrete Truck Accident Statistics
Unfortunately, there aren’t any good statistics specifically showing how many accidents involving concrete trucks occur every year. The reason is that they fall into the same category as other types of large trucks, such as tractor-trailers. Since concrete mixing trucks aren’t separated, there’s no reliable way of determining how many of them are involved in wrecks.
What do You do If You’re Involved in an Accident with a Concrete Truck?
The first move you’ll need to make will be to get medical attention immediately. Even if you think there’s nothing wrong, go to the hospital anyway. You could have an internal injury that isn’t showing symptoms right away. If you delay getting medical help, that could have severe ramifications for your health.
While you’re waiting for that help to arrive, take pictures of the accident scene – only if you have the physical ability to do so and you can do so safely. Also, speak to witnesses and gather their contact information. Your attorney will follow up with them later to get their account of what happened.
One thing you should never do, however, is to discuss your case with anyone – not your friends, not your family members, no one. The reason is that the insurance company of the at-fault party (or the companies that cover multiple parties that could be to blame) will go to great lengths to keep you from winning your case.
Insurance companies will not hesitate to try and get in touch with the people closest to you in an effort to use whatever you’ve said against you. A seemingly innocuous comment could be turned around to make it look like you’re admitting fault. The same goes for all of your social media posts. Don’t mention the wreck on any of your feeds, either.
Types of Damages in a Concrete Truck Case
If you’ve been hurt in an accident with a concrete truck, you’re going to incur financial losses. These are known as “damages” in legal terms. Your damages can include the following:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Property damage
But there are also damages that you can’t really “see,” for lack of a better term. These are more intangible damages, such as emotional and mental trauma, pain and suffering, loss of future earning capacity, and others. It will take the skill of an experienced truck accident lawyer, however, to make sure you obtain maximum compensation for these types of damages.
Contact Penn Kestner & McEwen if You’re Involved in an Accident with a Concrete Truck
The expert truck accident attorneys with Penn Kestner & McEwen are standing by to help if you’ve suffered an injury in a concrete truck accident that wasn’t your fault. While we will never make any promises regarding how much money you’ll receive, we can promise we’ll do everything we can to help you obtain maximum compensation. We’ll get to the bottom of why this happened and who should be forced to face accountability.
Please get in touch with us as soon as possible so you can learn more about how we may be of assistance. You can use our online contact form, or you can call (800) 732-3070 for a free case review.
