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Accidents involving garbage trucks are more common than many people may think. Motorists share the road with these large trucks every day, and when an incident does occur, it can unfortunately lead to property damage or serious personal injury.
But working with an experienced garbage truck accident lawyer can help you build a strong legal case, file a claim with your insurance company, or seek the appropriate compensation.
A roadway collision with a dump truck can have a number of detrimental impacts.
An average garbage truck weighs more than 25 tons, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and some models can reach up to 55,000 pounds when fully loaded with refuse. That unfortunately creates a lot of weight to throw around in the case of a motor vehicle accident.
The total impact of a garbage truck collision with a passenger vehicle can lead to serious injuries, particularly for the driver of the smaller vehicle. But a garbage truck crash can also create a number of less-direct problems, including large waste spills, which may block the road with unsafe or potentially hazardous trash.
In some garbage truck accident cases, refuse may also fly off the truck, where it could go on to injure bystanders or cause property damage. And the road blockages caused by the accidents can further extend the impact of these incidents.
There are several major causes of garbage truck accidents.
The trucks are somewhere out on the road, nearly every day, making the sheer odds of them getting involved in an incident higher.
Primarily, they operate in the morning, when it’s not only dark and harder to see, but when many drivers may still be waking up or driving while very tired. Conversely, a passenger vehicle may be in a garbage truck’s blind spot.
These large trucks also make frequent stops, and can sometimes stop in the middle of the road, which can cause a collision, especially when combined with the early operating hours and the darkness of the morning.
Still, garbage truck crashes share a number of common causes with other types of car accidents, including speeding or driver error or negligence, on the part of either the garbage truck driver or the other motorist involved.
It’s not always the truck driver who is at fault in the case of a garbage truck crash.
Certainly, their actions could lead to a collision, especially in the cases where the garbage truck driver is failing to take proper care in a situation, acting irresponsibly, or participating in avoidable behavior leading up to an accident. But the other motorist involved can also display driver negligence.
An experienced garbage truck accident lawyer will also look for liable parties in these cases. That definition extends beyond the drivers involved to include any persons or institutions who may have contributed to the conditions that caused the accident.
In these types of truck accident cases, liable parties could include the garbage truck company for failing to properly maintain the vehicle or even the local government for contributing to unsafe roadway conditions, such as severe potholes or poorly lit roads.
Unfortunately, these types of crashes can lead to severe injury. But if you or a loved one have been hurt in a garbage truck accident, you may have legal recourse.
A good truck accident attorney can help you file a personal injury claim. After a free consultation, the lawyer will get to know the ins and outs of your situation, and, if you choose to continue working with them, they can help you start building a legal case for compensation.
The injury claim process may seem complicated, but an experienced law firm will know how to handle it. Typically, you and your attorney will work through gathering evidence, the actual filing of the claim, and potentially filing a lawsuit, should the case fail to settle out of court.
Many law offices representing truck accident victims will try to negotiate a settlement out of court. That means your truck accident lawyer will negotiate with the other parties’ attorneys to determine the assignment of fault and how much compensation is owed.
If these negotiations do not reach a settlement agreement, you may have the opportunity to file a lawsuit.
There are many factors that may work together to determine the verdict of a garbage truck accident case.
While experiencing any type of injury in a garbage truck crash can feel traumatic, lawyers typically look at the extent of the injury when filing a case.
A more serious injury could lead to higher medical costs, time missed from work, or other personal grievances that contribute to the level of compensation sought. And accidents that tragically lead to any fatalities will likely be handled differently by a personal injury attorney.
When assigning fault in truck accident cases, there are several levels of severity to consider.
A garbage truck driver or other motorist may be considered “negligent,” “careless,” or “reckless,” depending on how intentional their actions were leading up to the crash.
It’s not just the actions of the drivers that are considered in garbage truck accident cases.
Liable parties in these cases can include trucking companies, which may have failed to properly maintain their truck, leading to a problem that caused the accident. Local governments, who are charged with maintaining safe roadway conditions, could also be found liable.
Any other liable parties, and the level of their contribution to the conditions that caused the crash, could also impact the level of compensation sought.
Indeed, all of these factors help an experienced lawyer determine the appropriate compensation to seek for their client. But experienced truck accident crash lawyers will also consider the total damages involved in a crash.
Damages include any costs incurred by an accident victim, according to the Legal Information Institute, whether they are financial or more emotional in nature. Your legal team can help determine the damages you may be entitled to.
As the name suggests, economic damages primarily concern any money paid out by the injured party or their insurance company in the wake of an accident. These can involve a number of considerations, including:
Damages of this magnitude are typically more tricky to assign a number to. They mostly involve compensation for any emotional damage sustained from the accident.
Non-economic damages can include:
Unfortunately, garbage truck collisions can lead to a number of personal injuries, including:
If you or a loved one have been injured in a collision with a dump truck, an experienced law firm may be able to help you determine the compensation you can seek for these injuries.
These types of accidents are not consistently reported, which can make finding the exact number of garbage truck accidents difficult. But by all measures, the incidents happen much more frequently than most people may realize.
According to the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA), at least 52 sanitation workers across the United States and Canada were killed while on collecting duty in 2020 alone. The most common cause of these fatalities were collisions with passenger vehicles.
Numbers compiled by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) in 2017 report 107 deaths related to sanitation truck crashes that year, along with more than 1,400 injuries related to garbage truck crashes.
With their daily presence on the road, high weight volume, and frequent stops, these large trucks can unfortunately lead to a large number of damaging situations.
Attorneys and law firms specializing in these types of truck accidents understand the nuances involved in these situations, and what it takes to build a strong case.
An experienced legal team will know where and how to look for damages, how to name the appropriate liable parties, and which type of evidence you’ll need to present your case. A skilled lawyer will also help you negotiate a fair settlement, or take your case to court, if the other parties fail to negotiate.
Going through a major accident is traumatic enough. A good personal injury lawyer will not only help build your case, but make the process as smooth as possible for you.
If you or a loved one were involved in a garbage truck accident, you may have many questions. Below are a few of the most common inquiries and answers.
Garbage truck accidents can be the unfortunate cause of a lot of damage. But a skilled truck accident lawyer can help you build a strong case and seek out any appropriate compensation.
If you or a loved one have been involved in a garbage truck accident, you may have the right to file a truck accident claim. LegalFinders can get you a free case evaluation to help ensure you find the best attorney for the job to get the case results you deserve.
