Articles Posted in Truck Accident Injury

When most people think of motor vehicle accidents, they imagine crashes involving multiple vehicles such as passenger cars, pickup trucks, or SUVs. But there are many instances where a single-vehicle accident can lead to painful injuries and permanent disabilities for the people involved. A single-vehicle accident presents unique challenges, particularly if there is not a good eyewitness account of what happened and whether the driver of the vehicle is at fault for a passenger’s injuries. At Mass Injury Group, our seasoned team of Massachusetts car accident lawyers is prepared to help you evaluate your potential claim and pursue any compensation that you may deserve.

Last month, news outlets reported a single-vehicle crash in Wellesley, Massachusetts, involving a pickup truck. According to the police report prepared after the accident, the pickup truck was traveling at a high rate of speed on Route 9 when the vehicle veered off the roadway and collided with a stone wall. One of the occupants of the vehicle was thrown from the vehicle and died from his injuries at the scene. The pickup truck continued to travel down Worcester street until it struck another wall. The two remaining occupants of the vehicle were removed and taken to a nearby hospital where one later died from his injuries. No other information was available regarding the cause of the crash, such as whether the driver was under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

If you are a passenger in a single-vehicle accident, you may be able to bring a claim against the driver of the vehicle for your injuries and damages. There are many reasons that single-vehicle accidents happen, and some of those reasons are attributable to driver negligence or recklessness. If a person is intoxicated, he or she should not get behind the wheel of a vehicle, for example. If a driver is taking prescription medication that prohibits driving due to side effects like drowsiness, then the driver’s decision to get behind the wheel can also be viewed as negligent. If you are successful in showing that the defendant acted negligently and that you were injured as a direct result, you can recover compensation for damages associated with the crash like past and future medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

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Truck accidents can be particularly devastating due to the size and weight of these vehicles, even when it comes to passenger injuries and fatalities. If the truck was being used in a commercial enterprise, then it is important to know whether you can bring a claim against the company that employed the driver and/or was responsible for the safety and maintenance of the truck. At Mass Injury Group, our Boston truck accident lawyers proudly assist our clients with understanding their legal rights and options following an unnecessary and avoidable accident.

A Massachusetts Court of Appeal case sheds light on some of the issues that can arise in a truck accident. Three men were driving in a truck owned by the driver’s employer. The driver lost control of the vehicle and it rolled, causing his death. Another occupant was seriously injured. The decedent’s estate and the injured plaintiff filed a lawsuit against a repair shop alleging that it failed to inform them about faulty brakes after the truck’s transmission was repaired earlier that year. The lower court eventually granted summary judgment for the garage against both plaintiffs, who then appealed.

The plaintiffs argued on appeal that the lower court erred in finding that the repair shop did not owe them a duty of care regarding the truck’s brakes. Their complaint alleged that the repair shop was negligent in the maintenance, inspection, and service of the truck. According to evidence in the record, however, the appellate court concluded that the employer was responsible for the truck’s primary maintenance and inspection. It also showed that the employer did not ask the repair shop to inspect the brakes at the time service on the transmission was completed. The repair shop worker who performed the road test after repairing the transmission did not note any issues with the brakes, either.

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Injury accidents are stressful and inconvenient no matter how mild the resulting injuries may be. One of the worst outcomes, however, is a fatal injury. No amount of money can truly make a family whole again after the sudden and avoidable loss of a loved one, but it can help cope with the financial impact of the crash. Although a fatal motor vehicle accident can happen in a wide variety of situations, truck accidents are a common cause to the massive size and weight of these vehicles. If you lost a loved one or suffered serious injuries due to a Boston truck accident, contact Attorney Michael O. Smith as soon as possible to explore your rights.

Two serious truck accidents happened in the Boston area during September of this year, raising serious concerns about pedestrian and motorist safety. The first accident happened at Harvard Square and involved a 60-year-old woman who was struck by a boom truck shortly after 7 am. The woman was crossing Brattle Street near the Out of Town news kiosk. Investigative officials concluded that she was not using the crosswalk at the time of the collision.

The second incident involved a tractor-trailer that rolled over on top of a passenger vehicle on the Massachusetts Turnpike. The driver of the vehicle sustained serious injuries requiring hospitalization while the passenger sustained minor injuries.

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It’s no secret that trucks pose a serious danger to motorists, including motorcycle riders who may be less visible to a driver. Although there are many different rules and regulations that apply to trucking operations with the intention of keeping everyone safe, countless drivers fail to comply with these laws. In some instances, they turn to narcotics and other illegal substances to help them stay awake during long hauls in violation of countless laws. At the Law Office of Michael O. Smith, we are prepared to assist you with determining whether you are entitled to compensation after a Boston truck accident.

Recently, a Massachusetts truck driver was charged with causing the deaths of seven motorcyclists when the rig that he was operating careened into the group of motorcyclists in New Hampshire. Three other individuals were seriously wounded in the accident. Reports suggested that the Massachusetts Department of Transportation and the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles failed to take appropriate action to suspend the truck driver’s license as the result of several out-of-state driving violations that had been reported to the RMV. The truck driver claimed that he reached down to pick up his beverage and unintentionally drifted from his lane of travel at the time of the crash.

When police raided his home, however, they found illegal narcotics believed to be heroin and when he was arrested at the scene of the crash police officials observed erratic behavior consistent with amphetamine consumption. The truck driver was employed as a truck driver for a Massachusetts trucking company and possessed a commercial driver’s license.  He had previous citations for drunk and drugged driving, which had been reported to Massachusetts DOT and RMV officials.

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A recent study found that commercial truck drivers with three or more medical conditions double or quadruple their chance for being in a crash than healthier drivers.  The study let by the University of Utah School of Medicine found that truck drivers poor health could be dangerous not only to themselves, but to other drivers around them.  The study found the rate of crashes resulting in injury among all truck drivers was 20 per 100 million miles traveled.  For truck drivers with three or more medical conditions, the rate of crashes shot up to 93 per every 100 million miles traveled.

This study tells us that truck drivers with poor health could lead to increased crash risk.  Some truck drivers have difficulty keeping healthy due to their line of occupation.  Truck drivers typically sit for long periods of time, deal with poor sleep and have difficulty finding healthy meals, verses fast food, when working.  These problems lead to truck drivers declining health.  One study finds that over 1/3 of all commercial truck drivers have at least one medical condition such as heart disease, low back pain or diabetes.  The study finds that one health condition experienced by truck drivers, such as diabetes, is manageable, but diabetes in combination with other medical conditions such as high blood pressure and anxiety, can greatly increase the risk of a truck crash that not only injures the truck driver, but can also injure other innocent victims traveling on the road.

The study concludes its in the public’s best interest to continue to investigate the issue of health of our nations commercial truck drivers.  Occupants of other vehicle’s get injured in approximately 75% of all crashes involving trucks.  Perhaps one solution would be to make sure our commercial truck drivers know the health risk’s of working for long periods driving in a sedentary capacity.  This way, Commercial Truck drivers will be able to limit the decline of their health causing less of a chance of a truck crash causing bodily injury to themselves or other travelers that share the road with them.  If you or a loved one have experienced a motor vehicle crash with a truck, please contact an experienced attorney, such as the ones at The Mass Injury Group at 15 Broad Street, in Boston, to understand your rights and remedies.