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Experienced Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney Explains: Trucking Accident Liability

As a Mississippi trucking accident and personal injury attorney, clients often meet with me to inquire about an accident with a “big rig.” Because of the size of the truck compared to the car that my clients were in, the injuries are often catastrophic and are usually far worse than what would expect from a traditional car-on-car accident. The truck’s greater mass results in a greater impact and, sadly, more significant injuries. This is even true in slow accidents that would just be a “fender bender” if the other vehicle were a car.  Simply put, big rig accidents are serious, and you will need to have experienced personal injury counsel help you attain any settlement from a trucking company. Barrett Law has the experience to help you through this process.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

If you have been injured by a collision with a big rig or other large truck, how will you receive compensation? You may receive some compensation for your losses and injuries from insurance. But what if your injuries and losses far exceed what an insurance policy will pay, such as when you are confined to a wheelchair or can never return to work? In that situation, you will need the help of an attorney to file a “negligence” claim.

What is Negligence?

Believe it or not, accidents do happen. There is a difference between something accidentally or unavoidably occurring and negligence. You cannot recover damages based simply on an unfortunate, unavoidable occurrence involving a big rig, but you may be able to recover a tremendous settlement once negligence is established. But how is negligence different from an accident? Negligence means that the truck driver or truck company failed to act as a reasonable person would under the circumstances. This “reasonable person test” can be applied to several different aspects of the incident that injured you.

Driver Negligence

You can prove negligence if a driver fails to meet the “reasonable person test” and, as a result, injures you. The reasonable person test is highly subjective, but looking at a phone while driving, being under the influence of alcohol or drugs while driving, or failing to get enough sleep all qualify as common examples of negligent behavior.

Vicarious Liability

One question that arises is whether the driver has the resources—insurance, money—to compensate you even if you are able to prove that he or she was negligent. This is where the concept of “vicarious liability” becomes important. That means that the trucking company itself is liable for its driver’s bad acts so long as the acts were committed within the “scope and duty” of the driver’s employment. That means that the trucking company is liable for any negligent behavior occurring while their employee is doing work for them. Accordingly, your attorney will have to both prove that the employee truck driver was negligent and that the he or she was working for the trucking company at the time of the negligence occurred. More and more companies use independent contractors instead of employees in an effort to sever liability; vicarious liability is based on the degree of control the company had over the employee, so it is not always a successful strategy.

Negligent Hire

A trucking company can be negligent itself if it hires truck drivers negligently, such as hiring a driver without a valid CDL.  The trucking company’s negligence can also be established by showing that it failed to do a background check that would have caught a record of reckless driving or driving under the influence. Similarly, it may also be possible to prove negligence if a trucking company hires a driver with a long record of accidents, as these records are more accessible and better kept for commercial drivers.

Negligent Training

Big rigs are increasingly complex, and new drivers must be trained to operate them safely. A trucking company can be negligent if it puts a driver behind the wheel with insufficient training or without keeping its drivers up to date on the truck’s technology.

What Should You Do If You Were Injured in a Truck Accident?

If you were injured as the result of impact with a large truck, contact an experienced personal injury attorney so that you can focus on yourself and on your healing process. Contact an experienced personal injury attorney immediately. Let experienced personal injury counsel take care of preserving medical records, dealing with aggressive opposing counsel, attaining expert diagnoses, and dealing with the trucking company’s insurance company. These are important tasks that an only a highly experienced personal injury attorney can handle for you.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered an injury as a result of a collision with a tractor trailer or 18-wheeler.

The seasoned Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney at Barrett Law has the experience to take on defense attorneys and insurance companies that are focused on denying your compensation for your injuries.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

 

 

 

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Experienced Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney Explains Trucking Accident Spinal Injuries

As a trucking accident and personal injury attorney, injured people often meet with me to assess their injuries and their likelihood of receiving compensation for them. What I often see is that spinal injuries are different than any other type of accident injury, as the spine connects to every other part of the body. Moreover, spinal injuries resulting from trucking injuries are often the worst type, as trucks, tractor trailers, 18-wheelers are incredibly heavy. That weight or mass results in a far greater impact and, sadly, more significant injuries. One thing is critical to state up front—you will need to have experienced personal injury counsel help you attain any settlement from a trucking company. Barrett Law has the experience to help you through this process.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.
The Spine

While you may think of the spine as your “backbone” or as a rigid bone that keeps you upright, it is not really a single bone. To the contrary, it is stack of angular vertebrae separated by soft discs, surrounded by supporting tissue such as muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Running within the spine is the spinal cord, out of which radiates all of the nerves of the nervous system.

Common Types of Spinal Injuries

When a large truck hits an automobile, the force of impact can be spectacular. It is not a surprise then that the resulting spinal injuries may also be extreme, ranging from whiplash to paralysis.  When you are in an accident the vertebrae can be crushed, the vertebrae stack can be shifted, the discs can be crushed, or the supporting tissues can be torn or strained. In addition, the nerves in and around the spine can be injured. Damage to nerves can range quite a bit, from a completely severed spinal cord, to a partially severed spinal cord, to a pinched nerve.  A pinched nerve occurs when either a vertebrae or soft tissue puts pressure on a nerve.

Types of Spinal Injury Treatment

You will need extensive testing to determine the extent of a spinal injury. Luckily, with the advent of CT and MRI scans, doctors are increasingly accurate with their diagnoses. For crushed vertebra and severed nerves, surgery and a long period of rehabilitation will likely be in proscribed. Discs can be removed. In less serious cases, soft tissue injuries such as bulging discs and pinched nerves are often able to be treated with just physical therapy. While these treatments are undertaken, you will likely be prescribed painkillers and anti-inflammatories.

What Should You Do If You Were Injured in a Truck Accident?

If you were injured as the result of impact with a large truck, contact an experienced personal injury attorney so that you can focus on yourself and on your healing process. You may be offered a quick settlement after an accident in exchange for your agreement not to pursue a legal challenge.  Do not accept these “low-ball” offers, as tempting as they may be at the time.

Instead, contact an experienced personal injury attorney immediately. Let experienced personal injury counsel take care of preserving medical records, dealing with aggressive opposing counsel, attaining expert diagnoses, and dealing with the trucking company’s insurance company. These are important tasks that an only a highly experienced personal injury attorney can handle for you.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered an injury as a result of a collision with a tractor trailer or 18-wheeler.

The seasoned Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney at Barrett Law has the experience to take on defense attorneys and insurance companies that are focused on denying your compensation for your injuries.  Contact us now at (601) 790-1505.

 

 

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Mississippi Tricking Accident Attorney Explains Jackknife Trucking Accidents

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Driving near tractor-trailers can make people nervous. After all, the weight of these vehicles is 20-30 times what a passenger car is, and when a truck collides with a passenger vehicle, the occupants of the smaller vehicle are the ones that typically suffer the most severe injuries and a higher risk of death. While there are certain aspects of truck driving that make it more challenging, and potentially more likely for the truck driver to cause accidents, not all truck accidents are caused by truck drivers. With that said, the size and weight of commercial trucks makes it more difficult for them to stop quickly, especially on wet or icy roads, and truck drivers are more likely than other drivers to spend extremely long periods of time behind the wheel.

It seems that jackknife accidents would be clear examples of accidents that are the fault of a truck driver, and not the other driver, however, even in these cases an injured person will have to prove liability.

What is a jackknife accident?

Large tractor-trailers consist of a cabin and the trailer. When the driver in the cabin loses control over the trailer part of the truck, and the truck takes on the shape of the letter “L” or a “V,” this is referred to as “jackknifing.” The name is derived from a folding knife because the shape is similar to that of a partially folded blade.

What are the risks associated with jackknifing?

If a truck loses control and jackknifes, the trailer could cross the road, including the traffic in lanes traveling in the opposite direction. This can cause cars to crash head-on into the trailer with little opportunity to get out of the way or stop. There is also a large risk of a truck rolling when it jackknifes, creating an incredible risk to everyone on the road, and at times risking spilling cargo that could also be hazardous.

What causes a truck to jackknife?

When a truck driver slams on the breaks, the cab might stop, but the trailer may continue to move forward. This could occur because of inclement weather, curves in the road, or because the truck driver was trying to avoid something in his or her path.

Many times, these accidents could be caused by negligence on the part to the truck driver. For instance, the need to slam on the breaks could often occur as the result of the driver speeding, or driving at a speed that might be under the speed limit, but still reckless due to the weather or other conditions. Of course, not every accident involving jackknifing will necessarily be the fault of a truck driver. If the trucker only attempted to stop abruptly because of a car accident that occurred immediately in front of the truck’s path, then the driver might not have been negligent, but rather caught in a helpless position.

It is important to remember that if you were in an accident with a truck that jackknifed and your own driving might have contributed to the injuries that you suffered, you can still collect compensation from the other negligent driver under Mississippi law, your compensation will just be reduced to reflect your share of the fault.

Any accident involving trucks is frightening and can potentially cause catastrophic harm. Be sure to speak with an attorney to have your claim evaluated and to determine your best course of action.  Contact Barrett Law PLLC today to speak with our seasoned Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney.

 

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Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney Talks About Accidents Involving Power Lines

Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney Talks About Accidents Involving Power Lines

Recently, a section of Hewes Avenue in Gulfport was closed for a few hours after a dump truck hit a power pole. The crash caused intermittent power outages in the area near the accident scene, but service got fully restored to most customers within three hours after the incident. As the power company worked to make repairs, police kept the area near the crash scene closed to protect everyone’s safety.

Any vehicle could potentially get into a collision with a power pole. Power lines run along streets all across America, and power poles line the roads almost everywhere we go. It is essential that drivers know how to keep themselves and their passengers safe in the event that they hit a power pole because accidents involving power poles are situations in which what you are likely to think is the right thing to do could be dangerous and deadly.

For example, most people, after getting into a car accident would get out of the vehicle as soon as possible if they were physically able to do so. However, if your car hits a utility pole or collides with a tree or other object that brings a power line down, getting out of your vehicle is usually the wrong thing to do. There are a few situations in which getting out is the better choice, but in most cases, drivers should stay in their vehicle and instruct their passengers to do the same until they get told that the power line has been de-energized.

Drivers need to know that a downed power line is not necessarily a dead power line. If you get in a car accident that takes down a power line, stay in your vehicle until the utility de-energizes the line. Getting out of the car could result in death by electrocution as electricity from the downed power line travels through your body.

It is safe to use your cell phone while you are in your car, so call for help right away. If you can open your window, do so, and shout to warn any people that you see nearby to stay away from the area. Some wrecks involving power poles cause drivers and passengers to have to make risky choices. If your vehicle is on fire or you smell gasoline, you might have to take a risk by exiting the vehicle in an attempt to avoid death by fire or explosion. To give yourself and your passengers the best chance of getting out of the situation alive, hop out of your car with both feet hitting the ground at the same time while every other part of your body does not touch the vehicle. Instruct your passengers to do the same. Similarly, hop with both feet together to get yourself as far away from the source of the electricity as you possibly can.

Barrett Law PLLC:   Help and Hope for the Victims of Mississippi Trucking Accidents

Accidents involving trucks and power lines can cause serious injury, death, and property damage. To learn about how you can file a claim for damages that you sustained as the result of a Mississippi truck crash, call the knowledgeable Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney at Barrett Law PLLC, at 1 (601) 790-1505 today.

 

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Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney Describes a Very Messy Trucking Accident

Accident scenes can be gruesome, but sometimes, an accident happens that takes gruesomeness to another level. A recent accident involving an overturned tractor trailer resulted in a highway strewn with dead chicken parts. The wreckage ended up on the southbound side of I-55, near mile marker 76. The driver said that he was traveling north when the trailer portion of his rig malfunctioned. As he lost control of the truck, it went into the median and flipped over the barrier onto the southbound side of the road. Fortunately, the chicken parts that got scattered about the accident scene were the only gruesome discoveries in this wreck. The truck driver didn’t exhibit any signs of injury after the crash.

When cars collide, it can make a mess in the road. When one of the vehicles in a wreck is a tractor trailer, the potential for damage and destruction is even greater. There are other differences between tractor trailer accidents and accidents that involve only passenger vehicles. It is useful for all drivers to know what the differences are between accidents involving passenger vehicles only and accidents involving eighteen-wheelers. One difference is that tractor trailers are driven by professional drivers. If they get in an accident, they are at work. The accident might cause them to miss an important deadline, or they may be exhausted from a long day on the road. Fortunately, there are safety rules in place to help truck drivers act responsibly and avoid driving while they are tired, but those rules do not always get followed. If you get into an accident with a tractor trailer, remember that the person who is driving the truck might not even own it, so there are likely to be other parties besides the drivers involved in your trucking accident case.

Not only are the parties in trucking accident cases different and more numerous than the parties in accident cases involving only cars, they vehicles themselves are different. Eighteen-wheelers are enormous, and they are heavy. They handle differently when they are loaded than they do when they are not. They have moving parts. Eighteen-wheelers are longer and taller than other vehicles on the road. They are also much heavier. The exact weight of a trailer truck varies depending upon the weight of its cargo, but many of them weigh nearly eighty thousand pounds. Because tractor trailers are big and heavy and they maneuver differently than cars do, the physical occurrence of an accident involving a tractor trailer is much different than a wreck of only passenger vehicles.

Barrett Law PLLC:   Caring Support for Victims of Mississippi Trucking Accidents

The differences between tractor trailer accidents and passenger vehicle accidents can make pursuing resolution of your claim for damages difficult and complicated. Trucking accident cases can also involve various state and Federal laws that do not apply to passenger vehicle crashes. Accident victims who were in a wreck involving a tractor-trailer need the specialized knowledge and support of a Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney. Attorneys who understand trucking accident cases know exactly how to get and interpret evidence and business records which are needed to successfully resolve your trucking accident claim. If you would like to learn more about how Mississippi trucking accident victims can file a claim for damages, call the Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney at Barrett Law PLLC, at 1 (601) 790-1505 today.

 

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Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney Discusses Trucking Accidents Involving Hazardous Materials

The wreckage from tractor trailer accidents can make a huge mess on the road, and the massive vehicles often block the roadway for some time before the road can get cleared. Sometimes, the contents of a truck will spill out when the truck gets into a wreck. If the truck is carrying books, clothing, or other household or non-hazardous items, it can take a while to get the cargo cleaned up, but it doesn’t create a threat to the environment or people in the area if traffic near the accident scene is properly diverted until the road is clear. If the truck contains hazardous cargo, there is a potential risk to environmental and human health and safety if the cargo spills in a crash,

A recent accident involving a tanker truck carrying hydrogen peroxide created such a threat when the truck overturned in the median of I-22. Since there was a hazardous substance involved in that accident, there was a lot more to clean it up than removing the wrecked truck from the road. The wreck closed the highway for hours, as emergency personnel worked to keep people at least a half of a mile away from it because a crack in the tank of the truck was releasing hydrogen peroxide vapor into the air. The driver did not get hurt in the wreck, and the vapor did not catch fire. Cleanup efforts after the crash included air quality monitoring to check for dangerous levels of the vapor as well as dilution of the hydrogen peroxide to a safe concentration. Local fire departments brought tanker trucks full of water to the accident scene, where they used the water to dilute the hydrogen peroxide. Air quality monitoring equipment got used to ensure that the vapors were not creating a risk of fire or explosion.

Hydrogen peroxide, in a highly diluted form, is safe for use as an antiseptic and many people have it at home in their medicine cabinets. Concentrated hydrogen peroxide, which is what as contained in the tanker that overturned, is an irritant, which means that it can harm skin, eyes, and respiratory organs. It is also corrosive, so it can burn skin and eat through different substances. Hydrogen peroxide vapors are flammable and can catch fire and even explode. It is fortunate that none of the potentially dangerous things that could have happened in this recent tractor trailer wreck came to pass. The accident is an illustration of the potential danger of trucking accidents involving hazardous materials.

Barrett Law PLLC:   Helping People Who Get Hurt In Mississippi Trucking Accidents

Accidents involving tractor trailers can cause serious injury, fatalities, and property damage. Some tractor trailer accidents can even spill hazardous cargo onto the roadway, increasing the risk of serious injury, death, environmental harm and property damage. To learn more about how Mississippi trucking accident victims can file a claim for damages that they sustained as the result of a Mississippi truck wreck, call the knowledgeable Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney at Barrett Law PLLC, at 1 (601) 790-1505 today.

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Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney Discusses Spilled Cargo

Sometimes, tractor trailer accidents can make a big mess on the road. In some cases, when cargo spills out of a trailer, there is no real danger to the public or to the environment besides the potential for accidents to occur as people get curious and look at the mess instead of paying attention to driving. At other times, cargo that spills from a wrecked truck can be a significant threat to human and environmental safety.

A recent tractor trailer crash near the Mississippi-Louisiana state line left letters and packages strewn about the accident scene. The truck was carrying mail to California, but the mail that was in the trailer will not reach its destination as quickly as it would have if the wreck had not occurred. It was wet when the mail tumbled out onto the road, and the mail had to be collected off of the road, put into a truck, and brought to New Orleans, where it will get dried out before it continues its journey to California.

Fortunately, there were no reports of other accidents happening in the vicinity of the crashed mail truck. The envelopes and packages that ended up on the road did not cause any threat to human or environmental health and safety. There have been other trucking accidents in Mississippi and throughout America where the truck’s cargo created health and environmental hazards that had to be addressed quickly by Hazardous Materials Response Teams (HAZMAT). For example, one tractor trailer that overturned was loaded with naphtha. Law enforcement officers closed the road near the spill for twelve hours after the wreck and diverted traffic onto other roads while emergency response crews cleaned up the spill. The driver of the truck got hurt, and additional injuries resulted from accidents that happened in the midst of the heavy traffic throughout the surrounding area later that day.

Also, a tanker truck overturned during a collision with a pickup truck. The tanker truck was carrying a corrosive liquid, and some of it spilled onto the road. The road where the crash happened was closed for several hours. Area residents were advised to stay in their homes and not go outside so that they would not get exposed to chemical fumes. Many hazardous materials are transported by truck every day in the United States. Between 2004 and 2013, over three thousand of the truck crashes that happened on American roads involved hazardous materials. Ninety-one people died in those accidents, and much more were injured. In addition to their impact on human lives, the wrecks caused over four hundred and fifty million dollars’ worth of property damage.

Barrett Law PLLC:   Helping People Hurt By Mississippi Trucking Accidents

Accidents involving tractor trailers can cause death, injury, and property damage. Some tractor trailer accidents can even spill cargo onto the roadway, which could create even more danger if the cargo is a hazardous substance or creates the risk of additional accidents. To learn more about Mississippi trucking accidents, call the knowledgeable Mississippi Personal Injury Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC, at 1 (601) 790-1505 today.

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Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney Talks About Collisions Involving Multiple Trucks

A recent midday crash involving three tractor-trailers stopped eastbound traffic on Interstate 10 in Mississippi for quite some time while response crews worked to clear the wreckage from the roadway. Preliminary reports on the accident did not indicate that there were any fatalities from the crash, but there was a lot of property damage, and there may have been some injuries. Accidents involving one tractor trailer can cause significant amounts of property damage and bodily harm, and accidents involving multiple tractor trailers cause even more damage and destruction.

Tractor trailer accidents are often both severe and fatal. Because eighteen-wheelers are large and heavy, any accident involving multiple tractor trailers increase the amount of injury and damage that occur. Accidents involving multiple tractor trailers can happen anytime, but the risk of those accidents happening increases during times of peak traffic, when the roads are crowded with al kinds of vehicles. When tractor-trailers are traveling near each other, there are several ways that they can crash into each other. Sometimes, one truck rear-ends another.  When this happens, other vehicles may also get into a rear-end collision with the first two trucks. These rear-end collisions can be extremely dangerous, because the driver of the truck that collided with the rear of the first truck could become trapped in the cab of their truck, resulting in serious injuries or death. Multiple tractor trailers can collide in any fashion and trigger a chain reaction in which multiple other vehicles pile up into a wreck on the roadway. Another possible multiple truck accident scenario is the side impact, which can happen when trucks are driving next to each other and fail to maintain their lanes.

Drivers of passenger vehicles need to know that whenever there is a trucking accident, there is likely to be a complicated set of facts. It can be difficult for accident victims and their families to pursue claims for damages because of the complexity. Trucking accident attorneys understand how trucking accident claims work, the various types of parties involved, and how to pursue claims on behalf of their clients with the goal of obtaining compensation for their damages promptly. The reason that trucking accidents are complicated is that they involve more parties than just the drivers and passengers at the crash scene. These parties include the trucking company, their insurance company, the truck manufacturer, the manufacturer of parts used to repair the truck, mechanics that have worked on the trucks, and others. If you are involved in a trucking accident, know that the “accident response team” that responds to accident scene (not emergency rescue personnel, a separate group of investigators) is there on behalf of the insurers and the trucking companies. These people are not neutral parties, and they represent interests that are contrary to yours. You may refuse to speak with them until you have talked with your attorney.

Barrett Law PLLC:   Helping Victims Of Mississippi Trucking Accidents

Accidents involving multiple tractor trailers can be devastating. To learn more about how we could help you file a claim for damages after a trucking accident or any other type of wreck, call the knowledgeable Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC, at 1 (601) 790-1505 to set up a consultation.

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Safety Tips for Avoiding Tractor-Trailer Accidents in Mississippi

The average tractor-trailer can weigh anywhere from 12,000-80,000 pounds. This can be as much as 25 times more than the average passenger automobile. This disparity explains why a collision between the two vehicles will usually result in far more severe injuries to occupants of a passenger car. A disproportionate number of tractor-trailer accidents result in catastrophic injuries that lead to permanent disabilities and fatalities. This makes it imperative that Gulf Coast motorists do everything in their power to avoid an accident with a tractor-trailer. Large truck collisions account for an eighth of all traffic fatalities.

The experienced Mississippi tractor-trailer attorneys at Barrett Law have been representing commercial truck accident victims throughout the Gulf Coast for over 75 years. If you or someone you love has been involved in a serious big-rig crash, our dedicated and compassionate legal team is available to assess your situation and advise you regarding your legal rights and options. We know the best possible outcome is to avoid collisions involving large trucks, so we have provided some suggestions designed to keep you out of harm’s way.

Stay out of the truck’s blind spots

Many trucks have warnings on the trailer in the form of brightly marked signs that say something like “If you can read this, you are driving too close” or “If you can read this, then I cannot see you.” Tractor-trailer drivers cannot see behind their trucks and they have limited visibility to the sides of the trailer. If you cannot see the driver or their mirrors, then there is a good chance the driver of the tractor-trailer cannot see your vehicle. When a semi-truck driver signals to change into your lane, you should back off or move over and let the driver into the lane. Motorist should avoid the risk associated with speeding up and attempting to pass the truck in this situation because the big-rig operator may not see you.

Respect that tractor-trailers are different from cars

A massive 18-wheeler that is fully loaded can be 65 feet long and weigh as much as 80,000 pounds, which means it cannot maneuver like a passenger vehicle. Tractor-trailers take time to turn, to pull over, and to slow down after the brakes are applied. These limitations of commercial trucks make it important for other motorists to keep a safe distance. If you are immediately behind or in front of these massive vehicles, it is imperative not to travel too close. When passing a big-rig, you should be very careful to promptly pass to avoid being in the blind spot along the side of the vehicle for an extended period.

Pull all the way off the road if you must stop

In addition to the risk of being sideswiped by a semi-truck if you are not pulled way off to the shoulder when stopped, you also might be hit and killed. If you have car trouble or are changing a tire, you want to get as far away from the closest lane of traffic as possible. A fatigued commercial driver can get confused and assume he or she is following moving traffic rather than approaching a stopped vehicle. The driver also might not realize how close he or she is to you and pass by too close.

Drive carefully when in bad weather conditions

When it is raining, snowing, foggy, or other factors that reduce visibility, you should be extremely cautious when driving in the vicinity of a tractor-trailer. In these types of conditions, the truck driver might experience difficulty seeing potential road hazards and stopping when an emergency arises. You should give large commercial trucks more room to maneuver.

Do not instigate “road rage” with a tractor-trailer operator

If a tractor-trailer driver engages in rude or unsafe driving practices like tailgating, you should never retaliate. A fatigued tractor-trailer operator may respond with an act of road rage, which can result in a potentially fatal trucking accident.

Mississippi motorists should exercise caution and respect around semi-trucks because it is the best way to stay safe and avoid serious trucking accidents. Our Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney represents individual injured by unsafe truck drivers and indifferent trucking companies. At Barrett Law, we are here to help. Contact our firm today at (601)790-7577 to schedule your free consultation, so we can answer any questions you may have regarding filing your claim.

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Dangerous Mississippi Underrun Trucking Accidents Can Cause Catastrophic Injury

While the enormous mass of a commercial truck makes any collision involving a big-rig potentially fatal, underrun trucking accidents (also called “underride accidents”) are particularly dangerous.  The reason these collision are so dangerous is because they generally result in severe intrusion into the passenger compartment of the car either literally tearing the roof off the vehicle or crushing the roof.  Many do not realize that these accidents occur fairly frequently with thousands of fatalities from rear underrun trucking collisions occurring annually and another five hundred fatalities each year caused by side underrun trucking accidents.  At Barrett Law, we understand the enormous risk of catastrophic injuries and wrongful death in trucking underrun crashes.

In a Mississippi underrun trucking accident, a passenger car is unable to stop and proceeds to drive beneath the undercarriage of the commercial truck.  The reason these accidents occur is because of the difference in height between the undercarriage area of a passenger car and a commercial truck.  The undercarriage area of a commercial truck is 45 inches while it is only 30 inches for a typical passenger vehicle.  The gap formed by the difference in the relative height of the undercarriage of each vehicle creates a space where a passenger vehicle can travel under a tractor-trailer.  This typically results in the roof of the passenger car being torn off the vehicle or being crushed into the passenger compartment.  Either way, these trucking accidents generally result in horrific injuries, including decapitation, brain injuries, damaged spinal cords and far too frequently fatalities.  Roof crush injuries are common in this type of collision.

While there have been steps take to reduce the risk of undercarriage accidents, they continue to claim thousands of lives each year.  Although all commercial trucks are required to have yellow reflective tape on the back of the trailer, sometimes this tape is not present or the vehicle is so dirty and grimy that the tape cannot be easily seen.  Similarly, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) made installation of underrun guards on commercial trucks mandatory in 1996.  However, the requirement applies only to new commercial trucks, and many commercial carriers have not bothered to retrofit trucks that were not equipped with the guards.  A recent study of the underrun guards also revealed that many are not built strong enough to offer effective protection in an underrun trucking accident.  Additionally, side underguards are not required by federal regulations, and commercial carriers generally have not taken the initiative to install them absent a federal mandate.

Mississippi commercial underrun trucking accidents often result in permanent debilitating injuries or the loss of a loved one.  If you suffer injury or lose someone you love in a Mississippi commercial trucking accident, our experienced Mississippi trucking accident attorneys carefully investigate our clients trucking accidents cases and fight aggressively to seek the best possible outcome for our clients.  At Barrett Law, our experienced Mississippi personal injury lawyers represent injury victims throughout Mississippi.  Our law firm has roots that reach back 75 years so contact us today for your free initial consultation at (662) 834-2376 to see how we can help.

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