ArticlesCommercial truck accidents are unfortunately common in Birmingham, as our city is home to the active commercial transportation industry.
If you suffered serious injuries in a truck collision, you face a long road to recovery and potentially devastating medical bills.
If you can’t work, you may have no way to pay your bills or take care of your family.
An experienced Birmingham truck accident attorney from the Fob James Law Firm can help.
We fight to help you recover compensation for your physical, emotional, and financial damages.
Fob James Law Firm can help you no matter what the cause of your truck accident injuries might have been.
The Most Common Causes of Birmingham Truck Accidents
The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) reports that, in 2022, our state experienced almost 10,500 truck accidents involving vehicles such as commercial semi-trucks, 18-wheelers, tow trucks, and delivery trucks.
In those collisions, 2,417 victims sustained serious injuries and 162 truck accident victims died.
The most common types of trucking accidents in Alabama are:
- Blindspot accidents
- Head-on collisions
- Jackknife accidents
- Rear-end collisions
- Roll-overs, and
- Underride accidents
The most common causes of truck accidents in Alabama, according to ALDOT, are:
- Improper backing
- Excessive speed
- Improper passing
- Driver fatigue
- Driver impairment
- Tailgating
- Failure to yield, and
- Improper lane changes
Other factors that frequently lead to truck collisions include:
- Improper or neglected vehicle maintenance,
- Defective equipment
- Roadway obstructions
- Poorly marked roadways, and
- Insufficient traffic control
If you had a collision with a heavy-duty commercial vehicle, contact a truck accident lawyer as quickly as possible.
Preserving evidence in these types of collisions can be challenging, and the sooner your attorney can start documenting your case, the better.
Common Truck Accident Injuries
Large commercial vehicles such as 18-wheelers, tractor-trailers, and semi-trucks are heavy and difficult to control under many conditions.
The size and weight of these vehicles can destroy passenger vehicles and cause catastrophic injuries to the occupants.
Some of the most common types of injuries that result from trucking collisions include:
- Fractures and dislocations
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
- Neck and spine injuries
- Nerve damage
- Internal injuries
- Severe burns, and
- Lost digits and limbs
Victims can sustain permanent scarring, disfigurement, and disability, requiring lifelong treatment and care.
Hundreds of truck accident victims lose their lives every year in Alabama.
If you or a loved one were injured—or if you lost a loved one in an Alabama truck collision—seek help from an experienced truck accident lawyer in Birmingham.
Who is Liable for Commercial Truck Accidents?
In a collision involving two passenger vehicles, the drivers and their insurance carriers are typically the only parties involved.
In a commercial trucking accident, however, you must deal with multiple parties, depending on the circumstances of the crash.
Typically, you must deal with the truck driver, the trucking company, and potentially, the cargo shipper and trucking equipment manufacturer.
In addition, each party likely has their own insurer and attorneys.
Determining liability for a truck accident can pose a complex challenge.
Documenting the case and obtaining evidence to prove liability can be even more difficult.
After a trucking accident, evidence should be preserved and a thorough investigation should be conducted before the trucking company or its insurance carrier destroys the evidence.
Examples of evidence to preserve and investigate include:
- The truck driver’s logbook, which shows how long they were on the road in the past 24 hours.
- The truck driver’s medical certificate showing that they are cleared to drive, and
- The truck’s onboard computer, which will reveal key data about the crash and the events leading up to the accident.
While these pieces of evidence can help prove that the truck driver or trucking company was negligent in the accident, they could be lost if immediate steps aren’t taken to preserve evidence.
In most cases, you need an experienced truck accident attorney to preserve and collect evidence and to investigate these complicated incidents.
Contact a Truck Accident Attorney in Birmingham
At the Fob James Law Firm, we understand the pain you’re experiencing, as well as the confusion and uncertainty for the future.
Our experienced personal injury lawyers provide personalized representation that is tailored to your needs and the details of your case.
We work hard to get you the maximum compensation for your injuries.
Contact us online or call (205) 407-6009 today to learn more or to schedule your no-cost, no-obligation consultation with one of our Birmingham truck accident lawyers.
Fob James
Fob James obtained a B.S., in software engineering from Auburn University and then continued his education by getting his J.D. from Vanderbilt University School of Law. After working for a large regional firm for several years where he obtained awards for both individual and corporate clients, Fob found that his passion was fighting for individuals who have been seriously injured or wronged by others. Fob believes that the jury is the great equalizer to the power and influence that large corporations have in society.