An underride crash occurs when a smaller vehicle strikes a large truck and becomes wedged beneath the truck’s trailer. By nature, underride accidents are catastrophic and often deadly. If you have been injured or someone you love was killed in an underride accident in San Antonio, you may be eligible for financial compensation. A skilled San Antonio truck accident attorney can help you with the legal process.
What Is an Underride Accident?
The size disparity between a commercial truck and a standard passenger vehicle results in accident scenarios that do not exist in collisions with only small vehicles. One example is an underride accident, in which a smaller vehicle – including a car or motorcycle – slides partially or completely underneath the trailer of a big rig.
What Causes Underride Trucking Accidents in San Antonio?
An underride crash can occur due to mistakes made by a trucking company or its truck driver. If a trucking company does not invest in the safety equipment that is required by law, including rear impact guards, this can increase the risk of devastating underride collisions.
A rear impact guard is installed on the back of a trailer or semi-trailer at the correct height to prevent most smaller vehicles from sliding beneath the trailer in the event of a collision. These guards can prevent rear-end collisions from becoming deadly underride accidents.
Truck driver mistakes can also lead to underride accidents, such as a trucker suddenly slamming on the brakes or cutting another driver off. In these circumstances, the driver of a smaller vehicle may not have enough time to hit the brakes and avoid sliding under the trailer.
Other common causes include truck maintenance issues, such as malfunctioning brake lights or turn signals, visibility issues and dangerous road conditions. An investigation of an underride truck accident may be necessary to determine the person or party at fault for the crash.
Underride trucking accidents are extremely dangerous due to the lack of protection for the occupants of the smaller vehicle. The bottom of the trailer can shear off or crush the roof of the smaller vehicle, resulting in devastating and often deadly injuries.
Examples include:
- Decapitation
- Head and facial injuries
- Skull fractures
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Broken bones
- Spinal cord injuries
- Permanent paralysis
- Losses of limbs
- Lacerations
- Burn injuries
- Crush injuries
If you or a loved one was seriously injured in an underride truck accident in San Antonio, one or more parties may be financially responsible for your medical bills and other losses. Texas is a fault state, which gives traffic accident victims the right to seek compensation from the at-fault party. This could be the trucking company, the truck driver, an equipment manufacturer or another party, depending on the circumstances.
Contact an Underride Truck Accident Lawyer in San Antonio for Help
Holding someone liable for your underride truck accident in San Antonio may take assistance from an experienced attorney. Contacting an underside truck accident lawyer can give you the peace of mind to focus on your physical recovery while an experienced professional handles your financial one.
A San Antonio underride truck accident lawyer can investigate the crash, determine fault, collect evidence, hire experts and go up against an insurance company on your behalf after an underride accident. Contact a personal injury lawyer from San Antonio as soon as possible for assistance with the claims process if you were hurt in this type of truck accident in Texas.