Collisions with large trucks are a growing threat to residents throughout Southern Ohio. The Warren Law Firm has long been a leader in advocating for those injured in collisions with commercial vehicles. In 2020, our Chillicothe trucking accident attorneys secured a $2.1 million settlement in a case involving a dump truck hauling hot asphalt on Highway 35.
By some estimates, commercial driver error causes more than 10,000 collisions in Ohio each year, seriously injuring or killing more than 2,000 motorists. It’s a risk that has continued to grow amid the supply-chain and labor-shortages of the coronavirus pandemic, even as the Internet economy continues to push the warehouse and delivery economy onto the antiquated highways and byways of our region.
Chillicothe is a hub of economic activity in Southern Ohio and has been since the Pixelle paper mill began operating more than 100 years ago. Today, malls, hospitals, prisons and college campuses combine with Ross County’s rich history of mills, mines and manufacturing along Route 50 and on Highway 35, as well as the many other highways and byways that crisscross Ross, Pike and Jackson counties.
The Internet economy is driving increases in regional warehousing and delivery services, which in turn pushes more large vans and trucks into heavily populated neighborhoods and pedestrian corridors. Unfortunately, our Chillicothe trucking accident attorneys expect tragedies will continue to result in an increasing number of cases.
Top Causes of Truck Accidents in Chillicothe
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration blames drive error in nearly 90 percent of commercial trucking collisions, with equipment malfunctions responsible for another 10 percent. Of the 141,000 trucking accidents studied, operator error included:
Non-Performance: Reasons included sleep, medically disabled, or intoxicated.
Recognition: Distracted drivers and drivers who otherwise failed to respond to unfolding conditions.
Decision: Often included forms of aggressive driving, including following too closely, speed, and failure to signal.
Performance: Panic and overcompensation, as well as driver inexperience, were top causes blamed on driver performance.
Other top causes included:
Brake problems
Traffic flow interruption (congestion, previous crash)
Prescription drug use
Traveling too fast for conditions
Unfamiliarity with roadway
Roadway problems
Required to stop before crash (traffic control device, crosswalk)
Over-the-counter drug use
Inadequate surveillance
Fatigue
Truck Accident Injury Claims
About half of all semi truck accidents involve at least one passenger vehicle and the risks continue to increase: Americans drove less in 2020, but fatalities increased more than 7 percent to 38,680, the most since 2007.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety reports passenger-vehicle occupants are most often killed or critically injured in collisions with large trucks, although the number of truckers killed is also on the rise – by more than 50 percent in the last decade, compared to two-thirds more passenger-vehicle occupants who have died.
In 2019, the year before the pandemic began, more than 4,000 motorists were killed in collisions involving large trucks. These are among the most complex cases a Chillicothe personal injury and wrongful death law firm can handle, frequently putting the firm up against out-of-state trucking companies and some of the nation’s largest commercial insurance carriers and their law firms.
A comprehensive personal injury or wrongful death claim must identify all of the parties responsible and their insurance companies.
A full determination of liability also hinges on a comprehensive damage claim that not only includes compensation for current damages – including medical bills, lost wages and pain and suffering – but also account for the likelihood of future medical complications, long-term disabilities or reduced capacities, as well as any impact on future quality of life, including future medical bills and long-term care needs.
If you are involved in a collision with a commercial vehicle, contact the Warren Law Firm.
Featured image by @rhysatwork, inset by @inphokus_by_funke.
