What Happens When a Truck Drives With an Overweight Load?

It can happen in an instant. One minute you are driving on Interstate 4, and the next, you are flying headfirst through your windshield because the oversized truck behind you could not stop in time and struck your vehicle.

Semi-trucks are some of the most oversized vehicles on the road, weighing almost 80,000 pounds. Unfortunately, being involved in a collision with this enormous metal giant does not usually result in just a few bumps and bruises. Many times, these truck crashes result in catastrophic injuries, devastating damages, and extensive medical expenses that forever change your life, as well as that of your family.

If you have sustained injuries in one of these horrifying collisions, you should not have to deal with the legal ramifications on your own. In this blog post, we provide you with the information you need to know regarding overweight trucking accidents and the actions you should take to pursue maximum compensation for your injuries.

How Does an Overweight Truck Result in a Collision?

According to statistics released by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), there are almost 4,000 deaths every year due to big rig accidents.

An overweight truck can pose a significant risk on the road.

• Overweight trucks are much slower to accelerate, which means that devastating accidents can happen if motorists unexpectedly come upon a slow-moving truck.
• Overweight trucks have a much harder time coming to a stop, especially when they are driving downhill. This can mean bad news if the truck needs to stop suddenly to avoid a hazard or another vehicle.
• Overweight trucks are more likely to experience equipment malfunction due to the extra weight, such as tire blowouts. This is because trucks are designed to support only a specific amount of weight. If the truck exceeds this weight, things can go wrong.
• Overweight trucks are often difficult to maneuver since most of the truck’s weight is near the vehicle’s rear.
• Overweight trucks may cause asphalt or bridges to crumble or push highway overpasses to their limits.
• Overweight trucks are more likely to jackknife or rollover when they are involved in an accident, which may cause the truck to crash into another motorist or spill dangerous loads onto the road.

In addition, when there is too much cargo present on a flatbed truck, and these materials are not properly anchored to the bed, serious accidents can occur because of flying debris. In some instances, this cargo can even crush small vehicles if it falls off a trailer.

Common Injuries Resulting From an Overweight Truck Accident

Oversized truck accidents often generate a variety of severe injuries for those involved, and even a low-speed crash can prove fatal.

However, the most common types of injuries that result from an overweight trucking accident include:

• Traumatic brain injuries
• Head and neck injuries
• Spinal cord damages
• Broken or fractured bones
• Deep lacerations
• Internal organ damage
• Internal bleeding
• Back injuries

Who Is Liable for an Overweight Trucking Accident

Even though the truck driver is one of the first people to face liability in an overweight trucking accident, numerous other parties may also face responsibility for such an accident, including:

• Trucking companies that own the truck and employ the truck driver may face responsibility for any accidents that occur.
• Affiliated shipping companies
• Cargo loaders
• Product manufacturers
• Other businesses in the supply chain

If you want to collect maximum compensation for your injuries following a trucking accident, you must understand the trucking chain of command and all of the potentially liable parties. That is why it is critical to seek legal help from an experienced truck accident lawyer who knows not only how to determine precisely who is at fault for this horrific crash but who can also take legal action against all those responsible.

Damages Available Following an Overweight Trucking Accident

If you have suffered harm in an overweight trucking accident, you may qualify to receive specific compensation for your injuries. Typically, this compensation includes:

Economic damages: These damages are the actual and verifiable losses that result from your trucking accident and often include:

• Medical expenses including past, current, and future medical bills such as hospital stays, prescription medications, surgeries, rehabilitative therapy, and doctor visits
• Lost wages
• Lost earning capacity
• Personal property losses
• At-home nursing care or other replacement services
• Other out-of-pocket costs

Non-economic damages: These damages also result from the accident, but unlike economic damages, non-economic damages are difficult to quantify, as they involve subjective losses.

Typically, non-economic damages include:

• Pain and suffering
• Mental anguish
• Loss of companionship
• Loss of consortium
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of a limb
• Loss of reputation
• Disfigurement
• Scarring

Punitive damages: Unlike other damages, which compensate a victim for losses suffered because of the accident, punitive damages punish defendants for their egregious actions and deter them and others from committing similar acts in the future. However, courts only award these damages in exceptional cases where the victim shows clear and convincing evidence that the defendant was personally guilty of intentional misconduct or gross negligence.

The Amount of Time You Have to File an Injury Claim Following an Overweight Trucking Accident

The statute of limitations is a law that dictates the maximum amount of time you have to file a claim after an alleged offense. If you do not file this claim within the allotted time frame, you may no longer qualify to collect compensation for the harm you have endured.

If you’ve sustained injuries in an overweight trucking accident in Florida, you have four years from the date of the accident to file an injury claim. However, there are numerous exceptions to this rule, and even exceptions to the exceptions, that can significantly shorten or extend the amount of time you have to file your case.

If you want to protect your rights, you need to discuss your trucking accident with a truck accident lawyer as soon as possible. Your attorney can determine exactly how much time you have to file your claim while also making sure that your documents and motions are adequately completed.

Speaking With the Insurance Company Following Your Overweight Trucking Accident

One of the most common mistakes that people make is believing that the insurance company wants to help them recover financially following their accidents. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth. In reality, insurance companies are like other businesses that want to make a profit, and the less they pay you, the more money they make. That is why insurance adjusters will do everything they can to reduce the amount of your claim or to deny it altogether.

What gets even more complicated is that many times following a trucking accident, you will have to discuss your crash with multiple insurance companies, including the truck driver’s insurance, the trucking company’s insurance, and even the cargo’s insurance company. This means that you may have to deal with immense pressure, as quite often these insurance companies will try to get you to settle quickly so that they do not have to pay you the total value of your claim.

When you work with an experienced trucking accident lawyer, you will not have to worry about these insurance companies and their unethical practices. Instead, your lawyers can take over these discussions and ensure that you do not say anything that may impact your claim while fighting for a fair settlement on your behalf.

What to Do After an Overweight Trucking Accident

Following a trucking accident, the situation may prove loud, terrifying, and confusing. You may have no idea what is going on, let alone what you need to do next. However, you need to remember that the actions you take after this terrifying ordeal can not only affect your health and safety but your individual legal rights as well. For these reasons, if you are ever involved in an overweight trucking accident, you need to make sure that you:

Call 911

You should prioritize your health and safety following a trucking accident. This means that after a crash, you need to contact 911 immediately. This is the fastest way to get the accident on record while also getting Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to the scene. Additionally, once the police arrive, they can start investigating the accident and writing down their findings in their police report. If you decide to bring an injury claim, this report may prove extremely crucial in proving what happened and who was at fault.

Exchange Basic Information

You will need to exchange information with the truck driver. However, do not say anything else besides your name and insurance information, as the insurance company may use your statements against you. When exchanging these details, make sure you get the drivers’ name, license plate number, driver’s license number, trucking company information, insurance information, and truck make and model.

Collect Evidence and Take Pictures

If it is safe to do so, try to take as many photos of the accident scene as you can. Include pictures and videos of your visible injuries, the position of the vehicles involved in the crash, weather conditions at the time of the accident, license plates, skid marks on the road, any traffic signs near the accident, and any other evidence that can help show what happened.

Get Witness Details

If there were people at the scene who witnessed what happened, get their names and numbers. Their statements can help substantiate your claims.

Get Examined by Your Doctor

Even if you do not believe you need emergency medical assistance, you still need to follow up with your doctor as soon as possible after the accident. Quite often, deadly injuries, such as traumatic brain injuries, can remain hidden for days or even weeks before symptoms manifest. The longer you wait to get the condition checked out, the more dangerous and debilitating it can become.

Besides, if you do not see your doctor right away, the insurance company may try to deny your claim based on the gap in treatment, claiming your injuries were not that serious since you did not seek medical assistance, or that your injuries resulted from a subsequent event or a pre-existing condition. Fortunately, when you see your doctor, he or she can document everything about your injuries in the medical report, providing you a direct link between your trucking accident and the harm you’ve endured.

Keep a Journal

Memories of the accident can fade over time. To avoid forgetting important details about your accident, you should keep a detailed journal following your accident throughout your recovery. When you write down everything about the trucking incident in a journal, however, vital facts and details will remain preserved.

Jot down something every day about your crash. Make sure you include details about how you feel, the medical treatments you now need, the pain and suffering you have to endure, and how life has changed for you and your family after the accident.

Contact an Experienced Truck Accident Attorney

Speaking with an experienced truck accident attorney following your accident does not obligate you to take legal action. However, it can help you determine whether you have a viable claim, the legal options you can pursue, and the answers to your most pertinent questions. Even more importantly, if you decide to move forward with your case, your lawyers can make sure to work diligently to assess all your options and take the appropriate actions within the required time limits, always pursuing maximum compensation on your behalf.

Do not wait to get the legal help you need when an overweight trucking accident turns your life upside down. Instead, contact a skilled and knowledgeable trucking accident lawyer today and start pursuing justice and compensation for your injuries.