In the Southeast, particularly in South Carolina and Georgia, we have seen a spike in the number of trucking accidents. This is primarily due to negligent driving as a result of poor training or overworked drivers.
Unfortunately, this means our roads have become unnecessarily dangerous. And when you’ve got a 40 ton 18-wheeler involved, that danger can quickly cause serious damage or death.
Just this week in, an 18 wheeler hit a pickup truck at the intersection of Rivers Ave. and Alton in Charleston, S.C., causing both drivers to be hospitalized. The wreck caused a major diesel spill and hazmat and emergency crews spent the entire morning cleaning the mess.
From Live 5 News:
The accident caused the tractor trailer’s gas tank to burst open, spilling 25-30 gallons of diesel on the road. The pickup truck struck a water main right after the accident, pushing the fuel into a storm drain.
A fire official says besides the fire department, personel from the Department of Health and Environmental Control, the South Carolina Department of Transportation, a private hazardous material contractor, and Charleston Public Water Works assisted with the clean up.
That accident occurred less than a week after a semi-truck flipped on its side just down the road. In that case, the driver was cited for driving too fast for conditions.
Besides being less than a week and a few miles apart, these truck accident cases have one thing in common: they could have been avoided.
Because of that, I expect the driver of the pickup truck in the first case, and any victims in the second, will consider filing a lawsuit for things like financial losses, medical expenses, pain and suffering, and loss of quality of life.
And the sooner they make that decision, the better.
At Strom Law Firm, we advise everyone to consult an experienced attorney immediately after a loved one is injured or killed as a result of a truck accident. Time is of the essence.
The trucking company will have their lawyers on the scene faster than you can say “wrongdoing.”
A good truck accident attorney will counteract that by reporting to the scene of the accident with an expert in accident reconstruction to make sure the victim is better represented than the trucking company. And this information could be absolutely vital to winning a truck accident case.
