The sheer physics of a collision between a large truck and a passenger car creates a recipe for disaster. A 40-ton semi-truck, dwarfing the average 2-ton passenger vehicle by a factor of 20, can inflict catastrophic damage. Even more perilous are underride accidents, where a smaller vehicle is forced beneath the truck’s frame. Let’s examine what makes underride truck accidents so dangerous and what you should do if you are injured in one.
What Are Underride Truck Accidents?
Because of the size and weight disparity between commercial semi-trucks and smaller cars, underride accidents can occur when the smaller car collides underneath the truck, often shearing off the car’s roof and leaving occupants with devastating, frequently fatal, head and chest injuries. A ten-year study done by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA found an average of 219 fatalities a year due to underride accidents. Unfortunately, this represents underreporting since the last year of data shows that more than 400 people died in underride crashes in that single year.
Trucks, particularly older models, can have a dangerous gap between the rear wheels and bumper and under the sides, creating spaces where smaller vehicles are left vulnerable. Cars are mainly designed to protect passengers from impacts around the front, back, and sides, leaving the roof frame ill-prepared to withstand forceful contact.
Modern regulations from NHTSA have attempted to address these issues by mandating that trucks have underride guards. Current federal rules mandate rear underride guards. However, side underride guards are not currently required, although there are efforts to do so.
Types of Underride Accidents
The design of commercial tractor-trailers creates three primary types of underride accidents, each typically causing severe injuries and fatalities:
- Rear Underride Accidents: When a passenger vehicle collides with the rear of a truck and slides beneath the trailer. Rear underride accidents often occur due to following too closely, sudden truck braking, and distracted drivers.
- Side Underride Accidents: When a smaller vehicle impacts the side of a truck or trailer and becomes trapped underneath. Side underride accidents are frequently caused by intersection collisions, U-turns, and negligent merging.
- Front Underride Accidents: When a truck essentially drives over a smaller vehicle. Front underride accidents are caused by following too closely, distracted or fatigued truck drivers, brake failure, and slippery road conditions.
All these accidents are more common during nighttime and periods of low-contrast lighting, such as dawn and dusk, when visibility is reduced.
Causes of Underride Accidents
Underride accidents arise from a complex interplay of factors, especially those that compromise visibility and reaction time, such as darkness, blind spots, or adverse weather. Both truck and passenger vehicle drivers face significant challenges, leading to collisions during merging, lane changes, and other maneuvers. Sudden stops or drastic speed differences make things worse, leaving smaller vehicles with too little time to react and leading to underride accidents.
Equipment malfunctions such as brake failure can prevent a truck driver from stopping in time, causing front underride collisions. Defective underride guards or lighting systems make it more likely a passenger vehicle will pass under the truck or trailer.
Finally, driver impairment, fatigue, and human error contribute significantly. Drowsy or distracted truck drivers may fail to recognize hazards in time, resulting in underride accidents. Regardless of the specific cause, the devastating consequences of underride collisions remain a stark reality.
Injuries Caused by Underride Truck Accidents
Underride truck accidents are notable for the sheer force of impact and the crushing nature of these collisions. In high-speed scenarios, the consequences can be catastrophic, including the possibility of decapitation. More commonly, victims suffer a range of devastating injuries, including:
- Head injuries: Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), concussions, skull fractures, facial fractures, and, in extreme cases, decapitation.
- Neck and Spinal Cord Injuries: Severe neck fractures, whiplash, and spinal cord damage, leading to paralysis.
- Chest Injuries: Crushed ribs, punctured lungs, internal organ damage, and cardiac arrest.
- Limb Injuries: Broken bones, fractures, amputations, and crushing injuries.
- Other Injuries: Internal bleeding, organ rupture, severe lacerations and abrasions, and burns.
These accidents often end up shearing off the passenger vehicle roof, destroying the structural integrity of the occupant cabin, and damaging the airbags. Victims are left with little protection against the crushing force of the truck and the oncoming debris.
Determining Liability in Underride Semi-Truck Accidents
When an underride accident occurs, determining liability becomes vital, especially for those who suffer severe injuries or fatalities. Underride accidents introduce many potentially liable parties. These may include the truck driver, the trucking company, truck maintenance companies, truck and parts manufacturers, the passenger vehicle driver, and third-party drivers who contributed to a chain reaction collision.
Working with an experienced truck accident attorney can help unravel these details, starting with a comprehensive investigation to establish liability. This could involve analyzing police reports, examining truck maintenance records and driver logs, inspecting the vehicles involved for mechanical defects, interviewing witnesses, and bringing in accident reconstruction experts. Commercial trucks often have event data recorders (EDR), and your attorney can request access to information regarding the truck’s speed, direction, and other factors before the collision.
Given the complexities of underride accident cases, consulting with a personal injury legal team is crucial to ensuring justice for the injured parties. An experienced team can help you provide resources and knowledge of the legal intricacies to hold all responsible parties accountable.
Above all, they can manage the many aspects of your case while you recover from your injuires or deal with the death of a loved one in an underride truck accident.
Learn More About Your Rights in an Underride Truck Accident Claim
After sustaining injuries in an underride truck accident, seeking justice against negligent parties can be difficult. Trucking companies and insurers often deploy aggressive legal teams to minimize their company’s liability. You deserve equally dedicated and tenacious representation when you have suffered the devastating consequences of an underride collision.
To learn more about your legal rights and how we can protect them, contact J.D. Silva & Associates for a free, confidential consultation. Let us help you hold those responsible accountable and get you the compensation you deserve.