A dump truck tire blowout on VA Route 20 just outside Charlottesville, Virginia, on January 16, 2012, sent the truck and a small car being driven nearby careening off the road and into the woods. According to WVIR-TV NBC 29, both the car’s driver and the dump truck operator suffered injuries requiring hospital treatment. Both people were able to return home the same day, but the truck driver had to be cut from the cab of his vehicle.

As a Virginia personal injury attorney whose law firm often represents victims of trucking accidents, I know that the wrecks caused by failing equipment can often be deadly. Both the people involved in the Charlottesville crash can be considered lucky to have not been injured more severely.

At the same time, the trucker and car driver could also have been victimized by a defective tire. Only a full investigation into the crash can reveal whether the tire blew out because it was improperly inflated, allowed to become bald and unbalanced, driven over a puncture hazard or unsafe in design or by manufacture. Whatever the case of the tire failure, there is a cause and either the company owning and operating the dump truck or the tire maker can and should be held liable for injuries resulting from the accident.

EJL

About the Editors: The Virginia (VA) trucking accident attorneys at Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton have experience handling truck accident cases in Virginia, North Carolina (NC), and other Southeastern states. Check out our case results, which illustrate our track record of success in truck accident personal injury cases. Trucking injury lawyers Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been listed among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008. They have also been named Virginia Super Lawyers since 2010, an honor fewer than 5 percent of outstanding attorneys receive. To learn more about Virginia truck accident injury law, take a look at this free report written by an experienced truck wreck injury attorney in Virginia.

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My colleague Jim Lewis has written about an accident at the intersection of Bonney Road and South Budding Avenue in Virginia Beach, VA, in which a dump truck hit a car. Injuries were sustained in the wreck. To learn more, take a look at “Truck Slams Into Car on Bonney Road in Virginia Beach, Causes Injuries.”

PA

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper, Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law and have experience handling truck accident cases. Our primary office is in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), but our lawyers also hold licenses to practice in NC, South Carolina (SC), West Virginia (WV), Kentucky (KY), Florida (FL) and Washington, DC. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included in the 2011 issue of Best Lawyers in America. They, along with fellow attorney John M. Cooper, were also named 2011 Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law, an honor which fewer than 5 percent of outstanding lawyers receive. Our injury attorneys host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Further, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard blogs as pro bono public information services. Check out our case results. Though not every case meets our criteria, we offer free initial consultations so give us a call at (800) 752-0042. If you can’t get through due to high call volume, please leave a message and we will return your call.

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Like too many previous celebration of America’s independence, Fourth of July 2011 has the potential to be a deadly diving day on the roads and highways of Virginia (VA), North Carolina (NC) and every other state. Citing National Highway Transportation Safety Administration statistics, msn.com noted that the days leading up to and including July 4 regularly see more fatal car, truck, motorcycle and SUV accidents than any other holiday weekend.

“In the summer of 2008 …, 491 people died in car accidents during the three-day Fourth of July weekend. Out of that total, 43 percent died as a result of alcohol-impaired driving,” the website reported.

As a Virginia Beach, VA-based personal injury attorney who has represented injury and wrongful death victims following car and truck wrecks for nearly 25 years, I know firsthand that no crash that kills or injures is a welcome event. But accidents at otherwise happy times can be especially devastating.

In an effort to keep traffic accidents to a minimum this July 4th, and all summer long and year round, the American Trucking Associations, recently published the top 10 safe driving tips from commercial truck drivers.  While the advice is specifically intended to prevent collisions between 18-wheelers, semis, tanker trucks, flatbeds and smaller vehicles, following this advice from people who have logged literally millions of miles behind the wheels of big rigs should help everyone reach their destination safely every time.

• Prepare Your Vehicle: Checking your radiator, oil, and wipers and getting any necessary maintenance can help you avoid many of the problems that strand motorists on the side of the road.
• Check and Inflate Your Tires to the Proper Pressure: Overinflated tires can blow out. Underinflated tires make your vehicle harder to control. And having too much or too little air in your tires lowers your vehicle’s fuel efficiency.
• Drive the Speed Limit: Observing posted speed limits saves money on gas and reduces wear and tear on vehicles. Resisting the urge to speed also makes any driver or motorcyclist more safe. Maintaining a constant speed can reduce fuel costs by 30 percent and give you more time to react to changing road conditions or mistakes by other motorists.
• Remember That Large Trucks Have Large Blind Spots: Drivers of tractor-trailers and 18-wheelers simply cannot see you if you are beside their rigs. If you can’t see a trucker driver in his or her rearview mirror, the truck driver can’t see you.
• Keep Bottled Water in Your Vehicle: A summer emergency kit containing extra water, sunsreen and nonperishable food in addition to flares and tools is as essential as a winter driving kit containing a blanket and chemical hand and foot warmers. Never allow yourself to get stranded without emergency supplies.
• Park Safely Out of Traffic Before Using Your Cell Phone or Any Other Handheld Electronic Device: Taking your eyes and mind off the road and vehicles around you for even two seconds doubles your chance of causing or being involved in a crash.
• Do Not Cut Off Large Trucks: The longer and heavier a truck is, the longer its driver needs to stop. Keep that in mind when changing lanes in front of big rig.
• Honor Right-of-Way When Merging and Turning: You must yield to oncoming traffic whenever you enter a highway from an on-ramp, use an off-ramp or make a right- or left-hand turn from a light, intersection or parking lot. When you do merge, get up to highway speed quickly and do not slow down in front of an 18-wheeler or semi.
• Respond Calmly to Emergencies: If you get in trouble, put on your emergency blinkers and slow down smoothly before coming to a stop on a shoulder or in an emergency lane. Do not stop in the flow of traffic and, at the same time, move over or slow down when approaching police, broken down vehicles or road crews beside the road.
• Save Fuel: Take direct routes, make few side trips and keep your engine well-tuned. You’ll see noticeable savings on fuel and lower your chances of running out of gas when stuck in traffic.

Stay safe, and have a great Fourth.

EJL

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm whose attorneys focus on injury and accident law and have experience handling truck accident cases. Our primary office is in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), but our lawyers also hold licenses to practice in NC, South Carolina (SC), West Virginia (WV), Kentucky (KY), Florida (FL) and Washington, DC. Rick Shapiro and James Lewis were included in the 2011 issue of Best Lawyers in America. They, along with fellow attorney John M. Cooper, were also named 2011 Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law, an honor which fewer than 5 percent of outstanding lawyers receive. Our injury attorneys host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube. Further, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard blogs as pro bono public information services. Check out our case results. Though not every case meets our criteria, we offer free initial consultations so give us a call at (800) 752-0042. If you can’t get through due to high call volume, please leave a message and we will return your call.

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The widow of an Illinois (IL) attorney killed in a crash caused by a semi driver who failed to stop at an intersection of two state highways has received a $5 million wrongful death settlement from the health care company that owned the big rig and employed the driver. Fellow trucking accident victim’s lawyer, Robert J. Bingle of Chicago, told the News Tribune on February 25, 2011, that the victim “was a loving husband and a great father. He was a tenacious and passionate advocate for his clients and a very active man in his community. He is missed by many people.”

The fatal collision occurred on December 16, 2009, when the OSF St. Francis Healthcare Systems truck rolled through a stop sign and hit the car driven by Richard J. Berry. The truck driver was cited by police for disobeying a signal at a four-way intersection with stop signs at each corner. He may also have been speeding before the crash. Berry died at the scene of the accident.

Semis, tractor-trailers and other large commercial trucks take a long time to come to a complete stop. And, of course, the faster a truck is going, the greater the distance needed to drop its speed to zero. Truck drivers are trained to take these indisputable laws of physics into account when sharing roads and highways with cars and, especially, when approaching red lights, stop signs, turns or unmarked intersections. As the deadly crash in Illinois shows, however, even a single mistake or temporary lack of attention can lead to irreversible tragedy.

As a partner in a law firm whose lawyers have represented hundreds of victims of crashes caused by trucks, I have seen firsthand the devastation big rigs can cause when operated unsafely. My condolences go out to the woman who lost her husband in Illinois. At the same time, I’m glad that the civil suit she filed for the wrongful death ended with some measure of compensation and justice for her irretrievable loss.

EJL

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm that focuses on injury and accident law, and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) although our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY, FL and DC. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as pro bono public information services. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Though not every case meets our criteria, we offer free, initial consultations so give us a call at (800) 752-0042. If you can’t get through due to high call volume, please leave a message and we will return your call promptly.

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In the second fatal accident involving a large commercial truck in North Carolina (NC) in less than four days, a tractor-trailer driver “plowed into a line of eight vehicles stopped in the right lane [of I-26]. … Five people were killed and 10 were injured.” The accident occurred on the interstate near the town of Fletcher just before 11 pm on Sunday, February 20.

The semi driver faces multiple manslaughter charges, and several of the injured car drivers and passengers remained hospitalized on Tuesday. The truck driver also appears to have given police a falsified or invalid medical certificate attesting to his physical and mental health and ability to operate a big rig safely.

No cause for the accident in which five people lost their lives and twice that many had their lives changed forever has been reported. The multiple criminal charges do point to the tractor-trailer’s operator being at fault, however. The time of the accident — near midnight — could also suggest that the truck driver had limited vision of the highway or suffered from fatigue.

Semis and 18-wheelers take much longer to stop than smaller vehicles, so it is important that the people behind the wheel of large commercial trucks remain alert and responsive to changes in road conditions and traffic flow that can lead to accidents in which people get killed or hospitalized.

Whatever caused the wreck, as an attorney with a firm whose lawyers have decades of experience representing victims of trucking accidents, I offer my condolences to families and friends of those killed. I also wish the injured parties speedy and full recoveries.

EJL

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm that focuses on injury and accident law, and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) although our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY, FL and DC. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as pro bono public information services. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Though not every case meets our criteria, we offer free, initial consultations so give us a call at (800) 752-0042. If you can’t get through due to high call volume, please leave a message and we will return your call promptly.

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Whose fault is it when a vehicle becomes disabled and the driver of another vehicle crashes into it?  Easy, it is the fault of the inattentive driver.  These crashes happen more often than not, find out more.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Though not every case meets our criteria, we offer free, initial consultations so give us a call at 1-800-752-0042. If you can’t get through due to high call volume, please leave a message and we will return your call promptly. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) although our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY, FL and DC. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service.

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It’s terrifying to think that you could be obeying the speed limit, driving defensively, and still be the victim of a deadly accident. This is exactly what happened in a deadly wreck near Roanoke, Virginia (VA), find out more.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Though not every case meets our criteria, we offer free, initial consultations so give us a call at 1-800-752-0042. If you can’t get through due to high call volume, please leave a message and we will return your call promptly. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) although our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY, FL and DC. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service.

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Commerical truck drivers spend a lot of time on the road.  This gives them a higher chance of being in an accident.  As more and more young people start driving the rate of distracted driver accidents has been going up as well.  This was the case late yesterday afternoon when distracted driving led to a wreck between a tractor-trailer and a car, find out more.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Though not every case meets our criteria, we offer free, initial consultations so give us a call at 1-800-752-0042. If you can’t get through due to high call volume, please leave a message and we will return your call promptly. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) although our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY, FL and DC. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service.

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“In 2009, 5,474 people were killed on U.S. roadways and an estimated additional 448,000 were injured in motor vehicle crashes that were reported to have involved distracted driving.”

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration lists the above as the top “highlight” of a September 2010 Traffic Safety Facts Research Note. Another 16 percent of U.S. traffic accidents in which someone got killed involved at least one distracted driver. Teens and adults younger than 30 had the highest numbers of injuries and deaths in distracted driving accidents.

Some highlights.

Distractions leading to driving-related injuries and fatalities include using cell phones to talk or text, eating, speaking with passengers and simply taking one’s eyes off the road. A study by Virginia Tech researchers showed that drivers of large commercial trucks such as 18-wheelers, semis and tractor-trailers of all sizes posed particular risks to themselves and others when they allowed themselves to become distracted. Big rig drivers appear nearly 20 times more likely to have accidents than other motorists.

A totally incomplete record of the deaths and injuries caused by distracted truck, car and van drivers in just 2010 makes up a distressingly large amount of the content of this blog:

• “Driver Killed When Tractor-Trailer Driver Runs Red Light in Virginia Beach, VA“
• “Nine Car Accident Starts With Distracted Driver, Ends With Faulty Brakes“
• “Fiery Tractor-Trailer Crash on I-64“

Federal, state and industry efforts to prevent and crack down on distracted driving by proposing and adopting bans on texting by drivers and banning hand held cell phone use behind the wheel have made a dent in the problem. Those measures can only go so far, especially as more and more distractions — even in-dash televisions and Internet-enabled computers — appear in new vehicles.

All drivers need to keep their minds and eyes on their driving. This is especially true for truck drivers, because the damage they can do — the lives they can destroy — is so great.

EJL

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Our primary office is Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA), but our lawyers also hold licenses to practice in NC, SC, WV, KY and DC. We are ready to talk to you by phone right now. We provide free initial confidential injury case consultations, so call us toll free at 1-800-752-0042. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, Eastern Shore Virginia Injury Attorneys Blog and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as pro bono services.

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These days, road rage seems to be an every day occurrence.  Tractor-trailer drivers often bear the brunt of it from impatient or angry motorists.  This time the road rage was more than angry words.  An angry driver rammed a pickup truck with his vehicle on Interstate 70 in January, pushing it into the path of a tractor trailer which killed the three young people and left another with serious injuries.  Find out more.

About the Editors: Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton is a law firm which focuses on injury and accident law and our attorneys have experience handling truck accident cases. Check out our case results to see for yourself. Though not every case meets our criteria, we offer free, initial consultations so give us a call at 1-800-752-0042. If you can’t get through due to high call volume, please leave a message and we will return your call promptly. Our primary office in based in Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) although our lawyers hold licenses in NC, SC, WV, KY, FL and DC. Our injury attorneys also host an extensive injury law video library on Youtube . Furthermore, our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard and Norfolk Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service.

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