Trucking Accident Attorney Blog

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is considering whether to increase the speed limit for semi trucks from 55 mph to 65 mph, the Bloomington Pantagraph reported May 18. Both houses of the Illinois Legislature passed the measure, but the governor can still veto it. If he does not, big rigs and tractor-trailers would be allowed to legally travel at the same speed as passenger cars in Illinois.

This is actually the fourth try by the Legislature to raise trucking speed limits. Three similar bills have already passed, but disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich vetoed each one. The current governor did not comment to the Pantagraph, but opponents of the measure argue that trucks already violate the speed limit, and a raised speed limit would just lead to even higher speeds and possibly more trucking accidents in Illinois. Supporters, by contrast, say trucks are safer when they move at the same speed as cars. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Illinois is one of 12 states that set lower speed limits for trucks, not including Missouri.

As a Southern Illinois trucking lawyer, I am very interested in trucking safety issues, so I was curious about which side’s safety arguments were more accurate. A bit of research suggests that speeding is not a major safety issue for large commercial tractor-trailers, at least as compared to private drivers. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, of all drivers involved in fatal crashes in 2007, truck drivers were the least likely to speed (or drive drunk). However, the agency also reported that truck drivers in fatal crashes were more likely to have a previous speeding conviction than car drivers (24% to 19%), suggesting that enforcement of speed limits might be better for truckers.

In any case, while drivers are more than justified in being afraid of speeding semi trucks, speed is not the main safety issue with big rigs. The trouble is the trucks’ much greater size and weight. Even a relatively slow-speed crash between a car and a truck can cause catastrophic injuries to the people inside the car. Here in Missouri, where we have no difference in speed limits applied to passenger vehicles and trucks, our number of trucking accidents is basically even with that of Illinois -- we had 3% of America’s trucking accidents in 2007, while Illinois had 3.2%. As a St. Louis tractor-trailer accident attorney who would like to see fewer crashes in every state, I don’t believe Illinois will see much of a change if Quinn does sign the bill.

The Lowe Law Firm represents clients in Missouri and southern Illinois who were seriously injured in a serious accident with a large truck. If you were hurt or lost a loved one in an accident you believe was caused by a trucker’s or trucking company’s carelessness, we can help. In a Missouri semi truck accident lawsuit, you can claim all of your losses related to the accident, including financial losses like hospital bills and lost income, as well as compensation for an injury, pain, disability or wrongful death. To set up a free consultation and learn more about your rights, please contact our firm online or call us toll-free at 1-877-678-3400.

A story in the Joplin Globe recently caught my eye because it involves legal issues very important to Missouri trucking accident lawyers like me. The story centers on a family of four from Joplin who were killed when their car, which was stopped for a red light, was struck by a tractor-trailer and burst into flames. The truck driver is now facing four counts of negligent homicide in the incident. Relatives would like to sue the trucking company over the deaths -- and in Missouri, this would be no problem. But the accident took place just over the state line in Pryor, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma law may block part of the relatives’ legal claim.

The plaintiffs in the case are older children of Robert and Melissa Hayes, siblings or half-siblings to Tyler and Colby Hayes. They filed their lawsuit in Missouri, where the Hayes family lived and where the trucking company is based. However, the trucking company has asked to move the case to Oklahoma, where the accident took place, possibly because of differences in the way the states treat siblings of wrongfully killed people. Under Missouri law, the plaintiffs may claim all the same damages for the deaths of their brothers as they would for the deaths of their parents. But Oklahoma law does not allow non-economic damages -- damages for the grief and pain of losing a loved one -- for anyone but the victims’ parents.

That difference is important, because the economic damages families may claim for the death of a minor are usually quite small. Economic damages are payments for financial losses related to the death, including the loss of an income as well as the cost of medical care and a funeral. Because minors don’t usually work, limiting wrongful death claims to economic damages means that families can collect next to nothing for the deaths of their children, even if their cases are strong. Sometimes, it means no attorney will even take the case, because wrongful death attorneys are paid from a percentage of the winnings -- and with only economic damages available, they cannot make enough money to stay in business. This essentially removes a wrongdoer’s legal liability for the death of a minor, no matter how clearly wrong that person’s behavior might have been.

It is unclear whether the effort to move the case to Oklahoma will succeed. Missouri courts have ruled that wrongful death cases should be heard in the state where the death took place -- but they have also ruled that Missouri courts should hear a case when moving it out of state would take away Missourians’ legal rights. As a St. Louis semi truck accident attorney, I hope concern for Missourians’ rights wins. By seeking to move the case to Oklahoma and dismiss the claims as to Tyler and Colby Hayes, the trucking company is trying to limit its financial liability -- not trying to spare the family from the pain of testifying, as its lawyer told the newspaper. The plaintiffs must still prove the trucking company was careless, and their other claims are viable in either state, but Missouri courts should not condone end-runs around the rights of our citizens.

The Lowe Law Firm specializes in protecting the rights of those who were seriously injured or lost a loved one in a serious accident with a commercial truck. Our Missouri tractor-trailer accident lawyers are based in St. Louis but serve clients throughout the state of Missouri, as well as those in southern Illinois. If you or someone you love has been seriously hurt by a careless truck driver, don’t sign anything the trucking company gives you -- contact us as soon as possible to learn more at a free, confidential consultation. You can reach us through our Web site or call us toll-free at 1-877-678-3400.

After a series of fatal head-on semi truck accidents, the Kansas Department of Transportation plans to install highway median guard cables in certain areas of the state, the Kansas City Star reported May 11. The barriers are thick, strong metal cables that divide lanes of traffic moving in opposite directions. Missouri began installing them in 2000 and has reported some success in reducing crossover accidents, in which one motorist crosses the median into opposing traffic and causes a head-on accident.

The cables are planned for two major locations -- on U.S. route 75 near Topeka and on Kansas state highway 96 near Wichita. Ironically, the sites of the accidents that inspired the project -- two highways in Johnson County, in suburban Kansas City -- would not be affected. A spokesman for KDOT told the newspaper that cables aren’t practical or effective in areas with low traffic and wide medians. But Jeff Risner, who lost his teenaged son to a drunk driver who crossed a wide median in Johnson County, said he thought the decision was less about safety than money. The Associated Press reported that installing the median cables cost an average of $125,000 per mile in other states.

I can certainly understand KDOT’s reluctance to spend money in a bad economy. But as a Missouri trucking accident attorney, I hope this experiment in Topeka and Wichita works well enough to free up more funding for median guard cables. Crossover accidents are relatively rare -- but when they happen, they are likely to be fatal. In fact, crossover accidents are a common cause of head-on semi truck accidents, which are almost always fatal for the people inside the smaller vehicle. It doesn’t matter whether the truck or the car crossed the median; thanks to the size and weight of the truck, the car is likely to be crushed. Better guard cables could prevent many of these accidents, or at least convert them into smaller, less catastrophic crashes.

When trucking accident victims live, they can have extremely serious injuries, including severe burns, paralysis and brain damage. If the accident was caused by the carelessness of a truck driver or trucking company, the victims have the right to file a trucking accident claim. In a Missouri semi truck crash lawsuit, they can win compensation for a death or permanent disability, as well as money to cover the costs of the accident, including any lifelong medical care victims may require.

If you or someone you love is in this situation, The Lowe Law Firm can help. With offices in St. Louis and Belleville, Ill., our St. Louis big rig accident attorneys represent people throughout Missouri and southern Illinois who have been seriously hurt in accidents with large trucks. To learn more about how we can help at a free, confidential consultation, please contact us online or call toll-free at 1-877-678-3400.

A nonprofit group lobbying for stricter safety regulations on large tractor-trailers launched a campaign May 4 to ensure that trucks don’t get any larger. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Along for the Ride blog said the Truck Safety Coalition is opposing a proposal in Congress that would increase the legal limit for how much trucks may weigh. At a press conference in Washington, D.C., the coalition also announced its yearly study of truck-related fatalities in each state per 100,000 people. Missouri was the sixteenth deadliest state, with 2.31 deaths for every 100,000 people in 2007, while Illinois ranked 37th with 1.2 deaths per 100,000.

According to the coalition’s press release (PDF), the proposed legislation the coalition opposes would raise the legally acceptable weight of a semi truck from the current 80,000 pounds to 97,000 pounds. The heavier trucks would have to have a sixth axle and increased braking capability, the post noted. (For comparison, a 2009 Honda Civic weighs between 2,600 and 2,900 pounds, and a Ford F-150 pickup truck weighs between 4,500 and 5,500 pounds.) The coalition backs a different federal bill that would freeze the 80,000-pound weight limit and the 53-foot length limit currently in effect. A poll released by the organization shows that 80% of Americans believe larger trucks would make our roads less safe.

Those Americans are right. As a Missouri trucking injury lawyer, I’ve written several times on this blog about the deadly consequences of a weight mismatch between trucks and ordinary vehicles. When a passenger vehicle collides with a semi truck weighing ten to thirty times as much, the laws of physics ensure that the passenger vehicle will take almost all of the damage. Regardless of who was at fault, the people inside that car are statistically likely to die or sustain very serious injuries, including brain damage, paralysis and severe burn injuries. Truckers themselves are injured in fewer than 10% of trucking accidents, a figure that includes single-vehicle truck crashes.

As a St. Louis tractor-trailer crash attorney, I welcome the Truck Safety Coalition’s efforts. The Lowe Law Firm represents people throughout Missouri and southern Illinois who have lost a loved one or been left with permanent disabilities after a crash with a large truck. Frequently, our clients’ medical worries and grief are compounded by financial problems, as six-figure medical bills roll in while victims are physically unable to work. With Missouri semi truck accident lawsuits, we help victims win back that money from trucking companies and truck drivers who hurt them with their careless actions.

If this sounds like your family’s situation, The Lowe Law Firm can help. To learn more at a free, confidential consultation, please contact us online or call toll-free at 1-877-678-3400 today.

A chain-reaction crash in Southern Illinois left one trucker dead and another in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, The Southern reported April 21. The accident happened on Interstate 57 in Franklin County, between Benton and Sesser. According to police, trucker Lawrence Rich failed to slow down in time for stopped traffic in front of him. He crashed into another tractor-trailer driven by Donald Troyer, who was stopped at the time. The collision pushed Troyer’s truck into yet another semi driven by Dale Stumbo, whose truck hit a pickup driven by David Payne.

Fortunately, Payne -- the driver of the smallest vehicle in this southern Illinois trucking accident -- was not hurt in the crash. Stumbo and Troyer were also not seriously hurt, although Stumbo was taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening. However, Rich was killed at the scene when the load of metal pipes he was carrying crashed through his trailer and into the cab of his truck. Troyer’s load of computer equipment also caught fire, requiring two hours of efforts from firefighters to extinguish. To deal with the crash safely, law enforcement closed the interstate in both directions for nearly four hours.

As a St. Louis semi truck accident attorney, I would be interested in any information on how the loads involved in this accident were secured. If you have never been involved with the trucking industry, you may not realize this, but there are state and federal laws regulating how trucks’ loads should be secured. Trucking companies and truck drivers must balance the weight of their loads, never load more weight than permitted and secure the goods well enough to avoid a spill during routine maneuvers or a minor accident. When loads spill, they can injure or kill the truck drivers themselves or any of the drivers who happen to be nearby. Securing loads may also be able to prevent spills that cause fires or other hazards to the community, as happened here.

When the people responsible for properly securing loads -- generally a trucking company and the trucker who will haul the load -- fail in that duty and an accident results, victims have the right to hold them legally responsible. A Missouri tractor-trailer accident lawsuit can get victims compensation for their injuries, the loss of a loved one and their pain and suffering. It can also help victims make up for the astronomical costs of a serious truck crash, including medical bills, funeral costs, lost wages and more. If you or someone you love was hit by a large truck in Missouri or southern Illinois through no fault of your own, The Lowe Law Firm can help. To learn more at a free, confidential consultation, please contact our firm online or call toll-free at 1-877-678-3400.