Commercial Truck Accidents

South Carolina’s roadways are filled with commercial trucks, 18-wheelers, cargo vans, and buses carrying supplies, goods, and even people in and out of Columbia and Greenville every day. While most make it to their destinations without incident, a few are involved in accidents that result in serious injury or even death.Common causes for commercial vehicle accidents:

• Road Conditions and/or Weather
• Driver Fatigue and/or Negligence
• Company Negligence
• Maintenance Negligence
• Equipment Failure
• Driver’s Distracted by Other Passengers

Commercial truck accidents can be some of the most dangerous types of crashes due to the sheer size and speed of the vehicles involved. Many of these accidents involve multiple vehicles, extensive property damage, and serious injury to drivers, passengers, and/or pedestrians. Often, 18-wheelers carry hazardous or flammable materials or other possibly dangerous cargo, which broadens the scope of damage and injury even further. Collisions between these large trucks or buses and the other smaller vehicles that occupy the road have a high fatality rate.

What is considered a commercial vehicle?

Any vehicle designed and used in commerce to transport goods or passengers are considered commercial vehicles. Transport vehicles must carry 16 or more people (including the driver).

Some examples are:

• Semi Trucks (18-Wheelers)
• Large Freight Carriers
• Box Trucks
• Vans
• Buses
• Taxicabs

When filing a claim in an accident involving a commercial vehicle, the first thing to consider is time. There are strict limitations on how long you have to make a claim. Also, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration allows companies to destroy all of their trucking records after 6 months. That means any information relevant to your case could be gone if you wait too long to file a claim.

A personal injury lawyer with experience in 18-wheeler accidents, construction truck accidents, and cargo van accidents will know that they must act quickly to ensure that all the documentation regarding your case is obtained.

It’s not only the truck driver who can be liable in a trucking accident. Trucking and insurance companies as well as commercial businesses and contractors have a stake in ensuring the safe operation of a truck during its daily transit.

If you have been involved in an accident with a commercial truck in the Columbia, Greenville, Rock Hill, Sumter, or surrounding South Carolina areas, you will need a personal injury lawyer to pursue all of the defendants liable in your case.