Columbia Truck Override and Underride Accidents Lawyer
It is hard to imagine a worse crash scenario than an override or underride collision with a truck. Passenger vehicle victims are often left with life-threatening injuries, or are tragically killed during the collision. If you or a loved one were involved in this type of crash, we urge you to speak to a Columbia truck override and underride accident lawyers with Simmons Law Firm.
Override Collisions
An override collision occurs when a passenger vehicle is run over by a large truck. This type of crash usually happens when the truck rear ends the passenger vehicle. Instead of pushing the passenger vehicle forward, the large/tall truck simply rolls over it, or a portion of it.
Underride Collisions
An underride collision occurs when a passenger vehicle slides or crashes into a large truck, and goes underneath. Most underride crashes happen when the passenger vehicle rear-ends the truck, though an underride collision can also occur when a truck pulls out in front of a passenger vehicle, causing a T-bone crash. A study by the NHTSA found that up to 80 percent of rear-impact crashes result in underrides.
Causes of Override and Underride Crashes
- Truck cuts off a passenger vehicle in an intersection or coming out from a side street—Even if a driver is paying attention and immediately applies the brakes in this scenario, it may not be enough to stop in time. As a result, the passenger vehicle will T-bone the truck/trailer, and potentially become wedged underneath, resulting in a catastrophic underride crash if the car’s speed was high.
- Truck is not outfitted with underride guards—All semi-trucks should have underride guards on the back and on the sides to prevent deadly and debilitating underride crashes. While trucks are required to have rear underride guards, no such law exists to mandate all trucks to be outfitted with side underride guards, according to Trucking Info. Many recent bills in the past few years have been introduced to close this safety gap, but none have become law.
- Truck driver steps on the brakes—If a passenger vehicle is following a truck, there are instances in which the truck driver could be faulted for braking too hard, including: merging/pulling in front of the passenger vehicle on the highway then suddenly braking, blowing out a tire and having to emergency brake, and intentionally slamming on the brakes out of road rage.
- Truck is tailgating—An override collision usually occurs when a truck is following too closely, and ends up rolling over the top of the passenger vehicle.
Call a Columbia Truck Override and Underride Crash Attorney
Underride and override crashes often result in extreme injuries to the car occupant, including spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injury, and even death from decapitation. Victims should be able to recover significant damages from the trucking company for the driver’s negligence, or the negligent maintenance and repair of the truck if that is found to be the cause of the crash. The Columbia truck override and underride attorneys at Simmons Law Firm can help. Call us at 803-779-4600 to schedule a free consultation today.
