Cult movie Final Destination 2 had a lot of highlights, but it’s most known for how it traumatized its collective audience with its infamous log truck scene. More of us than may want to admit move one lane over whenever they’re driving behind a cargo truck now (especially if the cargo is logs). But horror movie aside, this isn’t that paranoid of a practice. Cargo trucks really are scary. Or, rather, they can be in the wrong circumstances. One wrong move, one malfunction, and you can get seriously hurt, even if you and the truck never actually hit each other. Any cargo can be deadly (or catastrophically dangerous) when spilled onto busy roads — and some can be hazardous enough to affect everyone around without any sort of physical accident.

We can’t avoid cargo trucks on Tennessee roads. They need to exist and they’re doing important work keeping America’s businesses running and delivering. That being said, we can still exercise caution when sharing the roads with them, and — in case an accident happens — we can know our rights and possible legal avenues regarding them. The nature of trucks means finding the responsible party to pay for your damages may be a bit more complicated, but that is nothing an experienced personal injury attorney can’t handle with you.

Common causes and consequences of truck cargo accidents

With how many cargo trucks traversing the roads not just in our state but throughout the country (let alone the world), one would think we pretty much have a handle on how to do it safely. And for the most part, we do. However, the problem is since multiple parties go into getting a truck on the road hauling cargo, there are multiple ways for something to go wrong that we can’t predict or control. Accounting for human and manufacturing error can only be done to a point.

The truth is that accidents caused by improperly loaded cargo happen fairly often. It’s one of the most common causes of truck accidents period, in fact. While there’s no way to predict every possible factor that could contribute to an accident, improperly loaded cargo usually makes itself known in one of three dangerous ways:

• After the truck collides with either another vehicle or the environment
• Potholes, sharp turns, or any other road condition that invites a lack of stability
• Reckless driving, especially speeding, from the trucker

As it is with most accidents, even those responsible for them don’t expect them to happen. Any moment can bring disaster. Truck accidents of any sort often cause deadly or catastrophic, life-long injuries for victims outside the truck, and the risk of that only increases when extra, possibly hazardous obstacles are thrown into the mix. Because of how suddenly it can happen, other drivers rarely have enough time to prepare before attempting to avoid cargo spilling out of the truck, easily leading to further accidents and collisions. If the cargo is heavy or big enough, it may damage every vehicle it comes into contact with, even if that vehicle is parked or pulled over. If the truck spilled a hazardous material of some sort, the threat gets even worse.

Cargo spills can do more than seriously hurt or kill those immediately around them, as if that’s not enough. The tamest of materials spilled across the highway are still dangerous obstacles that must be removed, meaning these accidents can shut roads down for hours or even days at a time. Not to mention, it can cost thousands in property damage alone to recover from. When it comes to more hazardous materials, aside from the increased threat of combustion, accidents can have a severe environmental impact on the surrounding area that can not only pose a threat to wildlife and flora, but can also potentially work as a “silent killer” in unsuspecting victims who may have had nothing to do with the accident at all. Some materials are only deadly once inhaled or ingested, for example. In more severe cases, residents near the accident site may even have to evacuate their homes until the spill is cleaned and cleared.

In short, these accidents are nothing to take lightly (even when the spilled cargo is something amusing like all that whiskey back in November). Victims may suffer injuries that severely debilitate or disable them for years to come, if not for the rest of their lives. Depending on the trauma, this usually includes years of expensive medical treatments, surgeries, accommodations, checkups, and therapies. When victims don’t take steps to hold the right party accountable, they may end up unfairly paying for all these costs themselves.

Possible responsible parties when trucks are involved

Proving liability in a car accident case is both the most essential and the most difficult part of a case. For truck accidents, it can get even more complex, because of how many possible responsible entities may exist. Trucks don’t build and operate alone, after all. But since Tennessee is a comparative negligence state, finding out exactly who is responsible for the accident (and how much of a role they played in causing it) is how damages are assigned. The percentage of fault a party holds determines the damages for which they are either eligible to receive or responsible to pay.

To make sure the right people are held accountable and made to pay the full extent they’re responsible for, victims should hire an experienced truck accident attorney who has had to pick apart cases like these before, and has a proven record of doing it successfully. Attorneys are trained to comb through the finer details of your case to help determine and argue liability. This can truly make all the difference in the results, because possible liable parties in cargo truck accidents include not only the truck driver, but also their employer, the parts manufacturer, and any shippers/distributors who may load trucks themselves.

It all depends on the root, objective cause for the accident. There are legal rules and procedures for properly securing cargo of all sorts which can help pinpoint what went wrong, along with even more provisions for simply driving and operating a truck. Whether the problem is, multiple parties (such as an exhausted driver causing an accident because his employer unlawfully makes him drive/load cargo exhausted) or a simple parts malfunction, the sheer amount of possible mitigating factors, causes and complications alone is why no victim or their family should ever try to do this alone. No one wants to be held accountable, so they will all be trying as hard as possible to avoid taking responsibility with no care at all for your injuries and damages.

Don’t let this happen to you. If you’re in Knoxville, the truck accident attorneys at Banks & Jones have the skills and experience you need on your side if you’ve been injured by spilled cargo or collision. We take your health and rights as seriously as you do, and we don’t take no for an answer. To learn more and get started, call us today at 865-546-2141 or use our contact form.