Sedan rear-ended by semi, results in 4 injured

Accidents involving big rigs are horrendously frightening. Many victims sustain catastrophic injuries or die.

No one goes out of their way to get anywhere near a big rig on the highway as many drivers realize the dangers of traveling too close. It is always best to give them lots of room and respect. That being said, what if the shoe is on the other foot, and the trucker is driving like a fool, is texting while driving, under the influence of something or falls asleep at the wheel? The consequences are always devastating.

Consider the case of one American family tooling down the highway on the way to see friends. They could see for miles and were enjoying the scenery. Suddenly, the rear-view mirror offered a glimpse of a nightmare on wheels; an enormous semi barreling down the road and seemingly inches from their bumper. Just before impact, the car driver saw the trucker slumped over the wheel. Then, the world went black. The car driver woke up in hospital later that day, his wife and three kids had died at the scene.

Too often truckers get involved in accidents because they are not watching what they are doing. It’s incredibly easy to get distracted while in the cab of a large commercial vehicle. If they take their eyes off the road for just a split second, that second could result in a monumental wreck, as a vehicle that size, going highway speeds, travels the distance of a large football field. Anything in front of a trucker is doomed to be in a path of great destruction.

The most common causes of big rig wrecks are driving while distracted using a cell phone, GPS system, lap top, smartphone, iPad, portable TV, surfing the web on their mobile devices or dropping something on the floor. There is also driving while fatigued, as in being over the legal number of hours they are supposed to be driving, being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, speeding, poor weather and visibility conditions, aggressive driving and mechanical failures.

In short, no one can really predict when an accident will happen, and many times, it may not happen, at least not that particular day or year. Chances are though, that the more the trucker is not paying attention to his job, driving safely, the risk of having an accident goes up exponentially. When accidents happen involving large commercial vehicles, do not take the chance that an insurance company will offer you a decent settlement. The only decent settlement would be to their advantage, not yours.

If you are seriously injured and need extensive medical care, contact an experienced Austin injury lawyer. If you want compensation for your injuries, medical bills and the like, the only way to get a fair settlement or jury verdict is by having an Austin injury lawyer represent you.

Bobby Lee is an Austin personal injury lawyer for Lee, Gober and Reyna. If you need an Austin personal injury lawyer, contact an Austin personal injury attorney from Lee, Gober and Reyna. Visit RWLeelaw.com.

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