Monday afternoon just before 2:30, a garbage truck turned over onto a passenger car, sending three people to the hospital with serious injuries. The garbage truck rollover led to the closure of all eastbound lanes of the Sam Houston Tollway at South Post Oak Road in Houston. (Source: Robert Stanton, Houston Chronicle, 7/15/13)
The thoughts and prayers of our Houston garbage truck accident attorneys are with the injured victims of the rollover wreck.
The High Risk of Rollovers and Serious Accidents from Commercial Garbage Trucks
A number of factors such as road conditions, other driver behavior, or weather could cause a garbage truck to crash. Rollovers are one of the greatest risks. Our Houston garbage truck accident attorneys point out that the heavy garbage truck has a high center of gravity like that of a traditional dump truck or cement truck, both notorious for frequent rollovers and accidents. The load a garbage truck is hauling will shift the heavy truck’s center of gravity even higher than in its unloaded state.
It’s a persistent problem because truck designers that overcompensate for the expected weight of the loaded truck could cause additional instability and accidents risks for unloaded trucks. The awkward, high center of gravity could cause the truck (loaded or unloaded) to turn over as the driver is trying to take a curve or turn or if he’s driving too fast.
When a heavy garbage truck tips into a rollover, the results can be catastrophic. The heavy truck could easily crush other vehicles and their passengers, especially if it’s loaded. The simple weight of the heavy vehicle could cause very serious and even fatal injuries. Serious injuries might require ongoing medical care. Our Houston garbage truck accident attorneys know from experience that the severe injuries could reduce a person’s earning capacity due to disability, leading to heavy financial burdens for the injured accident victims and their families.
Trucks are Required by Law to Carry Large Amounts of Insurance
Because of the ever-present risk of serious and fatal injuries from heavy truck wrecks, garbage trucks are required to be insured in amounts that far surpass the level of the average passenger car policy. The value of a commercial truck insurance policy, on average, is 50 times that of a car insurance policy.
But obtaining the full financial compensation you deserve for your injuries could be challenging. Insurance companies hotly defend these insurance policies against the claims of accident victims. And truckers are not always cooperative when their driving record or their own insurance rates might suffer. Accident victims need a Houston garbage truck accident attorney like Chad Points or Tony Denena who has years of experience successfully winning fair financial recoveries for serious truck accident injuries.
Contact the Houston Garbage Truck Accident Attorneys at Denena Points, PC for a FREE Legal Consultation after Your Serious Accident Injury
We always offer a free and confidential initial legal consultation, with no obligation, to discuss your accident and evaluate your potential eligibility for a full financial recovery for your injuries. With more than 12 years of experience focusing on truck accident victims and their needs, we have the legal skill, knowledge, and dedication you need to build a successful truck accident injury claim. Call us today at 281-369-4363 or reach us through our online contact form to schedule your free legal consultation.