Were You Injured in a Garbage Truck Accident?
The Chicago Bureau of Sanitation collects residential garbage from 600,000 households in Chicago. Each day around 360 garbage collection trucks go into the city. They collect more than a million tons of garbage and recyclables every year. This does not even account for the hundreds of other trucks dispersed across the state of Illinois who serve similar roles in other communities, keeping things tidy and organized on our streets and in our neighborhoods.
Garbage trucks vary in size and design, typically weighing anywhere from 16,100 to 18,300 pounds. Thus it is no surprise that a car accident with a garbage truck can turn fatal. What is surprising however, is the frequency at which garbage truck accidents occur.
Why is Your Average Car No Match for a Garbage Truck?
When a collision occurs between a passenger vehicle and a garbage truck, the vehicle will suffer the brunt of the impact given its much smaller size. Garbage truck crash lawyers in Chicago know that these collisions can result in a complete crushing of the smaller vehicle. It is common for garbage trucks to be involved in rear-end collisions. This is because they make frequent stops while working and may drive in unusual patterns compared to other motorists. Further, drivers who are distracted could fail to see a stopped truck and collide with it, resulting in a serious and potentially deadly impact.
Garbage trucks’ large size and structure makes these vehicles very difficult to operate. Truck drivers have to work with very poor visibility and significant blind spots. Other vehicles on the road can be hidden easily in these large blind spots. This can result in disaster if a garbage truck attempts to merge while oblivious to a vehicle in its blind spot.
What Are Common Causes of Garbage Truck Crashes?
Collisions are common when vehicles pass by garbage trucks. Drivers do this because of the trucks' frequent stops.
However, garbage trucks have very poor visibility. The truck driver might not see the car attempting to pass the truck, increasing the odds for a truck collision. If the truck begins to pull away from a routine stop before a passing car has completed its pass, the truck might side swipe the car. The impact may send the car spinning or even rolling into traffic.
Given garbage trucks' frequent proximity to sidewalks combined with their poor visibility, pedestrians are in danger as well. It is very easy for truck drivers to fail to see pedestrians or cyclists traveling near the curb of the street. This is due to their much smaller size in comparison to the garbage truck. Failing to notice a bicyclist or a pedestrian leads to safety risks to that walker or rider. This may cause an accident that results in injuries to the victim.
Who is Liable in a Chicago Garbage Truck Accident?
Determining who is liable following a garbage truck accident can be difficult. If the driver of the garbage truck is negligent and causes a collision, he or she can be held liable. So can the driver's employer, the company owning the vehicle, city, or even municipality, depending on the facts of a crash. It is crucial that victims identify all avenues of possible recovery. This is because damages are often very large following a garbage truck collision. Further, some routes to recovery may not be viable.
In Illinois, the employees operating the truck may be municipal employees or they can be employees of a private contractor. Depending on who collects the refuse in an area, this difference may be important in determining a victim's options as well as how long a victim has to act to preserve her claim following a crash. It can be a complex analysis that leads to a determination of where liability rests following a collision. This is a good reason for working with an experienced personal injury attorney.
Why Seek Help with your Personal Injury Claim?
The Chicago garbage truck accident lawyers at Abels & Annes, P.C. help plaintiffs seek and obtain the monetary relief they deserve for their injuries. We are standing by 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help you.
If you sustain injuries in a garbage truck accident, call us today. Let us help you understand your legal rights with no obligation on your part. We offer a no-cost, no-obligation case consultation to all injury victims who call us at (312) 924-7575. Further, if we take your case, we will never charge you a fee unless there is a recovery on your behalf.
Our legal team only handles personal injury cases on behalf of victims. We never represent insurance companies because we believe in the fight for victims and their families.
If you were in a Chicago garbage truck accident, call Abels & Annes, P.C. at (312) 924-7575 or Contact Us Online for a free case consultation today.