Traffic accidents involving large trucks – those with a gross vehicle weight exceeding 10,000 pounds – can have catastrophic results, causing a greater number of injuries and deaths, and more serious injuries, than accidents with lighter-weight vehicles. Large trucks – especially tractor trailers and other cargo trucks – can weigh more than 35 tons when fully loaded, making them difficult to handle on any roadway. Because they are so heavy, they cannot respond quickly to changing traffic or roadway conditions and braking is a much slower process. As a result, trucks are more likely to veer off course and drivers more likely to lose control in difficult driving conditions compared to drivers of other vehicles. In addition, many companies encourage their drivers to work long hours, and truck drivers are often fatigued and inattentive.

According to the latest data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2010 3,675 people were killed and 80,000 people were injured as the result of accidents involving large trucks, representing increases of 9 percent and 8 percent over the previous year’s figures. About three-quarters of those injured or killed were occupants of other vehicles.

When a truck-related accident does occur, serious injury is often the result. While any traffic accident can cause significant injury and even death, a truck’s massive size multiplies the effect of any impact it may have. Many of these injuries can be life-altering and the costs associated with them are often astronomical. Not only do truck accident victims often face long and protracted medical treatment, they may also face lingering disability that may hamper or even preclude their ability to work or to resume the life they enjoyed before their accident.

Trucking companies and other businesses that use trucks are protected by powerful insurance companies that will use every resource at their disposal to limit the amount of compensation they pay or to avoid paying any compensation at all. To prevail against these companies, accident victims need a lawyer who has a reputation as a tough and aggressive opponent and who has the skills and resources to develop an effective strategy geared toward fully protecting the victim’s rights.

The Tampa law firm of Valkenburg Law Group, P.A. knows how serious truck accidents can be and they are dedicated to offering accident victims the aggressive representation they need to ensure they receive the compensation they deserve. Their lawyers have years of experience handling accident victims’ cases and they stand behind every client they represent. To learn more, contact the Tampa offices of Valkenburg Law Group, P.A. today at 813-514-1058.