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Fatal Truck Accidents & Wrongful Death Lawsuits (Part A)

Every car or truck accident is unique; there are differing situational factors and emotion levels in every crash. However, all truck accidents are potentially life threatening and many result in fatalities, especially for those in cars or on motorcycles. Knowledge of these particular categories as well as the factors that could lead to such accidents could greatly affect your Chicago wrongful death lawsuit.

Types of Chicago Truck Accidents

There are essentially 5 main types of Chicago truck accidents, including:

Head-on collisions. These hardly need to be explained in excessive detail. The head-on collision of two passenger vehicles can be devastating; a head on collision of a passenger vehicle with an 18-wheel tractor-trailer has a low survival rate for those in the passenger vehicle.
Rear underride accidents. Rear underride accidents occur when a car collides with the rear of a truck and becomes lodged under the truck itself, usually demolishing the car in the process. This can be caused by a sudden stop by the truck when a car is following too close or by a trailer bed unseen in lowlight or darkness.
Side underride accidents. These are much like rear underride accidents except, as the title would suggest, the car collides with the side of the truck. This type of collision is often the result of a truck attempting to take a left turn, make a u-turn, or cross an intersection. Similarly to rear underride accidents, side underride accidents also often occur in low-lit or night conditions when a trailer bed can be near invisible to other vehicles.
Override collisions. As you might predict, override collisions are the opposite of underride collisions. Underride collisions involve a car riding under a truck; override collisions involve a truck literally running over a vehicle, motorcycle, or pedestrian.
Jackknife accidents. Jackknife accidents are the result of the truck driver hitting the brakes suddenly and hard, this causes the trailer to skid until it forms a 90 degree angle with the tractor. A jackknifing truck is completely out of the control of its driver.
Rollover accidents. Rollover accidents are a major hazard in trucking. A rollover can be caused by jackknife accidents, speeding, speeding around turns, or a wheel slipping from or returning to the pavement. Once a truck begins rolling, there is no way to control or stop it.

Because of the size and weight of trucks, Chicago truck accidents are far more dangerous and have higher fatality rates than an accident involving two passenger cars.

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