From residential neighborhood streets to multi-lane interstate highways, you share the road with a variety of vehicles every day. Every time you drive to work, the store, a doctor’s appointment, or a cross-country trip, there is a risk of being involved in an accident. Whether you drive a compact car, sport utility vehicle, or oversized pickup truck, your vehicle does not stand a chance if you get into an accident with an overweight and overloaded truck. Unfortunately, overweight and overloaded trucks are an all too common risk on the roadways. Being familiar with and understanding the dangers of an overloaded truck, the potential injuries you could suffer, and the liability issues associated with these trucks is important. At Lott Law, our compassionate Mississippi truck accident attorneys may be able to assist you in recovering compensation for an accident with a truck that was overloaded or improperly loaded. Call (228) 215-2787 to schedule a complimentary consultation to review your case and learn more about filing a claim.
What Is an Overloaded Truck?
All vehicles, including private passenger cars and trucks, have gross combined weight (GCW) ratings. This rating is the maximum allowable weight that the vehicle can carry. Naturally, the larger the vehicle, the more weight it can carry. However, the larger the vehicle, the more that vehicle weighs, and the vehicle’s weight is part of the weight rating. The United States Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration states that in Mississippi, state regulations are 34,000 pounds for tandem axles, with a gross total weight of 80,000 pounds for the entire vehicle with exceptions for specific types of loads, such as agricultural chemicals, concrete products, or solid waste. They also state that Federal-Aid Highway Amendments of 1974, Public Law 93-643, increased federal truck weight limits to 20,000 pounds per single axle, 34,000 pounds for tandem axles, and 80,000 pounds maximum GCW, which still stand today.
Overweight and overloaded trucks are those that carry a weight greater than the GCW. Overloaded trucks can also be improperly loaded with cargo that is stacked heavier on one side of the trailer or cargo that is not secured properly. Being overweight and overloaded creates a significant hazard to both the truck’s driver and to other motorists on the road.
What Are the Potential Dangers of Overweight and Overloaded Trucks?
There are many potential dangers to overweight and overloaded trucks. One is that the driver may not be able to turn, brake, or change lanes properly, which significantly increases the risks of an accident. These trucks will also move at much slower speeds when going uphill, which can cause accidents if motorists behind them are expecting the truck to be driving closer to the posted speed limit. Going downhill, these trucks will gain momentum and move much faster, creating the danger of loss of control, which can lead to accidents as well. In an accident, an overweight and overloaded truck also has a higher center of gravity, which increases the chances that it could roll or fall over on smaller vehicles in an accident, crushing the vehicle and potentially causing severe injuries or even death for the occupants.
Improperly loaded cargo can become loose and fall off, and strapping equipment can fail due to the strain and allow cargo to fall off. Some specialty trucks, such as gravel trucks, can cause gravel damage to the vehicles behind them when overloaded. Additionally, the driver, trucking company, or others may face criminal or civil consequences as a result of overloading a truck as it is illegal. If you have been involved in an accident with an overloaded truck, a knowledgeable truck accident attorney at Lott Law may be able to review your case and offer guidance for your next steps.
Injuries From Overloaded Truck Accidents
Vehicle accidents cause a variety of injuries, from broken bones to lacerations and bruises. Whiplash and other soft tissue injuries are also common. Overloaded trucks can also cause severe injuries such as internal organ damage or bleeding, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and neck injuries. If a fuel line ruptures and causes a fire, accident victims may suffer severe burns that are expensive and difficult to treat. These accidents often result in needing an ambulance, emergency room treatment, hospitalization, surgery, and lengthy rehabilitation services. They can also cause emotional trauma, pain and suffering, lost wages, permanent disability, and death.
The injuries sustained in an accident with an overloaded truck can often be much more severe than those sustained with a vehicle that is closer in size to the individual’s own vehicle. The National Library of Medicine indicates that the occupants of large trucks are less likely to sustain severe injuries than the occupants of smaller vehicles. Additionally, they also indicate that accidents with these trucks at intersections are often less severe than those that occur on ramps. However, whether the truck was speeding or not did not play a significant role in the severity of the injuries sustained. This is important because it means that individuals can sustain severe injuries even if the overloaded truck is not speeding when the accident happens.
What Are Some Signs of Overloaded Trucks?
Drivers can decrease the risk of being involved in an accident with overloaded trucks by knowing the signs to look for that indicate a truck is overweight and overloaded. One indication that a truck is overweight or overloaded is if the truck bed or trailer is sagging, especially toward the rear. Bulging tires or tires that look abnormal when at rest are another indication of too much weight. Uneven tire wear may appear if the weight is distributed unevenly.
A strain on the vehicle’s suspension, or squeaking noises from the suspension system, can also indicate that a truck is overloaded. Visibly bent or broken parts may also be a sign that a truck is overweight. Trucks that appear to be moving substantially slower uphill or substantially faster downhill than other similar trucks may also be overloaded.
Who Is Responsible for an Overloaded Truck?
Many people believe that a driver is always the liable party in a vehicle accident, whether it is two private vehicles or a private vehicle and a large commercial truck. However, the reality of vehicle accidents, including truck accidents, is that there are several potentially liable parties, depending on the precise cause of the accident. There are several options for truck accident liability when it involves overweight and overloaded trucks.
Truck Driver
As in most accidents, the first person who may be liable is the truck’s driver. Ultimately, because the truck driver is responsible for his or her own truck, they are responsible for ensuring that the truck is not overweight and reducing the weight of the vehicle when needed. However, the driver is not always liable, as they have employers and customers to answer to, who may pressure them or even threaten their jobs if the driver does not comply with their demands, even if those demands are not legal.
Trucking Company
Trucking companies are responsible for maintaining safe operations. This includes hiring experienced or well-trained drivers, providing current safety training, and scheduling inspection and maintenance services as required. Trucking companies should also be ensuring that their drivers feel comfortable insisting on removing excess cargo when their truck is overweight and that customers understand the weight restrictions and do not attempt to bypass them.
Third Parties
While it is not necessarily common in overweight and overloaded trucks, there are still some cases where third parties may be responsible. Truck safety program trainers who do not clearly define the weight restrictions during their training or who offer suggestions on how to try to get away with driving overweight and overloaded trucks may be liable. A mechanic who does not perform the appropriate maintenance and make required repairs when necessary may be responsible for an overloaded truck accident if a damaged or failing part contributed to the accident.
In most cases, the truck driver parks their truck at a customer’s loading dock and the customer is responsible for loading the truck. This means that the customer may be responsible for overloading the truck if they set aside cargo that exceeds the weight restrictions. Cargo loaders themselves may also be responsible if they take it upon themselves to load additional cargo.
Multiple Liable Parties
In some cases, there may be more than one party who is responsible. For example, a customer overloads a truck which has a damaged part that the mechanic did not replace as instructed. If the truck gets into an accident, both the customer and the mechanic may be responsible.
How Is Liability Determined?
In these types of accidents, it is important to consider all the potentially liable parties to ensure that the right party or parties are held responsible and that the accident victim is able to recover as much compensation as possible for their injuries. If the accident victim chooses to hire a lawyer, their lawyer will explore liability and determine who is liable. The lawyer will do this by looking at accident reports, and requesting other records such as the truck’s maintenance records, the truck driver’s logs, cargo manifests, and the truck’s electronic control module, if it has one.
Bills of lading, photos and videos of the accident or the accident scene, witness statements, and expert testimony may all also be used to determine and prove liability. Other factors that may be considered include whether the trucking company has a history of similar accidents, whether they try to classify their drivers as independent contractors to avoid liability, and whether the truck’s mechanic or the customer whose load the truck was carrying has connections to other similar accidents. While a history of similar accidents is not absolute proof of liability, it may indicate a pattern that may be used to bolster a claim that they are liable.
How Can a Mississippi Truck Accident Attorney Assist You?
You are not required to have an attorney represent you to file a claim after being involved in an accident with an overloaded truck. However, an attorney may be able to assist you by investigating the accident, gathering evidence, determining liability, measuring your losses, and negotiating to settle your claim. Consider speaking with an experienced Mississippi truck accident attorney who can explain more about the dangers and liability of overweight and overloaded trucks. Call Lott Law at (228) 215-2787 to discuss the specifics of your case and learn more about your legal rights.