The severity of a recent Colorado commercial truck accident, which included 28 vehicles and killed four, has prompted widespread concern about the growing number of deadly commercial vehicle crashes. Today, a noteworthy rise in the number of accidents involving commercial vehicles is occurring both nationally and within the state of Florida.
In 2018, there were 44,808 commercial vehicle crashes in Florida, which is over four times higher than 2011’s 11,500 crashes. Unfortunately, this upwards trend does not appear to be reversing: over 3,000 Florida commercial vehicle crashes were reported in the first month of 2019 alone. Most of the time, individuals killed in commercial vehicle accidents are occupants of passenger cars. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), over 70 percent of commercial vehicle fatalities in 2017 were individuals in vehicles other than the truck, and another 10 percent were pedestrians or cyclists. Only 841 of the 4,761 large truck accident fatalities were occupants of the involved trucks.
Common causes of serious or fatal truck accidents include:
- Speeding
- Aggressive driving
- Driver fatigue
- Distracted driving, such as using a cell phone or eating
- Driving under the influence
- Failing to abide by traffic laws or signals
If you or someone you love is injured in a truck accident in the Miami area, you can turn to the personal injury lawyers of Baron, Herskowitz, and Cohen for the legal representation you need. Our lawyers serve as advocates for injured clients and do whatever they can to get them the full amount of compensation they need to recover from the injuries and move forward with their lives. To schedule a consultation with an attorney from our firm, contact us today.
