Truck & Auto Accidents - Brake Failure - Nationwide Truck Accident Lawyers Attorneys
Brake Failure Truck Auto Accident Attorneys
Poorly maintained truck brakes are the single greatest factor contributing to truck accidents, according to a study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NTSA) and the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). More than 29 percent of truck accidents in the study involved brake failure, brakes out of adjustment, worn brake components, or other problems with the truck brakes. If you have been injured because a truck's brakes were improperly maintained, please contact a truck accident attorney at Gordon, Elias & Seely, L.L.P. We represent victims of truck accidents nationwide.
The tire and brake assemblies of a tractor-trailer, or 18-wheeler, are highly complex. They require regular maintenance by highly skilled mechanics or they will literally fall apart. When brake components weighing several hundred pounds are jettisoned from a truck traveling at 70 miles an hour the results can be deadly. Loose on the highway, truck brakes can crash through the windshield of a car traveling behind the truck. If they are flung into oncoming traffic, they can tear a car in half.
Also, total brake system failures are rare in trucking accidents. Most often, it is brake deficiency that is the cause of a truck accident. The truck can stop but it takes longer to do so had the braking system been properly maintained. This is why so many rear-end truck collisions occur. Often times, at a truck collision, the truck driver will say "the brakes just gave way" tying to shift fault from him to the brakes but, once agin, this is from bad, deficient or negligent maintenance.
Finally, improper brake pressure balance also is a cause of deadly truck accidents. This is often the cause of loss of control or lost control truck accidents. These imbalances are most often seen in air brakes. Sometimes these imbalances cause trailer swing-outs and jackknifes.
When a truck's engine isn't working, the truck is stopped dead in its tracks. There is no option but to spend money on repairs. However, a truck with bad brakes still rolls-even though it may be hard to stop. Truck owners may cut costs by delaying truck brake maintenance. And brake trouble can be difficult for inspectors to see.
At Gordon, Elias & Seely, L.L.P. we know where and how to look, from brake linings, caliper adjustments, hydraulic fluid levels to air hoses and connections and all points in between, to determine if brake issues were a factor in a truck accident that injured you or someone you love. To learn if we can be of assistance to you, please contact an attorney at our law firm today to schedule a free initial consultation and case evaluation. You will pay no attorney fees unless we win your case.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a brake failure truck auto accident in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Wyoming, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Washington, Virginia, Vermont, Utah, Tennessee, South Dakota, South Carolina, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Oklahoma, Ohio, North Dakota, North Carolina, New York, New Mexico, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Nevada, Nebraska, Montana, Missouri, Minnesota, Michigan, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, Kansas, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Idaho, Georgia, Alaska, Florida, District of Columbia (D.C.), Delaware, Connecticut, Colorado, California and Arizona please email or call our committed truck auto accident lawyers today. We are focused on obtaining justice for you - the victim. Your toll free call to 1-800-773-6770 will be answered by a lawyer.
Free Consultation & Handicapped Accessible. Contact Gordon, Elias & Seely, L.L.P.
A recent horrific case that occurred in Pennsylvania exemplifies how bad brakes can result in murder on the highways: A tractor-trailer that killed a Fort Washington man on the Schuylkill Expressway pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas. He was driving a rig on Interstate-76. The 18 Wheeler reportedly had severely worn brakes and, when traffic slowed near the Conshohocken Curve, the 37-ton semi failed to stop rear-ending a vehicle and starting a chain reaction involving four cars. The owner allegedly bought "trumped up" inspection stickers. The District Attorney called the tractor-trailer a "74,000 pound death machine". On another instance before this deadly accident, the same driver had to use his emergency brakes to try to stop this rig.This very real example demonstrates the real problems facing motorists on a daily basis and Gordon, Elias & Seely, L.L.P. knows exactly what to do to prove these cases and get the family members maximum recovery.
