St. Louis Trucking Accidents Lawyer

How Common Are Trucking Accidents in St. Louis and Missouri?

Unfortunately, Missouri trucking accidents are anything but uncommon. The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported that in 2020 there were 13,910 crashes in Missouri involving commercial vehicles, with 80 percent of them involving trucks. Those accidents caused 131 fatalities and 2,704 personal injuries. That means that trucking accidents accounted for 8.4 percent of all motor vehicle accidents in Missouri, and 14.3 percent of all fatalities.

Most Missouri trucking accidents happen on narrower roads where a truck has little room to maneuver around smaller cars. Nearly a quarter of commercial vehicle accidents occurred in St. Louis County and St. Louis City, while 11.94 percent occurred in Kansas City and Jackson County, making Missouri's two most populous cities the places where over a third of all Missouri trucking accidents occur. If you have been injured in a truck crash because of somebody else's careless actions, call a St. Louis-based Missouri trucking accidents lawyer at Burger Law today to discuss your legal options.

Is It Worth Hiring a St. Louis Trucking Accidents Lawyer?

Almost always the answer is yes. If you were in a simple fender-bender with another passenger car that only required a quick trip to a Missouri emergency room, you may be able to get a fair settlement offer with the help of an attorney. However, truck accidents usually result in more serious injuries that require ongoing care. Additionally, in a truck accident, you are not making a claim against a driver, but rather against a large trucking company. Missouri insurance companies use a lot of tricks to minimize your payout. The skilled and dedicated trucking accidents lawyer team of Burger Law knows how to fight back against bullies and get you the compensation they owe you.

Besides dealing with the insurance company, a Missouri trucking accidents lawyer at Burger Law will:

• Take the time to discuss and understand your claim.
• Fully investigate your case, including acquiring key evidence and taking official depositions.
• Determine liability and prove negligence.
• Keep you informed and answer all of your questions through the process.
• Handle all communication, litigation, documentation and negotiation.
• Work with our network of Missouri accident and medical experts to precisely value your claim.
• Give you every piece of information you need to make the best decision for you and your family.

While we do everything we can to secure you the compensation you deserve in negotiations, more often than not our Missouri trucking accidents lawyer team will file suit against trucking companies. Trucking companies and insurance companies have access to top-level legal representation that will try anything to devalue your claim or convince you they do not owe you anything. At Burger Law, our trucking accidents lawyer team has dedicated their lives to giving the injured and vulnerable in Missouri legal advocacy that matches and exceeds what large corporations have. We are more aggressive than most law firms because we want the insurance company to know that we mean business and we settle for nothing but maximum compensation. You do not owe us anything until we win your case.

Common Causes of Truck Crashes in St. Louis and Missouri

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration released its groundbreaking Large Crash Causation Study in 2009. The study examined the causes and contributing factors of 18-wheeler accidents. After analyzing over 1,000 possible factors, they came to the following conclusions:

• Eighty-seven percent of crashes involved "driver reasons," either by the truck driver or another driver. The most common of those reasons include:
• Prescription drug use, over-the-counter drug use, and illegal drug use or drunk driving
• Speeding or driving too fast for conditions
• Fatigue or distracted driving
• Illegal maneuvers, inadequate evasive action or aggressive driving
• Unfamiliarity with the roadway or truck
• Almost a third of crashes involved issues with the truck, such as brake failure or faulty tires.
• Environmental factors, such as:
• Weather-related accidents
• Traffic congestion
• Roadway hazards
• Other factors, such as:
• Overloaded trucks or improperly loaded cargo
• The driver being pressured to operate even though fatigued
• Illness

Whatever the cause behind your crash in Missouri, your Burger Law trucking accidents lawyer has seen it before. We will get to the bottom of your crash and hold the liable parties accountable.

St. Louis Trucking Accidents FAQs

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Who Is Liable for My Trucking Accident Injuries in St. Louis, MO?

In most auto accident cases, you would file a claim against another Missouri driver and their insurance company. In trucking accidents, truck drivers were responsible for 44 percent of crashes caused by driver error, with drivers of other vehicles being liable for the rest. When your Burger Law trucking accidents lawyer conducts an investigation into your crash, they will find which driver is at fault. However, one of the unique things about truck accidents is that there are usually multiple parties that can be found liable. That is why you need a dedicated, experienced and knowledgeable trucking accidents lawyer in your corner.

Below are some examples of other parties in Missouri your trucking accidents lawyer at Burger Law may be able to find liable:

The Trucking Company

Trucking companies also have an obligation to look out for our safety. They must:

• Hire drivers that meet the strict requirements for Commercial Driver's Licenses in Missouri. Not doing so, or hiring a driver with a history of traffic violations, amounts to negligent hiring practices.
• Ensure the safety of their vehicles. Missouri and Federal Law requires pre-trip and yearly inspections carried out by the driver and trucking company or third party, respectively. Not carrying out inspections or not repairing defective components are examples of negligence. Brake problems were an associated factor in 27 percent of trucks in trucking accidents, contrasted with just 2 percent in cars.
• Not overwork their drivers. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has an Hours of Service Guide for Truck Drivers that must be adhered to. Thirteen percent of trucking accidents involved driver fatigue as an associated factor, often because an employer was pressuring the driver to drive off little rest.

We will request maintenance and driver logs when we get to work on your truck accident case. Your Burger Law trucking accidents lawyer in Missouri knows how to get all the evidence we need to prove your case.

A Shipping Company

Cargo must be properly loaded onto trucks in order to ensure safety. Overloaded trucks or trucks with unequal weight distribution are prone to rollover accidents. Improperly loaded cargo can also spill onto St. Louis or Missouri streets and cause a multi-vehicle collision. Overweight trucks also have increased stopping times which limits the driver's ability to respond to conditions or hazards on the road.

Mechanics or Manufacturers

Manufacturers have an obligation to safely design and test their products and recall any components when they find it to be dangerous or defective. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that a recall is necessary when a vehicle or vehicle equipment "does not comply with a Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard." Failure to do so is product liability. Burger Law's trucking accidents lawyer team has seen every type of personal injury case and knows how to win you maximum compensation regardless of the circumstances of your truck crash injury.

A Government Entity

If your truck accident happened because of infrastructure that was poorly designed or poorly maintained, your truck accident injury lawyer may help you make a claim against a public entity such as the Missouri Department of Transportation. If a guardrail suddenly swings into the road or a substantial crack in the concrete causes a vehicle to go airborne, causing a chain reaction until you get in a crash, your truck accident attorneys will help you hold the local organization responsible for that property accountable.

Generally, Missouri provides sovereign immunity to government employees which protects them from lawsuits. However, Missouri Revised Statute §537.600 allows for suing a public employee for damages sustained "out of the operation of motor vehicles" within the course of a driver's "employment."

Bringing a claim against the Missouri government is complicated, but your trucking accidents lawyer at Burger Law knows how to apply the law to your case and win even the toughest cases. Call our trucking accidents lawyer team today at (314) 500-HURT.