Tire Blowout Truck Accident Lawyers

Incorrect Tire Pressure

To function at their best, truck tires must be inflated to the manufacturer-recommended level. If a tire is underinflated, it can’t support the weight of a loaded truck, leading it to sag.

Underinflating also forces the tire sidewalls to flex more than they should, causing excessive heat. All of this makes tires more likely to burst.

Overinflated tires are just as dangerous. If a tire has too much air, the contact patch between the road and the tire gets smaller. This puts more pressure on the center of the tread and makes tires more likely to suffer damage from potholes and other pavement imperfections.

Overloaded Trucks

Tires have weight ratings that indicate how much they can carry. If the tires routinely carry heavier loads than they’re made for, they can succumb to the pressure and burst.

Uneven loading can also put more stress on some of the wheels. The loading company has to ensure that the truck’s weight is evenly balanced before allowing the vehicle on the road.

Poor Tire Maintenance

Routine maintenance is essential for the entire truck but is especially important for ensuring that the tires are functioning at their best. They should be checked for signs of wear and tear as well as alignment issues, and they should be rotated and balanced regularly.

Tires that have excessive tread wear are more prone to overheating and puncturing. Those that have uneven tread wear because of alignment issues need to be replaced as well. It’s important to also watch for mismatched tires, which can lead to alignment problems and place further stress on the rubber.

Road Hazards

Potholes, uneven pavement, and other issues can all damage tires. If an accident occurs because of these kinds of hazards, the government entity in charge of maintaining the road could be liable.

Manufacturing Defects

If the tire is faulty, blowouts are very likely to occur. The tire could be made of low-quality materials that wear down too quickly or have weak points. The curing and assembling of the tire could also have been done incorrectly, resulting in a weaker tire.

Tires have to be tested before being put for sale. If the manufacturer fails to conduct the necessary inspections, faults don’t become noticeable until it’s too late. 

Who Is Liable for a Tire Blowout?

To establish liability in this type of accident, the first step is to identify what caused the tire blowout. This often requires the help of expert witnesses. If an issue like speeding weakened the tires prematurely, the driver could be at fault. In contrast, overloading can make the loading company liable.

Alternatively, if there were maintenance problems, the maintenance crew and the trucking company could be liable because they were negligent in their duty. In instances where the trucker should have; but failed to perform an inspection before departing, they could be held responsible.

To prove who was at fault, you and your lawyer will need to gather evidence like maintenance records, driver logs, and anything else that demonstrates the cause. You may even have to rely on the testimony of other workers to establish that the company doesn’t take the necessary steps to keep people safe.

What a Truck Driver Should Do When a Tire Blowout Occurs

To protect others on the road, a truck driver has to know what to do when a tire blowout occurs. The first step is to slowly take your foot off the accelerator to allow the vehicle to come to a gradual stop. You have to use a soft application of the brakes.

Hitting the brakes or abruptly reducing speed can send the truck spinning and even jackknifing. Under soft shoulder conditions, truckers need to lightly feather the accelerator. Once the trucker has the vehicle under control, it can be steered to safety.

It’s vital not to make any abrupt steering motions or try to accelerate. A blowout tire leads the corner of the truck to drop, creating a new side force. To keep the truck from moving in a new direction, the trucker has to compensate for that force.

A truck driver then needs to turn on the hazard lights and place safety markers to warn other drivers. This also protects the truckers themselves from being hit.

What You Should Do After a Truck Tire Blowout Accident

Despite a trucker’s best efforts, it’s sometimes impossible to avoid a collision, especially if they are distracted or inexperienced. If you collide with a burst truck tire or with the truck itself, the first thing to do is contact emergency services.

Do this even if you’re not sure whether you’ve sustained injuries. And when the medical professionals arrive, make sure to let them examine you fully. They’ll be able to tell if you suffered concussions, internal bleeding, and other injuries that may not be visible to the naked eye. They’ll also make a record of your injuries.

Call the police next. Even if you’re not sure whether there were injuries or property damage because of the accident, you still need to contact them to be on the safe side. They will begin an investigation and file a report. If you do file a claim later on, you’ll need this report.

Remember to exchange information with the other parties involved in the accident. Additionally, never admit to fault, and make sure to keep the conversation as civil as possible.

Unless you need to go to the hospital for treatment, start taking pictures of your injuries, the vehicles involved, street conditions, and any other evidence of how the accident occurred. If there are eyewitnesses, speak with them and get their information, too.

You also need to let your insurer know what happened. Keep in mind, though, that you have to be careful with what you say to them. Don’t admit to fault, and stick to the facts — nothing more.

The next call you make should be to a truck accident lawyer for help. With their guidance, you have the chance to get fair compensation for what you’ve suffered.

Available Damages After a Truck Accident

After a truck accident, you can claim compensation for economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages compensate you for the financial losses you suffered.

These encompass medical expenses of all types, including having to make home or vehicle adjustments to accommodate a disability. If the injuries are severe enough to require long-term care, you can also claim these medical expenses. 

Lost wages are another type of economic damage you can claim. If you’ve suffered injuries that kept you from working for a few days or weeks, you can get all of that back pay. You can even get compensation when your injuries don’t allow you to return to work in the same capacity or at all.

Economic damages also cover vehicle repairs or replacements. The value of the vehicle will be determined by the condition it was in before the accident occurred.

In addition to financial losses, you can be compensated for non-economic damages. These focus on helping you recover losses for the pain and suffering you’ve endured, as well as for loss of enjoyment of life. If a loved one died as a result of this type of accident, you can also claim loss of consortium.

Punitive damages aren’t compensatory, meaning they instead strive to punish the party that caused the accident. This can help prevent further collisions in the future.