Portland Truck Accident Lawyers
Call them semi-trucks, tractor-trailers, 18-wheelers or big rigs. If you live in Portland, they are a familiar sight any day of the week and any time of the day or night. Portland is home to major intrastate and interstate routes like I-5, I-84, U.S. Route 26 and OR 99 connecting cities throughout Oregon and beyond, not to mention the Port of Portland operating four marine terminals (including the state’s only deep-draft container port), three airports (including Portland International), five industrial parks, and more. Mass timber, grain, automobiles, steel, and break bulk cargo containers get loaded onto trucks and carried to and fro year-round, maintaining a continuous presence on Portland city streets and highways.
Sadly, the state’s vital trucking industry can lead to catastrophic trucking accidents, including jackknifes, rollovers, and other accidents that can take out multiple vehicles across multiple lanes of traffic in just one crash. Weighing as much as 20 times more than the average passenger car, a loaded-down semi can strike a car with tremendous force, doing serious damage to the smaller, lighter vehicle and the occupants onboard. Truck accidents are complex and require the help of seasoned truck accident attorneys to help crash victims hold trucking companies responsible for their mistakes or their driver’s negligence in causing a crash.
You’ll find the knowledge, skill and dedication you need at Rosenbaum Law Group. Our attorneys have worked together for years in and out of court to help accident victims get the compensation they need for their medical bills, loss of income, pain and suffering and other legal damages. Call our experienced Portland truck accident lawyers today.
Leading Causes of Truck Accidents in Portland
Hundreds of truck accidents happen in Portland every year, ending in injury or death about half the time. Portland truck accidents occur nearly equally on city streets and primary state highways, and they injure victims of all ages. The most common type of truck accident is a collision with another motor vehicle.
Truck accidents happen for the same reasons other motor vehicle accidents do – speeding, following too closely, failure to yield, failure to signal, disobeying traffic signals, and other negligent driving mistakes. A driver who makes these errors, whether it is a car or truck driver, can bear some or all of the responsibility for causing a wreck. The job of the truck accident attorneys at Rosenbaum Law Group is to establish the facts when another driver has caused the accident and hold them accountable for all the harm they have caused. We’ve done this numerous times over many years and have the knowledge, skills and experience necessary to do the same good job for you as we have with countless others.
In addition to the negligent driving behaviors mentioned above, tractor-trailers pose special risks of accidents not common among other motor vehicles. Some of the leading, unique causes of truck accidents are:
Drowsy or Fatigued Driving
Any driver can be guilty of driving while drowsy or falling asleep at the wheel, but this is an occupational hazard for long-haul truckers who spend hours every day behind the wheel for seven or eight days in a row without a day off. Federal regulations limit how much time truckers can drive without a break, but the regulations are lax and allow for punishing hours on duty. Even worse, truck drivers are notorious for driving beyond what the rules allow, even going to great lengths to alter their logs and records to hide their dangerous noncompliance.
Negligent Truck Maintenance
Many trucking companies keep their fleets in service for well over a decade. Performing regular maintenance is critical to safety, but roadside inspections frequently discover as many as 20% of trucks on the road with bad tires, bad brakes, and other safety issues that require the trucks to be taken out of service before they can be driven another mile.
Cargo Loading Errors
If a truck is overloaded or its cargo unbalanced or improperly secured, the truck’s tires or brakes could fail, or the trucker could lose control of the vehicle and cause a crash. Many different parties could be responsible for loading errors, including truck owners, operators, freight shippers, and third parties contracted to load and secure cargo. Part of our job as truck accident lawyers is to investigate the cause of the crash, identify all responsible parties, and be sure they are held accountable for their role in causing a wreck.
At Rosenbaum Law Group, we handle the full range of truck accidents in Portland, including:
- Front-end Collisions
- Rear-end Collisions
- T-bone Accidents
- Sideswipes
- Override Collisions
- Underride Collisions
- Jackknife Accidents
- Rollovers
- Equipment Failure
Contact Rosenbaum Law Group Today
If you have been injured in a truck accident in Portland, or if you lost a loved one in a fatal truck crash caused by a negligent truck driver or trucking company, the personal injury and wrongful death attorneys at Rosenbaum Law Group are here to help. Call our experienced Portland truck accident lawyers today.
