News & opinion Recovering Compensation Following No-Zone Accidents

Recovering Compensation Following No-Zone Accidents

Truck Accident Attorneys
hile you m

y not h

ve hed the te

m no-zone befo

e, you’ve likely hed of blind spots. Since 1991, the Fedel Moto

C

ie

S

fety

dminist

tion (FMCS

) h

s cl

ssified the blind spots of big t

ucks

s “no-zones.” Simply put, no-zones e the blind spots in

hich

t

uck d

ive

c

nnot see

c

. These

e d

nge

ous

e

s othe

d

ive

s must const

ntly

em

in e of. Blind spots exist in eve

y vehicle, but they pl

ce d

ive

s

t even g

e

te

isk

hen lge t

ucks

e involved, due to thei

lgeeight

nd size.

e discuss no-zones in mo

e det

il belo

.

esech

bout No-Zone

ccidents<

h2>
The

e h

ve been nume

ous studies conducted

eg

ding no-zone

ccidents. M

ny

o

d

y

ccidents th

t involve

c

nd

t

uck occu

in no-zones. D

ive

s should

em

in e of these zones,

s it m

kes it e

sie

to st

y s

fe

hen sh

ing the

o

d

ith big

igs.

T

uck no-zones e loc

ted in the follo

ing loc

tions:

  • i

    -level="1">ong>F

    ont of the t

    uck – ong>

    s m

    ny

    s 13% of

    ll

    ccidents involving

    c

    nd t

    uck occu

    in the f

    ont no-zone.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">ong>Side of the t

    uck -<

    st

    ong> 12% of t

    uck

    ccidents bet

    een

    t

    uck

    nd

    c

    occu

    due to side no-zone

    ccidents. These

    ccidents e most common

    t inte

    sections.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">ong>

    e of the t

    uck – ong> 10% of

    ll c

    -t

    uck collisions occu

    bec

    use of

    e

    no-zones.

ll in

ll, this me

ns

pp

oxim

tely 35% of

ll t

uck

ccidents th

t involve sm

lle

vehicles

e t

ce

ble b

ck to

no-zone

ccident. Ove

ll, estim

tes sho

the

e e

pp

oxim

tely 30,000

nnu

l

ccidents involving cs

nd t

ucks th

t stem f

om no-zone

ccidents.

Identifying No-Zone Loc

tions<

h2>
It is e

sy to

ssume th

t bec

use

t

uck is l

ge

th

n

c, t

uck d

ive

s h

ve

bette

field of vie

of

h

t is on the

o

d

y.

hile

t

uck m

y h

ve

l

ge

f

ont vie

, it m

y su

p

ise you to le

n ho

difficult it is fo t

uck ope

to

to see clely on

ll sides of the vehicle.

The fou

e

s

he

e

d

ive

is le

st likely to see

n

pp

o

ching vehicle

e:

  • i

    -level="1">ong>Behind the t

    ile

    of the t

    uck – ong> T

    uck d

    ive

    s h

    ve difficulty seeing vehicles behind them.

    hile this should come

    s no su

    p

    ise,

    h

    t m

    y su

    p

    ise you is the dist

    nce in

    hich these ch

    llenges exist. Most

    ecommend

    tions suggest th

    t c

    s

    em

    in

    t le

    st<

    h

    ef=”https://

    .fmcs

    .dot.gov/ou

    o

    ds

    l

    ge-blind-spots” t

    get=”_bl

    nk"

    el=”nofollo

    noopene

    “> 30 feet behind the t

    ile

    <> of

    t

    uck.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">ong>F

    ont of the t

    uck c

    b -<

    st

    ong> T

    uck d

    ive

    s m

    y

    lso st

    uggle to see

    h

    t is in f

    ont of them. This is bec

    use they e

    ttempting to look ove

    the nose of the c

    b,

    hich is subst

    nti

    lly lge

    th

    n the f

    ont end of most c

    s. Most studies sho

    th

    t t

    ucks need cs to

    em

    in

    t le

    st 20 feet

    he

    d of the t

    ucks to st

    y out of thei

    no-zones.

  • i

    -level="1">ong>Left

    nd

    ight side of the t

    uck -<

    st

    ong>

    e

    e including these togethe

    bec

    use the

    ules fovoiding p

    oblems

    e the s

    me. T

    ucke

    s c

    nnot see unde

    the mio

    s of thei

    c

    bs. On the

    ight side of the t

    uck, this issue m

    y extend to

    slightly l

    ge

    dius. The simple

    ule of thumb fo

    de

    ling

    ith the

    ight

    nd left side of

    t

    uck is to check the t

    uck’s mi

    o

    . If you c

    nnot see the d

    ive

    , the d

    ive

    c

    nnot see you!<

    li>

Being

c

utious d

ive

is not

lys the solution to

voiding no-zone

ccidents. Ho

eve

, st

ying

le

t, kno

ing th

t you

e sh

ing the

o

d

ith

t

uck th

t m

y h

ve l

ge blind spots,

nd t

king steps to ensu

e the t

uck d

ive

c

n see you clely

ill help

educe the

isk of

no-zone

ccident.

h

t C

uses

No-Zone

ccident?<

h2>

nytime th

t you sh

e the

o

d

ith othe

moto

ists, it’s impo

t

nt to keep in mind th

t they

ll h

ve blind spots.

hen you e shing the

o

d

ith t

ucks, the t

uck’s blind spots

e usu

lly lge

,

hich

ill m

ke it even mo

e difficult fo

t

uck d

ive

to see you. D

ive

s

pp

o

ching

t

uck on the

o

d

y should d

ive defensively

nd use c

ution

hen p

ssing

l

ge t

uck. It is

lso impo

t

nt to

emembe

th

t

t

uck is not

s e

sily m

neuve

ble

s

c

. Bec

use of the shee

size of

t

uck, d

ive

s need mo

e time to stop thei

vehicles,

nd defensive moves m

y p

ove d

nge

ous. The<

h

ef="https:

/

.fmcs

.dot.gov/ou

o

ds

long-stopping-dist

nces" tget="_bl

nk”

el="nofollo

noopene

"> FHMC

estim

tes<> th

t it t

kes

t

uck tveling

t 65 miles

n hou

the dist

nce of t

o footb

ll fields to stop completely. If the

o

dys e

et, it m

y t

ke

n even longe

dist

nce.

hile m

ny of us h

ve seen sticke

s on lge t

ucks th

t

emind you of the t

ucks’ blind spots, the

e

e some othe

things th

t

ll d

ive

s should kno

:

  • i

    -level="1">ong>F

    lling deb

    is – ong> Tveling closely behind

    t

    uck c

    n p

    ove just

    s d

    nge

    ous

    s

    no-zone

    ccident.

    t

    uck m

    y fling deb

    is f

    om the

    o

    d

    y into you

    c’s p

    th.

    ddition

    lly, deb

    is o

    imp

    ope

    ly-lo

    ded cgo m

    y f

    ll f

    om t

    uck beds.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">ong>Tu

    ning t

    ucks – ong> D

    ive

    s

    ho

    ttempt to p

    ss on the

    ight side of the t

    uck should use

    ddition

    l c

    ution. Keep in mind,

    t

    uck

    equi

    es mo

    e sp

    ce to s

    fely m

    ke ight-h

    nd tu

    n. If you h

    ppen to

    ind up in the t

    uck’s no-zone

    hile the d

    ive

    is tu

    ning, the

    esult could p

    ove de

    dly.<

    li>

T

ucks simply c

nnot m

neuves e

sily

s p

ssenge

vehicles. This m

kes l

ge t

ucks

h

zd to othe

vehicles on the

o

d, p

ticul

ly in inclement conditions.

T

uck

eights Cont

ibute to Inju

ies

Most people unde

st

nd th

t m

ny diffe

ent f

cto

s

ill

ffect ho

se

ious inju

ies

e follo

ing o

d

y

ccident. These f

cto

s include the speed

t

hich the vehicles e tveling, the

o

dy conditions, the time of d

y,

nd

he

e the imp

ct occu

ed. Ho

eve

,

nothe

f

cto

th

t you should conside

is the<

h

ef=”https://

.ene

gy.gov/ee

e

vehicles/f

ct-621-m

y-3-2010-g

oss-vehicle-

eight-vs-empty-vehicle-

eight" tget="_bl

nk”

el="nofollo

noopene

">

eight of the involved vehicles >. This is especi

lly t

ue

hen one of the vehicles involved in

n

ccident is

t

uck.

He

e is

quick look

t

eight diffe

ences

mong diffe

ent types of vehicles:
  • -level=”1″> ong>St

    nd

    d

    utomobiles -<

    st

    ong>

    n empty p

    ssenge

    vehicle c

    n h

    ve

    n

    pp

    oxim

    te

    eight of bet

    een 3,200

    nd 6,000 pounds.

    hen full, the c

    c

    n

    eigh

    s much

    s 1,000 pounds mo

    e.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">ong>Sm

    ll t

    ucks – ong> The

    eights of SUVs, mini-v

    ns,

    nd sm

    ll pickups c

    n

    nge f

    om 2,400 to 4,000 pounds

    hen empty. These vehicles c

    n c

    y

    n

    ddition

    l 1,500 pounds of cgo.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">ong>L

    ge

    p

    ssenge

    t

    ucks – ong> Lge

    SUVs

    nd st

    nd

    d o

    lge-sized pickup t

    ucks c

    n nge in

    eight f

    om 6,000 to 10,000 pounds even

    hen they’

    e not c

    ying

    nything. These vehicles’ cgo limits nge f

    om 2,500 to 5,000 pounds.

  • i

    -level="1">ong>Utility v

    ns

    nd sm

    ll buses -<

    st

    ong>

    ith

    n empty

    eight of bet

    een 10,000

    nd 14,000 pounds, these vehicles

    l

    e

    dy

    eigh mo

    e th

    n

    st

    nd

    d p

    ssenge

    vehicle.

    dd in

    n

    ddition

    l 5,200 pounds of c

    go,

    nd v

    ns

    nd buses e nely t

    ice the

    eight of

    n

    vege c.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">ong>T

    cto

    -tile

    s – ong> These behemoths

    eigh bet

    een 33,000

    nd 80,000 pounds even befo

    e the

    ddition of

    ny cgo. Depending on the cgo, t

    ucks m

    y be c

    ying

    n

    ddition

    l 54,000 pounds.<

    li>

It is c

yst

l cle

f

om these numbe

s th

t being involved in

ny t

uck

ccident is likely to p

ove dev

st

ting,

eg

dless of

h

t type of vehicle you

e d

iving. T

ucks h

ve

signific

nt

eight

dv

nt

ge, putting eve

y othe

opeto

on the

o

d

y

t

dis

dv

nt

ge in the event of

t

uck

ccident.

Common T

uck

ccident Inju

ies<

h2>

hile no definitive d

t

tells us ho

m

ny t

uck

ccidents occu

in no-zone

ccidents, the

e

e

fe

things th

t

e do kno

. Fi

st, t

uck

ccidents c

n c

use dev

st

ting inju

ies to victims.

ddition

lly,

e h

ve f

i

ly good insight into some of the most common inju

ies th

t

victim f

ces follo

ing

t

uck

ccident. These e some of the inju

ies th

t c

n h

ppen in no-zone

ccidents:

  • i

    -level="1">ong>Se

    ious he

    d inju

    ies -<

    st

    ong> Tum

    tic b

    in inju

    y (TBI), concussions,

    nd f

    ctu

    ed skulls c

    n

    ll

    esult f

    om

    t

    uck

    ccident. Victims

    ho suffe

    these types of inju

    ies could f

    ce

    eeks o

    months of

    ecove

    y time. In some c

    ses, victims m

    y even suffe

    pe

    m

    nent d

    m

    ge f

    om

    TBI. Some victims

    ill suffe

    pe

    son

    lity ch

    nges,

    n in

    bility to keep thei

    thoughts stight,

    nd othe

    inju

    ies th

    t m

    ke thei

    etu

    n to no

    m

    l life mo

    e ch

    llenging.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">ong>B

    ck

    nd neck inju

    ies -<

    st

    ong> Soft tissue inju

    ies, comp

    essed ve

    teb

    ,

    nd spin

    l co

    d inju

    ies c

    n

    ll imp

    ct you

    life neg

    tively. In

    ddition to de

    ling

    ith se

    ious p

    in, you m

    y suffe

    pe

    m

    nent ne

    ve d

    m

    ge

    nd othe

    ch

    llenges. Unfo

    tun

    tely, these inju

    ies m

    y not

    lys

    ppe

    evident immedi

    tely

    fte

    n

    ccident; the

    , they m

    y

    ppe

    g

    du

    lly ove fe

    d

    ys.<

    li>

  • i

    -level="1">ong>Othe

    se

    ious inju

    ies -<

    st

    ong> Cuts f

    om b

    oken gl

    ss, inju

    ies f

    om

    i

    b

    gs

    nd se

    tbelts, b

    oken bones,

    nd inte

    n

    l inju

    ies

    e common follo

    ing

    n

    uto

    ccident.

    ny type of inju

    y c

    n

    esult in futu

    e p

    oblems, including su

    gic

    l p

    ocedu

    es, ch

    onic p

    in,

    nd mo

    e.

Seeking immedi

te medic

l c

e

ften

ccident is c

uci

l. You

nt to ensu

e you don’t h

ve

ny immedi

te issues th

t could

o

sen ove

time. Victims

ho h

ve been involved in

no-zone

ccident

nd feel fine should monito

themselves fo

sevel d

ys follo

ing

n

ccident

nd seek immedi

te guid

nce f

om thei

docto

if they stt feeling p

in of

ny kind.

emembe

, ou

bodies

e

dept

t m

sking p

in, p

ticul

ly in times of g

e

t st

ess.

F

cing

e

lity: Fin

nci

l Conce

ns Follo

ing No-Zone

ccidents<

h2>

hile

ecove

ing f

om thei

inju

ies, most no-zone

ccident victims e

o

ied

bout m

ny things. If you’ve sust

ined inju

ies in

no-zone

ccident, you’

e likely conce

ned

bout lost time f

om

o

k, medic

l bills piling up, the condition of you

c

,

nd the st

ess of kno

ing th

t you m

y h

ve to f

ce

ddition

l medic

l issues due to you

inju

ies.

ll the

hile, in the b

ck of you

mind, you’

e pl

gued by the thought of ho

much youccident

ill fin

nci

lly imp

ct you

nd you

f

mily.

This is

hen you stt thinking

bout ho

you’

e going to de

l

ith the insu

nce comp

ny to

ecove

fin

nci

lly. <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.comhen-do-you-need-

n-

tto

ney-

fte

-t

uck-

ccident

“>Befo

e you do this<>, c

ll

lyeho h

s expe

ience h

ndling t

ucking

ccidents.

Impo

t

nt Conside

tions Follo

ing

No-Zone

ccident<

h2>
The <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

t

uck-

ccident-cl

im-p

ocess/”>t

uck

ccident cl

im p

ocess > is complic

ted. One of the fi

st things th

t you must est

blish is

ho is

t f

ult fo

the

ccident. It’s e

sy to think th

t you m

y be pti

lly to bl

me, but

h

teve

you do, neve

pologize o

dmit to

ny

mount of f

ult, even

hen spe

king

ith l

enfo

cement o

insu

nce

gents. Do not p

ovide

st

tement to these p

ties until you’ve met

ith

<

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

se

vices

houston-t

uck-

ccident-l

ye

“>t

uck

ccident l

ye

<>

ho h

s you

best inte

ests in mind. D

ive

s should

lso keep in mind

ddition

l issues m

y h

ve cont

ibuted to the no-zone

ccident.

lye

c

n help you investig

te

nd uncove

these c

uses. Fo

ex

mple, the t

uck d

ive

involved m

y h

ve suffe

ed f

om

l

ck of sleep, m

y h

ve been c

ying lo

ds th

t

e

e oveeight fo

thei

t

ucks, o

m

y h

ve been tveling too f

st fo

the

o

d conditions. D

ive

s of

ll vehicles c

n suffe

imp

i

ment f

om d

ugs

nd

lcohol, could d

ive too f

st,

nd could d

ive

hile distcted. Once you ente

the insu

nce cl

im p

ocess,

djuste

s often t

y to bl

me victims fo

thei

inju

ies. This is

common t

ctic foll insunce comp

nies bec

use they nt to p

otect thei

bottom lines,

hich me

ns p

ying

s little

s possible in cl

ims. The

e is

good ch

nce th

t you m

y h

ve to de

l

ith multiple insunce

djuste

s. In most c

ses, insu

e

s

ill

ssign one

djuste

to h

ndle medic

l cl

ims

nd

nothe

to h

ndle p

ope

ty d

m

ge cl

ims (the d

m

ge to you

c o

othe

belongings.) You m

y

eceive

quick settlement offe

f

om

n insunce comp

ny, p

ticul

ly if you h

ve

big t

uck

ccident cl

im. Do not get t

icked into signing you

fi

st settlement offe

; this is

common t

ctic th

t insu

nce comp

nies employ to

void

ny futu

e li

bility. The insunce

djuste

kno

s th

t if you h

ve

se

ious inju

y, you likely don’t knohen you

ill be

ble to

etu

n to

o

k, ho

much you

tot

l medic

l bills

ill cost, o

the long-te

m implic

tions of you

inju

y. They

ill p

essu

e you to settle quickly,

nd you’ll be out of luck.

n

tto

ney

ho h

s h

ndled complic

ted no-zone

ccident c

ses c

n help you by ev

lu

ting you

medic

l

eco

ds

nd enlisting expe

ts to estim

te you

enings losses

nd you

tot

l

ecove

y time. You

tto

ney is the

e to p

otect you—

nd to p

otect you

inte

ests.

hile you focus on you

ecove

y, youtto

ney

ill h

ndle insu

nce negoti

tions

nd p

epe to t

ke you

c

se to t

i

l, if necess

y.

If you o

loved one suffe

ed

n inju

y in

no-zone

ccident, you need to <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

file-t

uck-

ccident-cl

im

“>t

ke immedi

te

ction to p

otect you

leg

l

ights<>. Befo

e you decide

hich option is

ight fo

you

nd you

f

mily follo

ing

no-zone

ccident, you need to <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

10-questions-t

uck-

ccident-l

ye

“>unde

st

nd

ll of you

options >.

e

ch out no

fo

f

ee consult

tion f

om one of ou

live expe

ts!

e’

e

eady to help.

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