Cement trucks are a common sight in and around Atlanta. This city’s heavy construction means there is a limitless demand for cement, which is poured as the foundation for most buildings. Getting into a wreck with a cement truck is a life-changing experience. These are large and heavy vehicles—much larger and heavier than some other commercial trucks. A concrete mixer can completely crush a smaller vehicle, leading to horrifying injuries.
Were you involved in any type of collision with a concrete mixer? Call Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys to speak with an Atlanta truck accident lawyer. We can provide advice about what steps to take and analyze the strength of your legal claims.
Standing Out in a Crowd
Cement mixers definitely stand out on the road, thanks to the rotating drum on the back of the truck. This drum continuously turns to mix the concrete during transportation to the jobsite. When the truck arrives at the site, the concrete is ready to pour, so there is no standing around for hours. The materials are continuously mixed on the way.
The typical concrete mix is 30-35 feet in length and reaches up to 13 feet tall. This height contributes to their visibility on the road. These trucks can also be somewhat unstable given their height.
A full drum certainly adds to the weight of what is already a heavy truck. When fully loaded, a cement truck can weigh up to 40,000 pounds, which is equivalent to a fully loaded tractor-trailer. Any crash with one of these vehicles could be more deadly than usual.
Why Do Cement Mixers Crash?
Operators should have a commercial driver’s license to get behind the wheel. They also need special training on how to operate a vehicle of this size in traffic. Safety should be a priority for concrete companies.
Unfortunately, accidents often result from:
- Blind spots. Like other large vehicles, cement mixers often have large blind spots, so the trucker could easily collide with someone in one of these spots.
- Speeding. Cement mixers are designed so they can be driven on the highway, and it’s not unusual to see one of these trucks tearing down the road at 65 miles per hour. However, some truckers face even more intense pressure to get a job site fast so that they do not cost their company money. A speeding driver is more prone to an accident and needs additional space to come to a complete stop. Accidents sometimes happen when a truck cannot stop in time.
- Distraction. Truckers are often distracted by cell phones or GPS devices as they search for an address. A distracted trucker can clip or even run over another vehicle in the way.
- Substance abuse. Driving a cement mixer can be a stressful job for some. The constant pressure from tight deadlines means that truckers are managing high stress levels. Some of them turn to drugs or alcohol, which can impair their ability to drive safely.
- Truck defects. Cement trucks must meet stringent safety standards. However, some companies let their trucks slowly wear out and fail to perform timely maintenance, even if they know a truck is dangerous. The vehicle could become unmanageable out on the road.
Many victims have no idea what caused the crash. They were driving down the road when, in the next instant, they are in the back of an ambulance with pain wracking their body. Let our truck accident attorneys investigate to uncover the reason for the collision.
Cargo Spills
Any truck which transports fuel or liquids is at risk of a cargo spill. This is a potentially devastating accident. Cement will harden quickly and could prove fatal, depending on the extent of the spill. Even if a vehicle isn’t covered with cement, a driver could take sudden defensive measures to avoid the spill and crash into a pedestrian or another vehicle for that reason.
How to Win Compensation for a Crash
Accidents involving cement trucks are in some ways like other commercial truck accidents. We need to find evidence to uncover what happened and who is to blame. Motorists should not be surprised if the cement company tries to blame them. They might allege you were hanging out in a blind spot and did not pass quickly enough, or they allege you cut off the truck.
In Georgia, a victim’s contributory negligence will end up reducing their compensation by a similar percentage. Thus, someone who is 40% at fault will get 40% less than they otherwise would. That takes a big chunk out of any settlement.
It’s critical to meet with a lawyer. If you were 50% or more, then you can end up with nothing. We don’t want our clients to say something they don’t mean to any insurance adjuster.
The best step is to hire a lawyer to represent you. There is little risk to cement companies to make frivolous accusations against injured victims. They might even do so to put pressure on you to settle a claim.
Our firm strives to understand what happened. No detail is too small. We can contact the cement company to ask for critical pieces of information, such as the trucker’s driving records and information from the vehicle. Armed with the facts, we can confidently argue our client did not contribute to their accident.
Contact Stewart Miller Simmons Trial Attorneys
Cement companies carry large insurance policies that cover accidents which are the fault of the trucker or a defect on the vehicle. However, these companies are never eager to make a fair settlement offer. Instead, they hire law firms to aggressively investigate each accident claim and find a reason to offer you only the tiniest settlement. No accident victim should take on a construction company without a seasoned lawyer in their own corner.Call our office to speak with an Atlanta truck accident lawyer, (404) 529-3476. You deserve fair compensation when a cement truck sends you to the hospital with painful injuries.