If you live or work near Durant, Oklahoma, you’ve no doubt sat in long lines of bumper-to-bumper traffic on more than one occasion. With several casinos and resorts nearby that offer top-notch gaming and live entertainment, full-time residents from throughout the state, as well as tourists from across the country, often travel to the area. Highway traffic typically moves at a fast pace (except when there’s a traffic jam), and you’re likely going to share the road with tractor-trailers and other commercial vehicles, which increases the risk of a truck accident.
Various issues are often causal factors in Oklahoma truck accidents. Even if you’re cautious and alert behind the wheel, you have no control over the truck drivers who share the road. Many collisions involving big rigs or other large commercial trucks are fatal; surviving a truck accident might mean that you have suffered catastrophic injuries. Such injuries often require intensive medical care, which causes you to take a lot of time off from work. For many people, losing even one or two paychecks could spur financial disaster.
Issues that can cause a truck accident
The following list shows numerous factors that are often the cause of collisions involving trucks:
- Hauling too large of a load
- Driver fatigue
- Distracted driver
- Operating a truck under influence of alcohol or drugs
- Driver inexperience
- Traveling at a speed that exceeds the posted limit
- Failure to adjust speed to road conditions in inclement weather
You could be commuting to work, taking your kids to school or heading out to meet friends for a fun night of gaming and live music when your entire life changes in an instant because of a truck accident.
State law provides recourse for recovering victims and grieving families
A truck accident can cause catastrophic injuries, such as brain trauma or spinal cord damage. Such injuries may require surgery or long-term specialized care to help you recover, and you still might end up with a permanent disability.
Oklahoma injury laws allow a recovering accident victim to seek compensation for damages, which can help offset the financial strain associated with the incident. If you are an immediate family member of a loved one who has died in a motor vehicle collision caused by another driver’s negligence, you can file a wrongful death claim on behalf of the decedent.
