Pennsylvania Truck Accident Attorneys

Providing Legal Services to Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Erie, Allentown, Williamsport, Scranton, and Lancaster PA

Truck Accident Statistics | Major Roadways | Trucking Companies in PA | Pennsylvania Trucking Laws

Pennsylvania highways and interstates handle a large volume of the nation’s heavy truck traffic because of the state’s geographic location as a major northeastern transportation corridor. With so many tractor trailers and big rigs on the road, Pennsylvania ranked fifth among states in total traffic accident fatalities in 2008, with four deaths per day and four injuries per hour, according to the most recent federal and state statistics.

Large trucks such as 18 wheelers, tractor trailers and semi-trailers were involved in approximately 12 percent of Pennsylvania’s total fatal motor vehicle accidents. The vast majority of victims of Pennsylvania large truck accidents each year are occupants of other vehicles, even when negligent truck drivers cause the wreck.

If you or a loved one has been seriously injured in a large truck accident in Pennsylvania, you need a truck accident lawyer with a proven record of standing up to trucking companies and protecting the rights of truck accident victims. The truck accident lawyers at Munley, Munley & Cartwright, P.C., focus on commercial truck accident cases and have experience analyzing and negotiating complex cases on behalf of our clients.

Contact an experienced truck accident attorney at Munley, Munley & Cartwright, P.C., for a free consultation by completing our online accident evaluation form or calling toll free 877-421-9175.

A Record of Success in PA Truck Accident Cases

Our tractor-trailer lawyers represent people injured in truck crashes and the families of victims of fatal 18 wheeler crashes anywhere in Pennsylvania. We are proud of our record of verdicts and settlements on behalf of victims of truck accident cases. To list a few, we obtained:

• A $6.5 million settlement for a Dickson City man who was seriously injured and his wife killed when a tractor-trailer hauling garbage struck their vehicle when exiting the North Scranton Expressway.
• A $2.8 million settlement in a wrongful death case for the family of a 15-year-old Throop boy killed when a tractor-trailer with faulty brakes ran over the boy in front of his parents and sister at a rest stop off Interstate Route 84.
• A $1.8 million settlement for the family of a woman killed when a tractor-trailer driver failed to slow approaching an intersection and broad-sided the woman’s jeep on State Route 54 near Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The driver had a history of speeding.

Tractor Trailers by the Numbers

Big rigs weigh far more than passenger vehicles and are dangerous if truckers drive carelessly, speed, tailgate or experience a tire blowout or brake failure. Commercial truck drivers were involved in 4.3 percent of Pennsylvania traffic accidents that caused injuries and 12.2 percent of fatal crashes in 2008.

Pennsylvania had 195 large truck fatal crashes in 2008, including 111 tractor-trailer accidents and 54 accidents involving single unit trucks with a gross vehicle weight of more than 26,000 pounds. Of the large truck crashes, 18 accidents involved a rollover, two involved jack-knifed trailers and 16 crashes involved trucks catching fire, which can lead to serious or fatal burn injuries among truck accident victims.

A Closer Look at Truck Crashes

The vast majority of Pennsylvania truck accidents where equipment failures contributed to the crash involved tires and wheels, brake failures, and unsecured or overloaded trailers. Large trucks have limited ability to stop -- a loaded tractor-trailer traveling 55 miles per hour takes the length of the Philadelphia Eagles’ football field to stop on dry pavement and even longer on wet or slick roads.

A fully loaded tractor trailer has a higher center of gravity. As more cargo is stacked into the truck trailer, it elevates the truck’s center of gravity, making it more susceptible to a truck rollover on Pennsylvania highways and rural routes. Fully loaded rigs are 10 times more likely to roll over in a crash than an empty truck. Rollovers occur when truck drivers drive too fast around a curve or the cargo isn’t properly centered. More than half of truck driver deaths occur in rollovers. But truck drivers are much less likely to be killed in a truck accident than people in other vehicles involved in a collision with a large truck.

Pennsylvania has an extensive highway system with more than 121,000 miles of urban thoroughfares and rural highways. While more than half of large truck crashes occur on state highways, more than half of the fatal accidents involving large trucks occur on interstates. Certain highways are designated by PennDOT as heavy truck crash corridors because of the high number of large truck accidents that occur there. Large trucks were involved in more than 300 crashes in work zones on interstates, state highways, turnpikes and local roads.

Contact Munley's Truck Accident Lawyers Today

If you have been seriously injured or lost a loved one in a truck accident, you need a serious Pennsylvania truck accident attorney. At Munley, Munley & Cartwright, P.C., we concentrate on truck accident litigation and help families get back on their feet after a serious truck accident. We have obtained numerous multi-million settlements after filing negligence claims and wrongful death claims on behalf of people harmed by negligent truck drivers and trucking companies

To discuss your case, contact an experienced truck accident attorney at Munley, Munley & Cartwright, P.C., for a free consultation by completing our online accident evaluation form or calling toll free 877-421-9175.