If you’ve been hit by a large truck, it’s best to place your case in the hands of an experienced Hamilton trucking accident lawyer. Large commercial trucks account for a disproportionate percentage of the injuries and deaths occurring on Canadian roadways. The average highway in Canada has about 1100 trucks travelling daily. In Ontario specifically, the number goes up significantly. The average kilometre of highway has about 2300 trucks a day, with 10,000 in Southern Ontario and up to 40,000 near Toronto.
Common trucking accidents include big rigs, 18-wheelers, tractor-trailers, and commercial vehicles. When they occur, these accidents often cause very serious injuries to those involved and, in some instances, result in fatalities.
A trucking accident can be complex and challenging to handle. You must retain an experienced Hamilton trucking accident lawyer to handle your case for the best chance at a favourable outcome. In Ontario, large truck collisions can represent approximately 19% of road fatalities, with large trucks involved in up to 1000 cases or more.
Our Hamilton truck accident lawyers have been helping trucking accident victims who have suffered serious injuries since 2003. We have the experience to assist victims involved in truck accidents with large trucks, cargo trucks, courier trucks, courier vans, cargo trucks, large buses, commercial buses, 18-wheelers, big rigs, semi-trucks, tractor-trailers, delivery vans and fuel trucks.
Our Hamilton trucking accident lawyers cannot undo devastating accidents, but we can help you restore your life to its previous quality or make it as close as possible. Often, victims involved in commercial truck accidents are so badly hurt that they suffer permanent disability and pain for the rest of their lives.
It’s not uncommon for trucking accident victims to suffer from paralysis and other very serious personal injuries. For this reason, such individuals are likely entitled to compensation to assist with medical expenses, lost wages, pain, suffering, and more. Contact our Hamilton trucking accident lawyers for more information on your rights and options.
It’s also common for victims to require funding for their lifetime care for such things as long-term rehabilitation, physical therapy, occupational therapy, vocational retraining, psychological therapy, etc. If you have been involved in a trucking accident, you must hire the right lawyer with specialized knowledge of trucking accident compensation.
The long-term effects of catastrophic injuries and the associated economic damages will need to be paid to you and your family to ensure current and future financial security.
Canada’s road network spans over a million kilometres, and at any given time of day, we share the road with over a million trucks, commercial trucks, tractor-trailers, transport trucks, and trailers. Our highways are filled with 18-wheelers that pose a threat to innocent motorists on the road.
Unfortunately, these dangerous vehicles are often poorly maintained and driven by tired truckers. Their victims are usually oblivious to the danger of the 80,000 pounds that could careen into their vehicle at any given moment.
Commercial trucks vary in size and proportion. For example, a semi-truck or tractor-trailer (semi = made up of 2+ parts) can extend up to approximately 70 feet long, allowing it to block any size Canadian highway if it is jackknifed.
The semi-truck usually comprises a cab (standard or sleeper), which can be about 20 feet long. A standard trailer is 50 to 53 feet long, while double or pup trailers are usually about 28 feet long. Shipping containers (intermodal containers) can be 20 or 40 feet.
Other types of trailers, such as tanker trailers or flatbed trailers, vary in length. Semi-trucks travelling at highway speed limits in Ontario can take between 350 and 400 feet to stop, depending on the load and size of the truck. Some trucks in Ontario are mandated to have speed limiters, which adds a certain degree of safety, but the truck still needs considerable time to stop.
When a commercial truck collides with even the largest truck on the road, for example – the Ford F-250 Super Duty, which weighs a whopping 8587 lbs., the outcome can be devastating. No regular vehicle on the road stands a chance in a collision with a loaded tractor-trailer.
In the cases seen by our Hamilton trucking accident lawyers, many motorists involved in truck accidents do not survive. Truck accidents are more likely to result in death or serious injury than any other accident.
In Ontario alone, there were just under 8,500 trucking crashes and 96 deaths involving commercial trucks in 2020. This was the highest number of commercial vehicle collisions and fatalities in more than 20 years. In 2019, those numbers were 7719 and 62, respectively.
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