WCVs, or waste collection vehicles, are designed to pick up waste and haul it to landfills, recycling facilities, or treatment facilities.
Our neighborhoods and roads are often filled with these trucks. Accidents involving garbage trucks with cars, motorcycles, or pedestrians can have very serious and even fatal consequences. Thomas Hunter’s garbage truck accident and injury lawyers have experience dealing with insurance companies on behalf of accident victims in Savannah, GA.
Call us today if you have been injured by a garbage truck
Our firm has experience handling personal injury claims of all descriptions and we will do whatever is necessary from investigation, to claim development, to negotiation and to the trial of your garbage truck accident cases. You will have the benefit of having qualified personnel evaluating and handling every aspect of the work, since our law firm works as a team. Trucking law and garbage truck cases are among the many cases we handle. We can help you figure out how to pay your medical bills, recover for lost wages, compensation for pain and suffering, and recover for wrongful death. To make sure that you get justice, we know the best experts to help us with your case.
Garbage trucks crash for a variety of reasons.
The high number of garbage truck collisions cannot be explained by any one cause. However, these factors do tend to play a role:
Weather conditions: Garbage collectors must pick up trash and recycling in rain, snow, sleet, wind, and hail. As a result, these conditions can greatly reduce drivers’ visibility, blow trees and hazardous materials into the streets, and cause slippery road conditions.
Regular Stopping: Waste management requires that trash collectors stop at every home and business. The risk of rear-end collisions increases when garbage trucks stop suddenly or when other motor vehicles are tailgating or are not expecting the truck to stop. Frequently stopping the truck can also wear out the brakes and make emergency stops more difficult.
Waste collection routes go where the garbage is. That means that waste collection routes include residential neighborhoods, shopping centers, malls, and other commercial areas. It can sometimes be difficult for the drivers of these large, loud trucks to see children and property that are close to the ground because the trucks are so large and loud, and because they sit so high in the cab. It’s no wonder there are so many garbage truck accidents involving children.
Failure to inspect and maintain truck equipment can result in faulty equipment. When waste management companies fail to properly inspect and repair these problems, accidents occur. Garbage trucks travel thousands of miles on their weekly routes, so when waste management companies fail to properly inspect and repair these problems, accidents occur.
Negligent driving by garbage truck collectors puts the lives of their coworkers, pedestrians, and drivers of cars, SUVs, trucks, buses, and bicycles at risk. When a driver speeds, ignores stop signs and traffic lights, fails to use his turn signals, or otherwise violates the law, he or she can suffer serious consequences. Distracted drivers who text, talk on the phone, fiddle with the radio, or become otherwise distracted can also cause collisions.
