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Skilled Oklahoma City Truck Accident Lawyers Helping People Hurt by Debris Spills and Cargo Shifts
Compassionate representation for car accident victims throughout Oklahoma
Improperly secured cargo can shift unexpectedly in transit, which can throw off the truck's center of gravity and cause it to crash or even roll over. You have likely placed your purse or some other unsecured item on the seat next to you while you were driving and then had to slam on the brakes to avoid a mishap. You then saw the item that had been sitting on the seat become a projectile and go flying towards the windshield. Now extrapolate that same dynamic, but with massive pallets of cargo inside of a semi-truck. Cargo shifts, and improperly secured cargo is a hazard not only to the truck driver's safety, but the safety of the other drivers with whom they share the road.
Have you or someone you care about been injured in a truck crash that was caused by a cargo shift or a debris spill? At Cunningham & Mears, our Oklahoma City truck accident lawyers are dedicated to helping those who have been injured in truck accidents throughout Oklahoma. With 105 years of combined legal experience, we secure compensation on your behalf so that you can focus on improving health.
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Cargo securement rules
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's (FMCSA) Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS) found that cargo securement and cargo shift were a factor in causing 3.0% and 4.0% of the crashes in the study. The FMCSA has strict and comprehensive cargo securement rules, which covers the proper use of tiedowns, the use of unmarked tiedowns, unrated and unmarked anchor points, and there are also commodity-specific securement requirements. The FMCSA rules govern how the truck will be loaded, how much weight can be carried, how the load must be tied down and other practical considerations. The truck driver is required to inspect the load before departure and then 25 miles after departure. The FMCSA intended, with the strict cargo securement regulations, to reduce the number of truck crash accidents caused by shifting or falling cargo in large commercial trucks
Truck accidents due to improper loading or cargo securement
When a truck accident occurs because of a cargo shift, the truck may jack-knife or overturn. If some of the cargo spills on to the roadway, it can create debris that can create a hazard for other vehicles. Debris spills are a hazard to other trucks, cars, motorcyclists, bicyclists or pedestrians.
Bits of unsecured cargo can also become projectiles and cause serious injury to the passengers of nearby vehicles on the roadway.
If the cargo contains hazardous materials, it can cause significant damage to the health and wellbeing of people and the environment surrounding the crash site.
