When most people think of a car accident, they picture a collision between two passenger vehicles. It’s a stressful, often painful experience, but the physical and legal landscape is relatively familiar. A collision with a fully loaded 18-wheeler, tractor-trailer, or semi-truck on a Missouri highway like I-44 or I-70 is an entirely different matter.
Due to the massive disparity in size and weight—an average car weighs around 4,000 pounds, while a commercial truck can weigh up to 80,000 pounds—the resulting destruction and injuries are catastrophic. If you or a loved one has been involved in a collision with a commercial truck in the Joplin or Columbia area, you need to understand why these cases are fundamentally more complex and dangerous than a typical fender-bender.
The Severity of Truck Accident Injuries
The most immediate difference is the sheer force of impact. When a vehicle traveling at highway speed collides with an 80,000-pound truck, the occupants of the smaller vehicle absorb the brunt of the kinetic energy. This often results in devastating and life-altering injuries that require extensive medical care and long-term rehabilitation.
Common injuries in truck accidents include:
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs): The violent impact can cause severe head trauma.
- Spinal Cord Injuries and Paralysis: Whiplash and compression injuries are common due to the forces involved.
- Crush Injuries and Amputations: Especially in underride accidents where a passenger vehicle slides beneath the trailer.
- Internal Organ Damage and Catastrophic Fractures: Injuries that require emergency surgery and prolonged hospitalization.
Because of the high costs associated with treating these injuries—often reaching into the hundreds of thousands of dollars—it is critical that your legal claim is built to recover maximum compensation. The high limits on commercial liability insurance mean the defense will fight fiercely to minimize their payout.
Why Truck Accident Liability is More Complex
In a typical car accident, the focus is usually on the two drivers. In a commercial truck accident, the investigation immediately expands to multiple potential at-fault parties who may share liability for your damages:
- The Truck Driver: For negligence like distracted driving, speeding, or driving under the influence.
- The Trucking Company: For negligent hiring, inadequate training, or pressuring drivers to violate federal regulations (like hours-of-service rules).
- The Truck or Parts Manufacturer: If a mechanical failure, such as brake failure or a faulty coupling device, contributed to the crash.
- The Cargo Loader or Shipper: If an improper or unbalanced load caused the truck to roll over or become unstable.
Identifying every negligent party is essential to ensuring you receive fair compensation, as this can open up multiple insurance policies to cover your damages. At Sticklen & Sticklen, we have the experience to investigate the driver’s logbooks, the company’s maintenance records, and any evidence of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulation violations, which are often the key to proving fault.
The Role of Federal Regulations in Your Claim
Commercial trucks are not just governed by Missouri state traffic laws; they must also adhere to strict federal regulations. When a truck driver or trucking company violates these rules, it can be powerful evidence of negligence in your claim.
For example, Hours-of-Service (HOS) regulations strictly limit the amount of time a driver can spend behind the wheel to prevent fatigue. If a driver’s log shows they were illegally over the hour limit, and that fatigue contributed to the crash, it establishes a clear line of liability back to the company that allowed or encouraged the violation.
Because the trucking company’s legal and insurance teams move quickly to gather and hide evidence—sometimes only required to keep certain records for a few months—it is paramount that you contact an attorney immediately to issue a spoliation letter. This letter legally demands the preservation of all evidence, including dashcam footage, electronic log data, and maintenance records, before it can be conveniently “lost.”
If you or a family member has suffered severe injuries in an 18-wheeler accident in the Columbia or Joplin, MO, area, don’t attempt to navigate the complex world of federal trucking law and high-stakes commercial insurance on your own. Let the experienced personal injury attorneys at Sticklen & Sticklen fight for the justice and full compensation you deserve.
Contact us today for a free consultation at our Joplin or Columbia office. We’re here to help you move forward.