How Weather Conditions Affect Truck Crash Injury Severity

Because of the size and momentum of a big rig truck, truck accidents can be devastating. Driver error, however, is not the only culprit. Weather often plays a major role in the severity of injuries. Understanding weather-related factors can help you protect your rights and perhaps even strengthen your personal injury or wrongful death claim.

Why does the weather play such a big role in truck crashes?

Weather plays a larger role in big rig truck crash claims than it does in most other traffic accident claims. This is because:

• A truck’s large size and weight make it harder to control in poor weather conditions.
• Trucks are subject to longer stopping distances in any event, especially on slick roads.
• A truck is more likely to hydroplane on wet roads if its wheels do not have as much traction.

Common weather conditions linked to severe truck accident injuries

Below is a list of some of the most common ways that Texas weather conditions can cause a truck accident:

• Poor weather, especially fog, can reduce visibility to almost zero, especially at night.
• Snow and ice can cause a sudden loss of control, resulting in chain-reaction collisions.
• High winds can cause lane drifting, risking a sideswipe accident or even a rollover accident.
• Extreme heat can cause tire blowouts and mechanical failures. Blowouts are particularly dangerous when you share the highway with a big rig truck.
• Flash flooding can result in a complete loss of control and vehicle pileup accidents.

How weather affects injury severity

Inclement weather can not only cause accidents, but it can also increase the severity of any accident that does occur.

• A weather-related slow braking response, for example, can result in a higher speed before impact.
• Increased stopping distances and low visibility dramatically increase the chances of multi-vehicle pileups.
• You might have to wait a long time for an ambulance in bad weather, because emergency services are dealing with many accidents, and because road conditions might require the ambulance to move slowly. If your injuries are severe, this delay could worsen them.
• There is a greater likelihood of rollover accidents, which frequently cause catastrophic injuries.

When weather is a factor, driver responsibility still matters

Just because the weather was a factor in the crash does not mean the truck driver can successfully defend against your claim. Professional drivers are still expected to adjust for inclement weather–this is why they receive special training and carry commercial driver’s licenses. A skilled truck driver, for example, will know stopping distances by heart.

• Federal and state regulations require truck drivers to slow down or even stop in unsafe conditions.
• Ignoring weather warnings can be considered negligence, especially for drivers of big rig trucks loaded with heavy cargo.
• Drivers and trucking companies have a duty to perform appropriate pre-trip inspections in anticipation of extreme temperatures or storms.

Some accidents are a consequence of both weather conditions and other factors. Bald tires and slick roads don’t mix very well, for example.

How to prove the role of the weather in your accident

Here are some ways to prove the weather at the time of the accident, and its role in your accident:

• Accident scene photos that show the road and weather conditions. You could even take a photo of the sky.
• Data from the truck’s electronic logging device (ELD) (your lawyer can help you subpoena this information once you file a lawsuit).
• Official weather reports from the day and time of the crash.
• Eyewitness accounts confirming visibility or road hazards that contributed to the accident.

The difficult part could turn out to be proving not the weather itself, but exactly how it contributed to the severity of the accident.

Medical impact of severe weather crashes

Bad weather can certainly influence the severity of your injuries:

• Some types of injuries are more likely in bad-weather accidents, especially when trucks are involved–traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, and severe whiplash, for example.
• Cold weather can cause vasoconstriction, which may affect circulation and potentially influence the body’s healing processes.

Steps to take after a weather-related truck accident

Make sure to take the following steps immediately after a bad-weather accident:

• Get immediate medical care, regardless of whether you have any visible injuries. Symptoms could emerge later.
• Preserve any weather-related evidence, including photos of the scene of the accident.
• Report any details about weather conditions to law enforcement at the scene (to the extent that they are not already obvious).

How an attorney can strengthen your claim

Hiring a lawyer right after your accident can strengthen your claim in a variety of ways. Your lawyer can:

• Investigate whether the truck driver or the trucking company ignored safety protocols.
• Gather meteorological data and accident reconstruction reports to show how the weather contributed to the accident.
• Hold the driver and perhaps the trucking company accountable after proving negligence. Truckers involved in interstate commerce have relatively high insurance coverage requirements.

One effective way of proving negligence is by establishing that the truck driver or the trucking company violated FMCSA trucking regulations.

Special considerations for accidents in Texas weather

Sudden thunderstorms and flash flooding are characteristic of the San Antonio area.
The whole of South Texas also features seasonal patterns that increase accident risks. Local knowledge of weather conditions can make a difference in case preparation-in fact, it can make the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful claim.

Turning your case into a path toward accountability

If you have been injured in a truck accident that you believe was someone else’s fault, even if inclement weather was involved, it’s time to take action. Seek full compensation for both your immediate and your long-term losses.

In this way, you will not only ensure justice in your own case, but you will help ensure that dangerous driving in bad weather has consequences. This kind of deterrence could save someone else from an accident. Don’t let bad weather excuse bad driving.

Speak with an experienced truck accident lawyer who understands how to prove fault in weather-related truck crashes. The Pat Maloney firm has been fighting for injury victims for decades. Contact us today for a free initial consultation.