What is an underride accident?
An underride accident is a truck accident that involves a smaller vehicle going underneath the trailer of a big rig or 18-wheeler. Underride accidents are among the most dangerous types of truck accidents because it can be nearly impossible for a smaller passenger vehicle to safely escape once stuck under a truck’s trailer. As the truck continues to drive, it will drag the smaller vehicle with it and possibly run it completely over, causing catastrophic damage, severe injuries, and, in some cases, fatality.
What causes an underride accident?
Truck companies like to argue that underride accidents “must be” the fault of the drivers of smaller passenger vehicles because they were tailgating larger trucks. Of course, this is not true. There are many incidents in which a truck driver’s negligence can be the direct and only cause of that truck crash.
A few factors that can increase the risk of an underride accident include:
- A truck’s defective tail lights, making it difficult to notice when it is backing up
- A truck’s lack of underride guards
- A truck driver causing a hard-braking event without due cause
- A truck driver turning widely into an adjacent lane without warning
After being in an underride truck accident, you should always photograph the tractor-trailer to document whether the trailer has missing or damaged underride guards. This is a violation of federal regulations that are put in place for truck companies to adhere to as a method of preventing dangerous, and even fatal crashes. Your photographs could be the best pieces of evidence for our attorneys to use in your injury claim later.
Override vs. Underride Accidents
Overrides occur when a truck runs over a passenger vehicle. Underrides occur when a smaller vehicle slides underneath a truck. Both are made possible by the large height difference between the top of a standard car and the bottom of a tractor trailer. Both underrides and overrides often result in serious or fatal injuries for the occupants of smaller vehicles.
Injuries Suffered in Underride Accidents
As mentioned, underride accidents are extremely dangerous and often result in catastrophic injuries. Even with evolving safety features for vehicles, a crushed vehicle can do little to protect those passengers inside from harm.
Life-changing injuries suffered by underride accident survivors include:
As your chosen legal representatives, we partner with your medical providers to get a full understanding of the severity of your injuries and your fellow passengers. In doing so, we can carefully calculate the damages you should be paid in an underride accident lawsuit, factoring in the medical treatments you have already received and those that you will need down the line. We do not want to conclude your accident case until we know with certainty that you are receiving fair compensation for your injuries and hardships brought on by truck driver negligence or trucking company negligence.
There are no substitutes for great results.
At Walner Law, our Chicago underride accident attorneys are proud of our long history of impressive verdicts, including multiple settlements to the tune of millions of dollars. Each victory we have achieved for our clients has been the outcome of hard work, dedication, knowledge, and tenacity by a team of personal injury lawyers out for justice for victims. We invite you to see what a law firm of our caliber can do for your claim, too. Please contact us at any time to speak with a member of our firm about a free consultation. We work on a contingency basis, meaning we don’t get paid unless you get paid.
Skip to content
