Florida Construction Injury Lawyer: Trucks Driving Through Construction Zones Pose Serious Safety Risk to Aventura Drivers

Brandon Stein

As an Aventura car accident lawyer that sues construction companies, I have noticed that the Florida Legislature has made it increasingly difficult to bring a lawsuit if a construction worker is injured in a construction zone by a car.  This piece of legislation is more fully explained in my previous post from August 18, 2012.  But what if the injured person is the driver of the car passing through the construction area?  I have litigated many car accident cases in Aventura that have occurred in construction zones where the liable vehicle turns out to be a truck.

Frequently, cars traveling through a construction site must deal with the presence of large trucks that certainly pose a hazard for all South Florida drivers.  In many cases, trucks traveling through a construction area fail to obey the local speed limit, or even worse, fail to recognize the presence of traffic control devices — including construction workers performing flagging duties.  One of the most, if not the most, dangerous types vehicles traveling on Florida roadways are large trucks.  Now, add a construction site that a truck must pass through — you have a car accident waiting to happen.

Each construction zone has its own traffic control plan, which is basically an engineering plan that informs the construction company how traffic will be ambulating through the site while work is being performed.  Simply stated, the traffic control plan is a safety precaution utilized by construction companies to allow for the continuous flow of traffic while work is being performed.  Nevertheless, no matter how specific these plans are, car accidents continue to occur within construction sites that involve trucks.

Unfortunately, the mentality of a truck driver is that he or she is “king of the road.” However, this does not mean that the truck driver is the only vehicle on the road.  Driving a truck with this mentality is dangerous as it is, but driving a truck with this mentality through a construction zone can lead to catastrophic personal injury requiring a car accident lawyer.

Car accidents involving large trucks within a construction site often lead to serious personal injury for the driver or passengers of the car.  As I explained thoroughly in a previous post from September 4, 2012, when you are injured in a car accident in Aventura, Florida and you hire a lawyer, you are usually at the mercy of auto insurance policies. However, if you happen to be injured from a truck traveling through a construction area, the injured person typically has a greater chance of receiving full compensation for his or her injuries.

Typically, trucks are traveling with commercial auto insurance policies that contain coverage for bodily injury sometimes exceeding $1 million.  As a lawyer who sues for car accidents in Aventura, I have yet to see a typical State Farm or Progressive automobile insurance policy that has bodily injury coverage approaching the seven figures. Additionally, if you are injured by a truck in a construction zone, you may also have a case against the construction company managing the site.  Simply stated, many car accidents occur at construction sites because of improper or poor management of the construction area.

So for you car drivers out there, as dangerous as it may be for a truck traveling through a construction site, the possibility of receiving full compensation for your personal injury is that much greater given the high bodily injury coverage for commercial truck drivers.

If you or someone you know was injured in a car accident involving a truck, please Contact Us today.

By: Brandon Stein