Tag Archives: Construction Site Truck Accident

Florida Construction Injury Lawyer: Crane Accident Blocks Traffic on California Highway

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Brandon Stein

By: Brandon Stein

If you or someone you know was injured in a crane accident at a construction site, contact our Hollywood personal injury lawyers today.

In a construction area, the most powerful piece of machinery utilized is the crane.  Florida construction lawyers have become accustomed to handling personal injury cases stemming from serious crane accidents.  At a construction site where the crane is utilized, only highly specialized and highly trained personnel are authorized to operate these multi-ton pieces of machinery.

As a North Miami Personal Injury Lawyer that sues construction companies for crane accidents, too many times I come across injuries in construction zones resulting from improper use of cranes on a job site.  While many crane accidents in South Florida occur during the course of construction, sometimes incidents arise during the transport of these cranes to and from the construction site.

This past Tuesday evening near Santa Barbara, California, the support system on a truck transporting a 2-ton crane broke — causing the crane to overturn on Highway 101.  The driver lost control of the truck and slammed into the guardrail on the highway.  Amazingly, during rush hour, no injuries or other car accidents resulting in personal injury were reported.

Instantly, emergency crews had responded to the scene attempting to clear and secure the area.  In fact, a second crane was needed to assist with the removal of the fallen crane.  It does not appear as though any negligence had occurred on the part of the construction company, as the cause of this crane accident is said to be structural failure.

For South Florida construction lawyers that help those injured in crane accidents, several state and federal regulations must be considered when litigating a construction site injury case.  When crane accidents occur in Florida construction areas, typically the construction workers are those who suffer injury.  As I have commented on in several articles in the past, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations must always be considered when a person is injured at or near a construction zone.

Florida Construction Injury Lawyer: Fatal Truck Accident on I-75 Near Tampa

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Brandon Stein

By: Brandon Stein

Car accidents happen in the glimpse of a moment, and this past Friday on Interstate 75 near Tampa, Florida, a construction site accident involving two trucks and two cars resulted in the entire interstate being closed.  As an Aventura lawyer that handles car accident and truck accident cases that happen at or near construction areas, I am always in tune with those accidents occurring in South Florida.  This Tampa truck accident at an I-75 construction zone is one of the most devastating car crashes I have ever seen.

Early Friday afternoon on northbound I-75 a large truck struck a concrete barrier wall within a construction site and immediately became engulfed in flames shortly thereafter. Sadly, the driver of that truck died immediately, but authorities have not reported any additional casualties.  Limited information regarding this truck accident and possible injuries has been released, but what is clear is that large semi-trucks must heed caution when traveling through construction areas.

Being a North Miami construction lawyer that helps those injured from construction site car accidents, I quickly came to recognize that the Florida legislature stresses safety when enacting the state highway traffic laws.  In fact, section 321.14 of the Florida statutes specifies that all highway traffic laws shall be liberally construed so that its “greatest force and effect may be given to its provisions for the promotion of public safety.”

Florida has several chapters of legislation dedicated to highway traffic control and driver and pedestrian safety.  It is imperative that lawyers in North Miami that do car accident and truck accident cases be aware of the legislation established for the protection of Florida drivers.  Title XXIII of the Florida Statutes is dedicated to motor vehicle regulation — including cars traveling in or around construction zones.

The devastating truck accident that occurred this past Friday on I-75 is a perfect example of why Florida takes motor vehicle safety so seriously.  Given the hundreds of miles of highway within the state of Florida, it behooves all drivers to abide by Title XXIII of the Florida Statutes, as well as any other provision pertaining to motor vehicle or construction site safety.

If you or someone you know was injured in a car accident or truck accident at or near a construction zone, please contact our South Florida lawyers today.

 

Florida Construction Injury Lawyer: Serious Injury Avoided After Construction Truck Accident

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Brandon Stein

By: Brandon Stein

Typically, construction accidents occur causing injury on the actual site itself.  However, the scope of a construction site accident can perhaps be extended to outside of the construction site.  After a person is injured at or near the construction area, more times than not, fault falls on the shoulders of the construction company in charge of overseeing the site.

Yet, an accident may be categorized as a construction site accident even if construction had not yet begun or was not ongoing at the time of the injury.  Being a Pembroke Pines personal injury lawyer that sues construction companies for construction site accidents, expanding the scope of supervision of a construction area can force companies to incur liability even before construction equipment is on the site.

Early yesterday morning on route 495 in Massachusetts, a 10-wheel construction dump truck was on the way to its construction site when it collided with a large tractor trailer traveling on the highway. This truck accident caused both fuel tanks to rupture and leak fuel all over the highway. Thankfully no one was injured from this truck accident, despite over 120 gallons of diesel fuel being spread across the highway.  Nevertheless, contractors from the construction site had agreed to clean up the spill on the highway.

As a Broward construction accident lawyer, one cannot help but think — if someone had been injured, would the construction company be responsible?  After all, contractors did agree to hire the company, Clean Harbors, to clean up that spill.  A common issue arising out of many construction injury cases that lawyers face is “causation.”  In other words, a Florida construction lawyer must always prove that the injury suffered was caused in some way by the construction company.  Other than injuries resulting from accidents on construction sites, it is certainly a difficult, but not impossible  task for a South Florida lawyer to prove fault of a construction company when the accident occurs off-site.

For questions on this issue or if you or someone you know was injured in a truck accident or construction site accident, please contact our Florida lawyers today.

Florida Construction Injury Lawyer: Worker Killed in Truck Accident

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Brandon Stein

As a North Miami lawyer who sues for truck accidents, I find it shocking the number of car accidents that occur on South Florida’s highways and roadways — particularly in construction zones.  The tasks that construction workers perform on job sites are dangerous enough — now add large trucks passing through and you have serious safety risks.

Yesterday afternoon on a Texas highway, a construction worker was killed after being struck by a large truck.  The worker was performing highway construction for the Department of Transportation when he was hit.  Authorities state that the 20-year old man was in the middle of a cement paving job on the side of the road.  However, it remains unclear as to whether the construction worker was in the road at the time of the truck accident, or if the truck swerved off to the side of the road.  Yet, investigation is ongoing and no charges or lawsuits have been filed.

As I mentioned in my post from September 17, 2012, one of the most dangerous vehicles traveling on the road are trucks.  Simply put, lanes on a highway are typically 12 feet wide. This lane width does not pose a problem for normal cars.  However, the average width of an 18-wheeler truck is 8 1/2 feet — that means that the truck has only 3 1/2 feet to work with when traveling in a typical highway lane.  I do not mean to get all technical and numbers oriented, but in many of the truck accident cases that I have litigated in North Miami, the offending truck often sways just outside of its designated lane — causing a car accident, or worse, an accident involving a construction worker.

Needless to say, performing construction work on the side of a highway is extremely dangerous.  This work becomes especially dangerous when trucks are traveling through these construction zones.  For large trucks that have several blind spots, being given adequate notice of the presence of construction workers is of the utmost importance. That’s right, notice.

Many North Miami construction site cases involving a truck accident often come down to whether the truck driver had the proper notice of the presence of a construction project. Florida law requires that adequate notice is given to drivers well before approaching a construction area so that the driver, or truck driver for that matter, can have time to slow down, change lanes, or exit the highway if proper detours are in place.

Unfortunately, as a North Miami lawyer for many who are injured from truck accidents, I constantly find that one, or both, of the following factors contribute to car accidents: (1) the truck driver was speeding and driving carelessly through a construction zone; or (2) the truck driver was not given proper notice of a construction area ahead.

No matter the case, and sadly, even if all necessary precautions are followed, truck accidents continue to occur involving construction workers — as we have seen from the tragic accident detailed above.

If you or someone you know was injured in a truck accident, please contact us today.

By: Brandon Stein 

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

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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