Winchester Mechanical Defects in Trucks

Commercial truck accidents have many different causes, including driver error, overloaded or unsecured cargo, adverse road and weather conditions, and mechanical failures. Mechanical failures are particularly dangerous because they can happen anytime and without warning. A truck driver doesn’t need to be speeding or engaging in risky driving for a mechanical failure to occur suddenly.

If you sustained injuries in a Winchester truck accident caused by mechanical equipment failure, contact Kendall Law Firm for a free case evaluation. One of our knowledgeable and experienced Winchester truck accident lawyers will help you understand the parties that may be responsible for your injuries and the financial compensation you could seek through an auto insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit against them.

How a Winchester Truck Accident Lawyer Can Help After a Crash Caused by Defective Equipment

Kendall Law Firm has over 30 years of legal experience and involvement in the Winchester, VA community. Our firm is 100 percent focused on personal injury cases and never represents insurance companies or big corporations. We only represent injury victims and are dedicated to helping them seek the compensation they need. As one satisfied client wrote:

“My accident has changed my life, but I was very glad to have David Kendall and his staff working for me, assisting me where I needed help through all my paperwork and surgeries in this overwhelming and traumatic experience. They were very helpful, easy to talk to, and kind.” – Laurie T.

Some of the key ways our personal injury lawyers can help you after a truck mechanical failure accident include:

• Getting to know you and how the accident and your injuries have changed your life
• Investigating the accident to identify the at-fault parties
• Gathering various types of evidence to support your case
• Calculating the value of your case by adding up your economic losses and estimating your non-economic losses
• Providing legal advice and protecting your rights when dealing with insurance adjusters
• Working with accident reconstruction specialists, engineering experts, and other expert witnesses who can explain how the defects contributed to the crash
• Negotiating with the at-fault parties’ insurance companies and seeking a fair settlement
• Taking your case to trial and seeking the maximum compensation available if a settlement can’t be reached

Contact us today for a free consultation to discuss your claim with one of our experienced truck accident attorneys.

Common Causes of Mechanical Failures in Commercial Trucks

There are two common causes of mechanical failures in truck accident cases: Failures caused by defective products and by poor vehicle maintenance. Design and manufacturing defects are the two main types of product defects that contribute to truck crashes.

A design defect occurs when a flaw in a product’s design makes it either inherently unsafe or prone to failure. For example, a type of bolt designed too thin may be prone to snapping, causing a chain reaction that results in the truck’s trailer becoming uncoupled from the cab and causing a wreck.

A manufacturing defect occurs when a flaw is introduced into the product due to an error in its manufacturing. An example would be a brake disc that wasn’t properly heat-treated, leading it to fail when the truck is going downhill.

When product defects contribute to motor vehicle accidents, parts and vehicle manufacturers can be held liable for the resulting damages, including medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering.

Poor vehicle maintenance may lead to mechanical failures and devastating accidents. These crashes occur because worn vehicle components may not be caught and repaired or replaced before they fail. Truck brakes only have a certain lifespan, beyond which they become less effective and more likely to fail. When air brake systems do not work properly, truck drivers will need even more time to stop the large trucks in their care. By skipping or inadequately performing maintenance, the chances of missing the signs of an impending failure drastically increase.

How Mechanical Truck Failures Lead to Serious Accidents in Winchester, Virginia

Serious accidents caused by truck mechanical issues in Winchester, Virginia, include:

• Head-on collisions caused by tire blowouts that send a truck careening into oncoming lanes of traffic
• Rear-end collisions resulting from brake failures that occur as a truck is approaching stopped or slowed traffic or is heading down a steep hill
• Falling cargo accidents caused by cargo tiedowns snapping and no longer holding equipment in place on a flatbed trailer
• Jackknife accidents resulting from brakes locking up due to poor maintenance, leading to the truck’s trailer swinging out alongside its cab
• Wide-turn accidents caused by a truck’s turn signals not working properly, resulting in other motorists not knowing the trucker’s intentions

Any time a truck accident causes harm, it’s vital that legal counsel investigate the collision to determine how it occurred. Multiple parties could be held accountable for your injuries, depending on what type of mechanical failure caused the accident.

This investigation is also necessary for gathering evidence of the mechanical failure. If defective parts of a truck caused the accident, evidence of the defect may be enough to hold the at-fault party strictly liable for the crash. If poor maintenance caused the failure, evidence of a pattern of inadequate maintenance can be essential for proving liability.

Who May Be Liable in a Truck Mechanical Failure Accident?

Several parties may be liable in a truck accident caused by a mechanical failure, depending on the circumstances of the failure. Some of the parties most frequently found liable in these cases include:

• Truck manufacturers responsible for component design or manufacturing defects that lead to collisions
• Truck maintenance providers that fail to provide adequate service, leading to part failures and crashes
• Repair shops that negligently repair commercial vehicles later involved in crashes
• Truck drivers who don’t take their trucks in for routine maintenance, increasing the risk of a failure
• Trucking companies that don’t hire mechanics to maintain their fleet vehicles, resulting in catastrophic mechanical failures

Through our investigation into the accident that caused your serious injuries, our lawyers can identify the liable party or parties so we can seek the compensation you need from them.

Why Choose Kendall Law Firm for Your Winchester Truck Accident Case

You need a truck accident law firm with the experience, knowledge, and resources to handle your case. Kendall Law Firm has over three decades of experience handling complex truck accident cases in Winchester and a track record of successfully recovering the compensation our clients need.

When you contact our team, you’ll receive a free, honest evaluation of your case. We’ll discuss its strengths and weaknesses and what you can expect from it going forward. We believe that an informed client is our best client, and we’ll do everything we can to make sure you understand your rights and options. Contact our firm today to get started with a consultation with a local attorney.