Overloaded and Overweight Truck Accidents

Virginia, Washington, DC, & Maryland

Overloaded trucks pose a serious threat to other vehicles on the road. When trucks are too heavy, their momentum significantly increases, making it difficult for them to stop when necessary. Drivers of overloaded trucks are also much more likely to lose control when swerving to avoid accidents or other cars, and overweight trucks can lead to other problems with the trucks themselves, such as brake failure.

How Overweight Trucks Cause Accidents

Commercial trucks that are too heavy can cause truck accidents in several other ways, including:

Tires bursting from too much weight
Traveling too fast while going downhill
Longer stopping distance
Increased likelihood of rollover
Compromised steering

Truck drivers are responsible for checking their loads to make sure that the weight is in compliance with trucking laws, evenly distributed, and well-secured. If a load is sealed and a driver is not allowed to look at it, the loader and owner of the cargo can still be held liable.

Although truck drivers may ultimately be responsible for overloaded trucks that cause accidents, various other parties can share in the responsibility, including trucking companies, truck loading companies, and government entities (such as weigh station officials).

Laws Governing Truck Weight

In an effort to prevent truck accidents caused by overloaded trucks, various trucking laws have been established to control:

How much weight commercial trucks can carry
How heavy the truck itself can be
The combined weight allowed for a truck plus its load
The weight allowed on each axle and tire

These laws dictate the distribution of weight along with the overall amounts allowed. Bridges, roads, and overpasses also impose maximum weight limits to prevent collapse or damage over time.

If you or one of your loved ones has been injured in an overweight truck accident in Virginia, Maryland, or Washington DC, please contact the experienced Virginia truck accident attorneys at Chaikin, Sherman, Cammarata, & Siegel, P.C. today to schedule a free confidential consultation. We are dedicated to obtaining the justice and compensation you deserve.

CSCS Tractor-Trailer and Large Truck Accident Results

$5.4 million expected lifetime payout obtained on behalf of a child severely injured when a tractor-trailer made a left turn in front of the vehicle in which she was a passenger.
$3 million obtained by a woman who lost her leg from the knee down as a result of a collision with a utility truck that struck her vehicle head on after the truck was rear-ended.
$2.4 million obtained on behalf of a pedestrian struck by a truck while she was walking in the crosswalk. The client sustained a brain injury.
$1.75 million obtained on behalf of an 80 year old pastor of a community church who was in a car that was struck head-on by a truck that crossed the center line.
$750,000.00 on behalf of a 54 year old woman who lost a portion of her arm when a tractor-trailer sideswiped her car, as she was returning from Ocean City, Maryland. She received the maximum compensation allowed, at that time, for pain and suffering in the State of Maryland.
$600,000.00 on behalf of a woman whose vehicle was struck in the rear by a beverage truck. The client suffered a herniated disk in her neck but she had not had the suggested surgery performed at the time of the trial. This was the largest verdict rendered at the time in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia for an unoperated herniated disc.
$600,000.00 obtained against the United States Postal Service as a result of the negligence of one of its truck drivers, who pulled out from a stop side in front of our client's motorcycle.
$450,000.00 verdict by United States District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson to a man who suffered back and knee injuries after his van was struck in the rear by a United States Postal Service truck.

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