New Mexico Rollover Accident Lawyer
Truck rollover accidents are often recognized as catastrophic events, meaning they inflict a large amount of damage. The truck driver as well as the occupants of any other vehicles that are involved in a rollover may suffer severe or even fatal injuries. If you are a victim of a truck rollover accident in New Mexico, you may be able to recover financial compensation to help you pay for your losses.
What Is a Truck Rollover Accident?
A truck rollover accident describes a semi-truck or tractor-trailer tipping over onto its side, flipping onto its roof, or making one or more revolutions as it rolls completely over. While rollover accidents involving any type of vehicle can be deadly, truck rollovers are especially dangerous due to the size and weight of the truck.
What Are the Risks Involved in a Truck Rollover?
If any smaller vehicles get trapped or crushed under the big rig in a rollover accident, their occupants can sustain life-threatening injuries. In addition, truck rollover accidents run the risk of cargo spilling out into the road. If cargo strikes other cars, it could make them crash, as well. Hazardous materials spilling into the road can also present risks such as fires, explosions and exposure to toxic chemicals.
How Can Truck Rollovers Be Prevented?
Rollover accidents are a potential risk that trucking companies and their drivers must consider and address. Trucking companies must adhere to special safety regulations, for example, when hiring drivers, loading cargo and maintaining their trucks.
A serious truck rollover crash could be avoided by preventing risk factors such as:
- Driving too fast for conditions, especially around curves or when traveling downhill
- Improperly loading cargo, resulting in an imbalanced truck
- Failing to properly secure cargo, leading to shifts that alter the truck’s center of gravity
- Making sharp or sudden turns, causing the 18-wheeler to tip or cargo to shift
- Truck driver errors, such as distracted driving, inattentiveness, fatigue or improper braking
- Dangerous road conditions, such as a pothole that “trips” the truck and causes it to roll
- Truck mechanical failures, such as a tire blowout or steering malfunction
- Defective or worn-out tires that explode while driving, resulting in a loss of vehicle control
- A truck jackknife incident that causes the truck to lose balance and rollover
If a trucking company, truck driver, cargo company or another party is negligent, or fails to act with proper care, this increases the odds of a rollover accident occurring. Negligence can result in dangerous conditions or circumstances that otherwise would not exist.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a Rollover Accident in New Mexico?
If you get injured or a family member dies in a truck rollover accident in New Mexico, you have the right to seek justice from the individual or entity that caused the crash. Filing a personal injury claim or wrongful death lawsuit after a rollover accident can allow you to hold someone accountable for your losses. It can also result in the financial compensation that you need to pay for your medical bills, property damage and other expenses.
Under New Mexico’s fault law, the party that will be held liable, or financially responsible, for a truck rollover accident is the one most at fault for causing the crash. Depending on the circumstances, this could be a truck company, truck driver, cargo company, maintenance crew, government agency or a combination of multiple parties.
How Will a Truck Rollover Accident Lawyer in New Mexico Help?
You do not have to handle the legal process alone as an injured victim of a rollover accident in New Mexico. You have the right to hire an experienced truck accident lawyer to represent you. If you were recently injured in this type of crash, contact The Fine Law Firm to schedule a free case evaluation. We can help you move forward and rebuild your life.