A fully loaded semi-trailer can be more than 70 feet long and weigh up to 80,000 pounds. They are clear and obvious dangers to passenger vehicles. Trucks often weigh 20 to 25 times as much as passenger vehicles, and they are far less maneuverable.
When semi-trailers are at highway speeds, the potential for fatal accidents increases dramatically. About 72 percent of all large truck accident fatalities are occupants of passenger vehicles and 16 percent are drivers or occupants of the large trucks themselves. Here are some of the leading causes of large truck accidents that lead to wrongful death lawsuits: