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The words “truck accident” generally conjure up images of devastating accidents involving moving vehicles. But some truck accidents, such as involving bucket truck accidents, can occur when the vehicle is stationary. Accidents involving bucket trucks and other aerial lift vehicles can cause severe injuries and often fatalities. If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident involving a bucket truck, you should seek an experienced bucket truck accident attorney to review your case and help you claim the compensation you deserve.
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Bucket truck accidents can injure both workers and pedestrians or other motorists. Many of these accidents can be traced back to negligence and improper use. You should not be left to face the aftermath of an accident without the compensation you are owed. The bucket truck lawyers at Regan Zambri Long PLLC are experienced with aerial lift accidents and can represent you in your pursuit of justice.
Due to the nature of work that requires bucket trucks or aerial lifts, the kinds of injuries common to these accidents can be severe and even fatal. A fall from a significant height or a truck tipping over can be catastrophic for all involved parties.
Workers using bucket trucks are prone to some common injuries, including: burns from electrocution (both from working on power lines and from performing other sorts of work, such as tree trimming or sign work, around power lines), broken bones, lacerations, and strains and sprains.
Injuries sustained from vehicle accidents involving bucket trucks can have many of the same injuries, as well as common car accident injuries including traumatic brain injuries, seat belt injuries, and spinal cord injuries. Additionally, if you were involved in a vehicle accident with a bucket truck, you may be entitled to compensation for the damage to your vehicle.
A bucket truck is a common sight. It may be pulled to the side of the road with its long metal boom extended high to reach a power pole or overhanging tree branches, a worker inside the bucket carefully performing maintenance.
Whether working on power lines, trimming trees, or at a construction site, bucket trucks and other aerial lifts come in handy for gaining height. Bucket trucks require at least two people to operate— one person operating the controls at the truck while the second person takes equipment up in the bucket to perform the work.
Bucket trucks are invaluable for some kinds of work and maintenance, but they require very careful operation and precision to avoid causing accidents for either the workers or for passing motorists and pedestrians.
Often bucket trucks are rented or contracted out to users, which means operators don’t always have the knowledge and training to make the best safety choices when it comes to using a bucket truck. While finding basic operation information is easy with a quick Internet search, it is up to the company renting the truck to ensure that its workers are trained and capable of safely using and driving the truck.
Aerial trucks are known for several kinds of general accidents, regardless of the work being performed. While specific industries might be more prone to certain accidents—such as electrocution for utility workers—other industries can still be at risk. For example, while tree trimmers don’t specifically work on power lines, they are often performing tree maintenance near power lines and are still at risk for electrocution accidents.
Some of the most common aerial lift accidents include:
One accident can easily lead to another when it comes to bucket trucks—such as collisions and falling or tip-over accidents. If you have been injured in an accident involving a bucket truck, the attorneys at Regan Zambri Long can review your case and help you hold the responsible party accountable for your accident.
Bucket and boom trucks are very similar and the big differences are technical instead of visual. Bucket trucks are generally designed to carry heavier loads and require at least two people to operate.
Boom trucks don’t have the heavy lifting capacity of a bucket truck, but a boom truck’s controls are located in the lift, meaning it only takes one person to operate the lift.
Because the trucks are so similar in nature, “bucket” and “boom” are often used interchangeably. But each truck has different safety risks and accident potentials. Both kinds of trucks fall into the aerial lift category, along with stationary equipment such as a scissor lift. Aerial lift accidents are known to be serious and often fatal, given the heights usually involved.
Determining liability for a bucket truck accident will depend on the type of accident and its root causes. Many bucket truck accidents will be the fault of the operators and/or the company performing the work. They will be liable if training was not adequate, if procedures were not followed, if items were dropped from the bucket, or if they did not provide adequate warning to motorists or pedestrians that work was being performed or the roadway was blocked.
The owner of the bucket truck might be liable if the truck was not maintained properly and malfunctioned in a way that caused an accident. It is not uncommon for companies to rent bucket trucks for occasional use, so in some cases the owner and the company using the truck for work may not be the same party.
As with other truck accidents, other responsible parties could include a manufacturer who produced defective parts, a mechanic who performed subpar maintenance, safety inspectors who ignored or missed issues, or another motorist who caused a multi-vehicle accident involving a bucket truck.
Like other commercial trucks and vehicles, accidents that occur while the bucket truck is in motion can be more devastating than an accident involving two personal vehicles.
If the driver of the bucket truck was distracted, violating the rules of the road, or was otherwise negligent in his or her responsibility as the driver, you may be able to hold the driver personally responsible for the accident.
When a bucket truck causes an accident, compensation will generally be available for the injured parties.
If workers using a bucket truck ignored safety procedures or were not properly trained on use of the truck before engaging in operation, the company can be held liable for the accident and should provide compensation for the damage done through their negligence. If the owner of the bucket truck failed to properly and safely maintain the vehicle, he or she can be liable for your damages and held financially responsible.
At Regan Zambri Long, our experienced lawyers are prepared to investigate the facts of your case to establish liability and negligence, where applicable. Bucket truck accidents can result in severe injuries and even death. Though financial compensation cannot always make up for what is lost in an accident, you should not suffer more due to a company or individual’s reticence to be held accountable.
The bucket truck attorneys at Regan Zambri Long are experienced in bringing suits and claims in Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia. Whether arranging a settlement or arguing for a verdict, our attorneys are committed to getting you the most compensation possible so that you can focus on healing and recovery.
When you trust Regan Zambri Long with your case, you are getting decades of cumulative experience. We are able to go up against big insurance companies and corporate lawyers to win compensation for our clients. We’ve recovered millions of dollars for our clients who have been injured including car and bucket truck accidents and we can do the same for you.
