Underride Accidents: Causes, Liability, and Legal Remedies

Underride accidents cause some of the most devastating truck accident injuries, often occurring when a smaller vehicle slides beneath a larger one like a commercial truck or semi-trailer. These crashes frequently result in catastrophic injuries or fatalities.

If an underride accident injures you or a loved one, let a truck accident attorney handle your case. Make your health your priority.

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Defining Underride Accidents: Rear and Side Impacts?

A underride collision between a car and truck

Underride accidents happen in two primary ways:

Rear underride accidents: When a passenger vehicle crashes into the back of a truck and slides underneath the trailer
Side underride accidents: When a passenger vehicle slides underneath the side of a truck or trailer

The danger of these accidents stems from the height disparity between commercial trucks and passenger vehicles. Most passenger vehicles have features designed to absorb impact during collisions. However, in underride accidents, these safety features are bypassed as the truck's higher frame makes direct contact with the passenger compartment of the smaller vehicle, often causing catastrophic injuries to the vehicle's occupants.

Common Causes of Underride Accidents: Visibility, Speed, and Negligence

Underride accidents can happen for several reasons, including:

Poor Visibility

Poor visibility is one of the primary contributors to underride accidents. Some of the circumstances in which poor visibility is likely are:

Nighttime driving when trucks are difficult to see, especially if they have inadequate reflective markings
Adverse weather conditions like fog, rain, or snow that reduce visibility
When trucks are making wide turns or backing up without proper warning signals
When trucks are stopped on highways or roads without proper warning triangles or flares

These visibility challenges are particularly dangerous on rural roads or highways with limited lighting, where a truck may blend into the darkness until it's too late for an approaching driver to react.

Speed Differentials Between Trucks and Other Vehicles

When commercial vehicles and passenger cars travel at significantly different speeds, the risk of underride collisions increases dramatically. This risk may be especially high when:

Trucks are braking suddenly due to traffic conditions
Trucks are traveling significantly below the speed limit without hazard lights
Trucks are entering highways at slow speeds
Trucks are stalled in travel lanes

The physics of these speed differential scenarios is particularly problematic because passenger vehicles typically require less stopping distance than fully loaded commercial trucks, creating hazardous situations when unexpected slowdowns occur.

Poor Maintenance and Equipment Failures

Inadequate maintenance practices can directly lead to conditions that make underride accidents more likely or more severe. Some hazards that can contribute to an underride accident are:

Broken or non-functioning tail lights or brake lights
Missing or damaged reflective tape and conspicuity markings
Improperly installed or maintained underride guards
Trailer heights that exceed regulatory standards

These maintenance failures are particularly troubling because they represent preventable risk factors that proper inspection protocols could identify and remedy before they contribute to a deadly accident.

Negligent Driver Behaviors

The actions of truck drivers can significantly increase or reduce the risk of underride collisions. Some types of driver negligence that can cause an underride accident are:

Failing to signal lane changes or turns
Following too closely
Distracted driving
Fatigued driving, particularly among commercial truck drivers operating beyond hours-of-service limits

Education about these behavioral risk factors is essential for professional truckers. Your truck accident lawyer may find that failure by the truck driver, as well as their employer, contributed to your accident.

Determining Liability in Underride Accidents: Truckers, Companies, and More

Who Is Liable? with inscription on the page

Your truck accident attorney will investigate the details of your crash to establish fault and liability. Multiple parties may bear responsibility for underride accidents, including:

Truck Drivers

Professional drivers have specific obligations regarding the safe operation of their vehicles, and failures in these areas can make them liable for a crash. Some more examples of negligence by truck drivers are:

Not using hazard lights when stopped or moving slowly
Improper parking on roadways without adequate warning devices
Failing to inspect the vehicle, including the underride guard
Violating federal regulations
Failing to adjust their driving to dangerous road or weather conditions

The trucking industry's high-pressure delivery schedules sometimes contribute to these violations, as drivers may feel compelled to prioritize deadlines over safety practices. However, safety must always be a truck driver's foremost priority.

Trucking Companies

The organizations that employ drivers and own commercial fleets have substantial responsibility for ensuring safe operations. Some examples of negligence by trucking companies include:

Failing to properly train drivers on safety procedures
Encouraging drivers to violate hours-of-service rules to meet delivery deadlines
Not implementing proper maintenance inspection protocols
Failing to equip trailers with proper underride guards and reflective materials
Negligent hiring practices, such as employing drivers with poor safety records

These companies can also be strictly liable for drivers, making them financially responsible for most accidents their employees cause.

Truck and Trailer Manufacturers

The companies that design and build commercial vehicles must incorporate reasonable safety features to prevent underride accidents. When they fail to do so, accident victims should consider whether they can sue these organizations.

Product liability claims against manufacturers often involve complex engineering analyses to demonstrate how alternative designs could have prevented or mitigated injuries. A lawyer will provide the resources you need for such a complicated case.

Maintenance Companies

Third-party service providers who maintain commercial vehicles share responsibility for ensuring safety systems function properly. These service providers can be liable when:

They fail to properly install or repair underride guards
They neglect to maintain proper lighting systems
They don't replace worn or damaged reflective tape
They improperly certify trucks as roadworthy despite safety deficiencies

Documentation from maintenance records often provides key evidence in establishing liability for these technical failures. Trust a lawyer to gather these and all other relevant records to your case.

Government Entities

In certain circumstances, public agencies responsible for road design and maintenance may bear partial liability for creating conditions that contribute to underride accidents, like when:

Roads are designed with dangerous curves or intersections that increase underride risks
Signage is inadequate to warn of truck traffic or hazards
Construction zones lack proper warnings or traffic management
Road maintenance issues like potholes or poor drainage contribute to an accident

Claims against government entities typically face additional procedural hurdles, including shorter time limits for filing and special notice requirements. Allow your lawyer the time necessary to pursue your case by hiring them as soon as possible.

Federal Regulations and Underride Guard Requirements for Trucks

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have implemented several regulations to reduce underride accidents. These various statutes:

Establish requirements for rear impact guards (RIGs) on trailers and semi-trailers, specifying dimensions, placement, and strength requirements
Mandate conspicuity requirements for commercial vehicles, including reflective tape placement
Advance legislation for side underguard protection

Despite these regulations, many safety advocates argue that current standards remain insufficient. Your lawyer will be ready to hold all negligent regulatory bodies, trucking companies, truck drivers, or other parties responsible for the harm you've suffered.

How an Attorney Can Help You or a Loved One After an Underride Accident

Victims of underride accidents can face particularly challenging legal battles due to the complexity of these cases and the severity of injuries typically involved. An experienced attorney truck accident attorney can provide invaluable assistance in several ways:

Investigating

A truck crash attorney begins by gathering all available evidence related to the accident, which may require them to:

Secure the accident scene and preserve evidence
Obtain electronic logging device (ELD) data from the truck
Review maintenance records for compliance with federal regulations
Analyze driver qualification files, including licensing and medical certifications
Examine the trucking company's safety record and violation history
Consult with accident reconstruction experts to determine exactly how the crash occurred
Inspect the underride guards and other safety equipment for defects or compliance issues
Gather witness statements and surveillance footage

This investigative process often uncovers critical details that aren't apparent in initial police reports, such as patterns of safety violations or systematic maintenance issues.

Identifying All Liable Parties

Identifying all potential defendants is vital for maximizing compensation and overcoming liability limitations that individual parties might assert.

The regulatory framework governing commercial transportation is extensive, requiring attorneys with specific knowledge in this area. An experienced truck accident lawyer should be familiar with:

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs)
Hours-of-service requirements for commercial drivers
Truck maintenance and inspection standards
Specific regulations regarding underride guards and conspicuity
State and local commercial vehicle regulations

Their understanding of regulations allows attorneys to identify compliance failures that might not be apparent to investigators without a deep knowledge of transportation law.

Managing Insurance Complexities

The insurance landscape for commercial transportation involves multiple layers of coverage that an attorney must navigate skillfully. Expect your lawyer to:

Identify all applicable insurance policies
Understand the hierarchies of coverage between primary and excess policies
Manage the challenges of MCS-90 endorsements for motor carriers
Handle negotiations with multiple insurance adjusters
Prevent victims from accepting inadequate early settlement offers

Early offers from insurance companies rarely account for the full long-term impact of catastrophic injuries, making an attorney's guidance critical during this phase.

Calculating Full Damages

Determining appropriate compensation for the cost of an underride accident may require:

Medical experts to project future treatment needs
Life care planners to calculate long-term care costs
Economists to determine lost earning capacity
Rehabilitation specialists to assess functional limitations
Psychological experts to evaluate emotional trauma and mental health impacts

This comprehensive calculation ensures that settlements account for lifetime needs rather than just immediate medical expenses, which is particularly important for injuries that may require decades of ongoing care.

Overcoming Common Defense Strategies

Trucking companies and their insurers often employ sophisticated tactics. Your lawyer will counter unethical defense strategies, which may include:

Claiming the passenger vehicle driver (you) was primarily at fault
Arguing that the truck complied with all federal regulations when it did not
Shifting blame to third parties
Disputing the severity or causation of injuries
Delaying proceedings to pressure financially strained victims

Understanding these defense strategies allows attorneys to develop preemptive strategies that protect victims' interests throughout the litigation process.

Fighting for the Survivor at Trial

While many cases settle, the most complex or contested underride claims may require courtroom resolution by an attorney with specific trial skills.

Prepare compelling visual exhibits demonstrating the crash mechanics
Present complex technical information in terms that jurors can understand
Effectively cross-examine defense experts
Humanize the victim's story and convey the full impact of their injuries
Navigate procedural rules and evidentiary challenges

The threat of effective trial representation often motivates more reasonable settlement offers, even in cases that ultimately resolve without a verdict.

Seeking Compensation: Recoverable Damages in Underride Accident Lawsuits

Your lawyer will document all the damages that you have suffered because of the underride truck accident. Those recoverable damages may include:

Medical expenses: Current and future costs of treatment, surgeries, medications, and rehabilitation
Lost income: Earnings lost during recovery and diminished future earning capacity
Property damage: Costs to repair or replace damaged vehicles and personal property
Pain and suffering: Compensation for physical pain and discomfort experienced

If your loved one passed away from health conditions related to an underride accident, a compassionate truck accident attorney will represent you and all other affected loved ones. You should receive compensation for both the economic and non-economic harm that results from a wrongful death.

Hire Your Truck Accident Lawyer as Soon as Possible After an Underride Collision

Underride accidents represent a particularly devastating type of collision that continues to claim lives despite decades of safety advocacy. When these tragedies occur, victims and their families face extraordinarily complex legal challenges requiring the focused skills and experience of a truck accident attorney.

If an underride collision injures you or a loved one, don't navigate this complex legal landscape alone. Contact an experienced St. Louis personal injury law firm today for a free consultation.

As technology and regulations continue to evolve, the hope is that underride accidents will become increasingly rare. Until then, legal remedies remain an essential mechanism for both compensating victims and driving the safety improvements needed to prevent future tragedies.