Americans are driving faster, farther, more often and under greater stress. Aggressive driving by auto, bus and tractor-trailer truck drivers has become more than just an occasional irritation.

• There are more than 12 million motor vehicle accidents annually, involving more than 20 million vehicles, according to the National Safety Council
• This results in over 5 million nonfatal accidents each year, of which approximately 2 million are disabling injuries.
• The typical driver will have a near-accident one to two times per month and all drivers will be in a collision of some type on average of every six years, the US Department of Transportation estimates.
• Approximately 10 percent of all motor vehicle accident victims become disabled, according to most experts.

Behemoths Bearing Down

More and more 18-wheelers, tour buses, vans and oversized SUVs are on the road. Crashes involving big rigs are on the rise -- nearly 20% over the past decade. In 2003, almost 5,000 persons died in tractor-trailer accidents, and more than 140,000 were seriously injured. Fatalities in these accidents are usually the occupants of smaller vehicles, amounting to 79% of the deaths vs. 14% for occupants of large trucks.

15-passenger vans carry families, sports teams and school or church groups on outings, yet the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has exempted 15-passenger vans from all federal motor vehicle safety standards, in spite of its own public advisories. These state that pre-school and school-aged children should not be transported in these vans and that rollover risk increases dramatically with the number of occupants.

No matter what type of vehicle involved in an accident, the number-one cause of fatal and serious injuries is driver error.

Righting the Wrongs

Slack & Davis attorneys Mike Davis, Donna Bowen and Ladd Sanger have successfully litigated cases involving serious injuries and wrongful death from automobile, bus or tractor-trailer accidents. Victims of catastrophic accidents may be entitled to collect for pain and suffering, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, disability, inconvenience, and of course, medical bills and lost wages.

Because of the complexities of dealing with various insurance companies, an attorney is the best person to provide you with guidance. Although our firm does not usually handle small accident claims, we would be happy to review your case at no cost to see if we can be of service.

Should you be involved in a major auto, bus or truck wreck that involved negligence, our attorneys will assist you virtually every step of the way and advise you of the benefits you are entitled to receive.

View our selected case profiles to learn more about some cases we have handled on behalf of our clients.

If you or someone you know have been injured as a result of negligence in an auto / car, bus or tractor-trailer accident, please contact either of our offices for a no-cost evaluation..