Many Missouri residents are aware of just how dangerous it can be to share the road with tractor-trailers. When tractor-trailers are involved in a collision, it is often the drivers and passengers of smaller vehicles who are seriously injured or even killed. One recent truck accident, however, resulted in fatal Injuries to the truck driver and less serious injuries to his passenger and the occupants of two other vehicles.

The fatal accident occurred when the truck driver was headed east on Interstate 44 near Union, Missouri. Officials report that the driver of the tractor-trailer somehow lost control of his semi. This resulted in the driver attempting to regain control of his vehicle, but instead, over-correcting and then overturning the tractor-trailer.

In the process of the accident, two other vehicles collided with the overturned semi-truck. The 25-year-old truck driver was pronounced dead by authorities at the scene of the accident. His passenger sustained minor injuries and was transported to an area hospital. Both of the drivers of the other two vehicles suffered injuries and were transported to the same hospital.

While all three of the individuals’ injuries were described as minor, such injuries can often turn out to be more serious than initially believed. Since they were transported to an area hospital, they will undoubtedly be forced to deal with medical bills stemming from this tragic Missouri tractor-trailer accident. That is one important reason why the state’s personal injury laws allow such individuals who are injured by tractor-trailers to file a civil suit against another driver or that person’s estate in the event that he or she perishes in an accident. Succeeding in this type of personal injury lawsuit will require the presentation of evidence that demonstrates the driver was negligent in causing or contributing to the accident.

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “Truck driver dies in accident on Interstate 44,” Denise Hollinshed, Dec. 9, 2012