Miami Truck Tire Blowout Accident Attorney
Suffering a tire blowout in your car can be a terrifying experience. Fortunately, most passenger car blowouts are only a minor inconvenience that requires the driver to either remember how to change a tire or, at worst, call a tow truck. When a tire blowout occurs on a commercial semi-truck, however, the consequences are often far more devastating, not just for the truck driver but for anyone else in the path of what is now an out-of-control, 80,000-pound vehicle.
The Miami truck tire blowout accident attorneys at Pike & Lustig, LLP, represent victims in seeking compensation for their medical bills, lost income, and other damages arising from preventable crashes. While tire blowouts happen for many reasons, we often find that when it comes to tractor-trailer accidents, a blown tire was the result of negligence on the part of the truck’s driver, owner, or the people responsible for the vehicle’s maintenance. Our team will get to the bottom of what really happened and ensure that you and your family receive justice.
How Is Negligence a Factor in Tire Blowouts?
A tire blowout occurs when there is a rapid loss in a tire’s air pressure. The average semi-truck tire has a pressure of about 75,000 pounds at any given moment. Even under ideal road and driving conditions, these tires endure an enormous amount of strain, wear, and tearing. And over time, the air pressure inside of the tire can build up to dangerous levels and cause the tire to explode.
So how can negligence on the part of a truck owner or operator lead to these types of tire blowouts? Some of the more common scenarios that we look for when investigating a commercial trucking accident include:
- Was the tire properly inflated? If a tire is overinflated, external heat and the constant friction of the tire rubbing up against the road can raise the air temperature inside of the tire, leading to a blowout. Conversely, when a tire is under-inflated, more of the tire’s surface area is exposed to the road, which creates even more friction and leads to an even greater blowout risk than over-inflation.
- Was the semi-truck overloaded? All commercial vehicles have a maximum safe loading weight. For many tractor-trailers, that limit is around 80,000 pounds. But the heavier a truck’s load, the greater the risk that the added pressure on the vehicle’s tires will lead to a blowout.
- Were the tires inspected and changed on a regular basis? On average, a commercial semi-truck tire needs to be replaced after 3 to 6 years. But truck companies need to regularly inspect their tires and replace any tire that has shown signs of excessive wear and tear before a blowout occurs.
Contact the Miami Truck Tire Blowout Accident Attorneys at Pike & Lustig Today
If negligence on the part of a truck owner or operator contributed to your accident, you have the right to demand financial compensation under Florida law. The Miami truck tire blowout accident attorneys at Pike & Lustig, LLP, are here to help. Contact us today at (561) 291-8298 to schedule a consultation.
