Most Florida car accidents and truck accidents involve other vehicles, pedestrians, and inanimate objects such as telephone poles. However, in some cases, trucks and cars in Florida plow into homes. In many cases, these are Florida drunk driving accidents or accidents involving loss of control of the vehicle or a pedal error (such as when the driver mistakes the accelerator for the brake. Such an accident occurred in Cocoa, Florida in January and another took place in Palm Bay in May. Brevard County has in fact seen a few such accidents in 2011.
The results of these accidents can be devastating, especially when the vehicle involved is a truck. Due to the size and force of a truck, the truck can plow right into the house and tear down walls. Both the driver and the occupants of the home are likely to sustain serious injuries. There are many types of damages which typically occur in this type of Florida accident, including severe property damage and serious injuries. There are many reasons why such accidents result in such severe damages:
1) Many accidents involve high rates of speed. While there are no statistics concerning such crashes specifically, authorities have stated that such accidents occur fairly often and often do involve high speeds, since often the drivers are intoxicated or have hit the accelerator by mistake. The high speed causes the impact of the crash to be greater.
2) Walls are often torn down. In this type of accident, the sheer size and force of the vehicle is often enough to push down walls and barriers, crushing anyone behind the walls.
3) In many cases, there is structural damage to the home. This sort of collision can compromise the foundation or walls which are structurally important to the home. In some cases, the home cannot be salvaged or requires very extensive (and expensive) repairs.
4) The vehicle sustains serious damages. In many cases, the vehicle doing the damage is also seriously injured and the driver usually is killed or sustains serious injury.
5) The occupants of the home are typically not prepared. In a Florida car accident, victims may have only seconds to respond but may have at least a few seconds to try defensive driving. In a situation where a vehicle crashes into a home, there is typically no warning and occupants often have no time at all to get to safety.
6) There is a risk of fire. This type of collision can easily lead to a fire since the crash of the truck through walls can harm electrical wiring and gar lines and can also create sparks.
Have you been in a Florida truck accident? Contact the Flaxman Law Group to arrange for a free, no-obligation consultation to get experienced and compassionate insight into your case. With law offices in Miami, Homestead, and Hollywood, the Flaxman Law Group is proud to serve the entire South Florida community.