The Dangers of Garbage Trucks

A recent accident in Fairfax County has highlighted some of the inherent dangers of garbage trucks.

Police recently charged Collins Boateng, a 43-year-old garbage truck driver, with driving a vehicle not under control, Oakton Patch reported.

According to reports, Boateng, 43, was driving an American Disposal Services garbage truck when he crashed into a white Lincoln Navigator as he was making a left turn from Miller Heights Road onto Blue Roan Road, a Fairfax County Police report stated,

There were no serious injuries in this case, but accidents involving both garbage trucks and dump trucks can be deadly. Recently we reported on how the City of Virginia Beach had made a $500,000 award to the family of a homeless man who was crushed by a garbage truck on the beach.

In 2010, I handled a truck accident/wrongful death lawsuit which resulted in the largest settlement of a motor vehicle related case in Virginia that year, according to the Virginia Lawyers Weekly newspaper. The $3.5 million award went to a child whose 25-year-old father was killed by a dump truck driver who rear-ended the vehicle in which the young man was a passenger.

A number of factors make dump trucks and garbage trucks dangerous.

• Numerous stops – Garbage trucks stop frequently to collect garbage. They access narrow streets and may stop suddenly.
• Bulk – These are heavy vehicles. Even while operating at low speeds, drivers of cars or motorcyclists will come off second best.
• Distracted driving – Crews on garbage trucks are often working out their route or concentrating on picking up garbage. They may not have their eyes on the roads.
• Blind spots – Trash trucks, recycling vehicles and dump trucks are bulky vehicles. They had many blind spots and tend to operate in residential roads with little space.

If you are injured by a garbage truck or a dump truck you should consult an experienced trucking accident injury lawyer. See our FAQs about trucking accidents.

The Virginia Beach and Norfolk based truck accident injury law firm, Cooper Hurley, handles automobile, truck, and motorcycle injuries as well as other cases such as slip and fall cases, wrongful death and medical malpractice. John Cooper and Jim Hurley have over 40 years of combined experience in handling truck injury accident claims. Attorney John Cooper has been named to Virginia “Super Lawyers” since 2010.

Cooper Hurley represents people hurt in accidents in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News and throughout VA, and always put the best interests of our clients first. The firm is recognized by other lawyers as “AV” by Martindale-Hubbell, a national attorney rating service, for our top level of legal skill and highest ethical standards.