Woodbridge, Va - Tractor Trailer Careens Off Road, Hitting 11 cars and Injuring 5!
WOODBRIDGE, VA (Prince William County, December 2, 2024) - On Monday, December 2nd, a tractor trailer was involved in a massive motor vehicle accident in Woodbridge, Virginia. A tractor-trailer ran off of the road and eventually struck the Moorings of Occoquan Condominiums on the 12700 block of Gordon Blvd.
Prince William County Police have been investigating the collision, and it turns out that the crash is not as clear-cut as many people thought. County Police have suggested that a Mercedes sedan was attempting to turn left onto Gordon Boulevard, and entered the intersection directly in front of the tractor trailer (and did not have the right of way!). The tractor trailer was unable to stop, and slammed into the Mercedes, which caused the Mercedes to rotate and hit at least two other vehicles in the intersection.
The tractor trailer, now out of control, proceeded into oncoming traffic lanes, and hit at least two more oncoming vehicles. The truck then left the roadway, and went down an embankment, and into the parking lot of the nearby condo community. Here, the truck struck at least two parked cars, before ultimately smashing into the front of a brick condominium building. The truck finally stopped in front of the building, dragging another parked vehicle with it.
Varying reports suggested that either four and then five people were injured as a result of the accident. However, more people may have been evaluated in the meantime, as injuries can take time to begin to manifest.
Prince William County Police are evaluating whether to file charges against the driver of the Mercedes, who attempted to turn improperly. The identity of the driver of the Mercedes has not been released to the public yet.
Blaszkow Legal wishes a speedy recovery to all persons involved.
Truck Accidents in Prince William County
Many people assume that in truck accidents, that the truck driver and the trucking company are automatically at fault. As in this case, that is not always true. However, in accidents where a truck is involved, the crashes can often be serious, and even horrific or fatal.
This is not hard to imagine, when you remember that trucks can be up to 80,000 lbs, fully loaded, and traveling at highway speeds. They take a lot longer to stop than normal cars, and lot of inertia is working against the brakes on all of the axles.
It is important in truck accident cases, as with any motor vehicle accident, to begin investigating a crash immediately, to figure out who is truly responsible, and thus at fault for the crash.
Investigating Multiple-vehicle Car Accidents in Virginia
Blaszkow Legal has a unique methodology for handling these cases, unlike the biggest firms, which don't investigate cases until the latter stages of their process. We investigate immediately! You cannot assume, in cases such as this, that the truck driver and the trucking company were negligent. You have to figure out whose negligence caused the collision, and thus caused your injuries.
Our team of attorneys, paralegals, and investigators who beginning immediately by investigating the crash, interviewing witnesses, pulling camera footage, and if necessary, doing forensic reconstruction of accident scenes. Blaszkow Legal has two retired police officers on our staff!
Insurance Coverage in Multiple Vehicle Accidents
In any car accident in Virginia, the at-fault party's car insurance is going to be responsible for paying up to the limits of their insurance coverage. However, nice cars don't automatically equate good insurance. We have seen many cases where BMWs, Mercedes, Audis, and other high-end luxury vehicles have minimum insurance coverage! Minimum insurance in Virginia is $30,000 per person, $60,000 per incident (said "30/60"). That means, in the facts of this case, if the Mercedes driver only has this aggregate $60,000 of coverage, then there is only $60,000 to cover the injuries of everyone involved!
If you think that doesn't sound like enough, you are absolutely right!
Understanding Underinsured Motorist Coverage in Multiple-Vehicle Car Accidents
It is important to understand how insurance works. As part of investigating a case, we also investigate insurance coverage. When you have a situation like this, where the at-fault party's insurance is not likely to be sufficient to make everyone whole, you then look at each individual person's underinsured motorist coverage. Underinsured motorist coverage, or UIM, is a coverage that you have as a matter of law in Virginia. This is a source of recovery that you have from your own policy, and using it cannot make your insurance rates go up.
However, you have to be extremely careful! Due to the new law in Virginia, insurance companies have been working very hard to confuse people, and to get them to elect something called an "offset." This used to be normal in Virginia, but the new law that went into effect in 2023 confirmed that the the offset had to be affirmatively elected. An offset is where you're underinsured motorist coverage gets credit for whatever insurance coverage is had by the at-fault party. This is a nightmare scenario.
For example, in this accident, if the at-fault Mercedes has only $30,000
of insurance coverage, and you only have $30,000 of UIM insurance coverage,
if you accepted this off-set coverage, then you have no UIM coverage at all (30-30=0)!
Many insurance companies are calling the "new" coverage "enhanced." It is not enhanced - it is standard. The insurance companies are using this language to scare people and convincing them to save a few dollars a month by electing the cheaper coverage, costing injured people tens of thousands of dollars!
However, all is not lost. People may have additional underinsured motorist coverage not only from their own cars, but also from family members with whom they live. This is known as resident relative coverage. This is defined in individual insurance policies, but often means parents, siblings, and spouses. It does not include roommates and significant others, unless specifically set out in the policy.
What this means: if you have elected the "offset", and have $30,000 of
UIM coverage, then you can nothing from your own UIM policy.
BUT if you live with, say, your sister, who has her own vehicle, and
you are not an "excluded driver," then you may get an additional
$30,000 from her policy (or whatever those policy limits are), bringing
you to a total of $60,000 of insurance monies from which you can collect.
As you can see, there are a lot of issues in a case like this. You need to call a lawyer right away who understands how all of this works, and is going to work hard to get you the compensation that you need for your injuries!
Speaking to a Woodbridge Truck Accident Lawyer
If you have been involved in any multiple vehicle car accident, you need to speak to a lawyer right away! Insurance companies, even your own car insurance company, are not in the business of giving you everything that you are entitled to. They have no legal duty to tell you what your rights are, and what you need to recover. An experienced car and truck accident lawyer however, will do exactly that. Call Blaszkow Legal today for a free consultation, and we will fight everyone for you! That's our job.
Call 703-879-5910 for a free consultation and Get Justice with Joe!
Photo credit to the Prince William County Fire Department