HAZMAT Crashes Pose Additional Dangers

By Thomas Greer | May 11, 2015

HAZMAT Crashes Pose Additional Dangers

Every trucking accident has the potential to cause a great deal of property damage, injury and even death. When a truck is hauling hazardous materials, the danger extends far beyond the boundaries that are normally present in a trucking accident where the cargo is not hazardous.

Recently, a tanker truck filled with hazardous material went off the road and fell seventy five feet down an embankment before landing in Running Water Creek in Marion County. The driver of the truck was injured and subsequently taken to the hospital. Cleanup from the accident was expected to take some time because the tanker was filled with hazardous materials. Another recent accident in Nashville involved a tanker full of sulfuric acid. Miraculously, none of the acid spilled when the tank trailer disconnected from the truck during the wreck before ending up in the median.

Although the aforementioned accidents involved hazardous materials, there was relatively little damage compared to what could have happened.

What you should know about hazardous materials

These recent accidents both ended pretty uneventfully, considering that they involved vehicles that were hauling hazardous materials. Hazardous materials are substances which can gravely harm people, animals, or the environment if they escape from their containers. Some of the properties which can cause a material to be considered hazardous include:

  • Explosiveness, which could impact a fairly large area depending upon the type and amount of substance involved
  • Radioactivity, which can have a far-reaching effect on the health of people, plants and animals in the area if the matierals get into groundwater.
  • Flammability, especially when there are large quantities of a material, poses a great danger to everyone in the area surrounding the accident scene, as well as to the emergency personnel who respond to the accident
  • Corrosiveness, which can cause a material to “eat” through a container and pose a risk to people nearby
  • Toxicity, if substances fill the air with noxious fumes that can affect people throughout the surrounding area, or seep into a water supply

Hazardous materials are often transported over the roads in tanker trucks or tractor trailers which carry placards indicating the hazardous characteristics of the cargo inside.

Trucking accidents are dangerous in and of themselves, and trucking accidents involving hazardous materials are even more so. If you were harmed by a trucking accident, you may be able to obtain compensation for your damages. The knowledgeable Tennessee trucking accident attorneys at Bailey & Greer, PLLC can help you to understand how Tennessee trucking accidents work, and they can help you pursue a claim for damages against all possible defendants if you decide to do so. To find out how we can help, please call 901-680-9777 to schedule a time to speak with us.

Posted in Blog, Truck Accidents