Tractor-Trailer Underride and Override Accidents

Collisions involving large commercial trucks are often far more dangerous than ordinary car accidents. Among the most devastating of these crashes are underride and override accidents, which occur when a passenger vehicle slides underneath a tractor-trailer or, less commonly, when a truck rides up over a smaller vehicle. These accidents frequently result in catastrophic injuries or death, even at moderate speeds.

At Kosnett Law Firm, our Los Angeles trucking accident lawyers represent individuals and families harmed in serious truck crashes throughout California. Underride and override crashes are particularly complex cases, involving federal trucking regulations, defective safety equipment, and multiple layers of liability. Understanding how these accidents happen and why they are so deadly is essential to pursuing full compensation.

What Are Underride and Override Accidents?

An underride accident occurs when a smaller vehicle, such as a coupe or sedan, slides underneath the rear or side of a tractor-trailer. Because the trailer’s ride height is often higher than a passenger vehicle’s hood or roofline, the truck’s structure can shear off the top of the car, directly impacting occupants’ heads and upper bodies.

An override accident is the reverse scenario. It happens when a tractor-trailer climbs over a smaller vehicle, often from the rear during sudden braking or a high-speed impact. The sheer weight and momentum of a fully loaded truck can crush the passenger compartment, leaving occupants with little chance of avoiding severe or fatal injury.

Both types of crashes tend to produce far worse outcomes than typical rear-end or side-impact collisions due to the mismatch in vehicle size, weight, and structural protection.

How These Accidents Commonly Occur

Underride and override accidents can happen in many traffic scenarios, often without much warning. Some of the most common contributing circumstances include:

• Rear-end collisions, where a car strikes the back of a trailer that lacks adequate underride guards, or the truck rides over the car in front of it
• Side-impact crashes, particularly at intersections where a truck crosses a vehicle’s path, and the trailer lacks side underride guards
• Improper lighting or reflective tape on trailers, making them nearly invisible in low-light conditions

In Los Angeles traffic, congestion, frequent lane changes, and high freeway speeds all increase the likelihood of these dangerous encounters between passenger vehicles and commercial trucks.

Why Underride and Override Accidents Are So Deadly

Unlike passenger vehicles, tractor-trailers are not designed with energy-absorbing structures to protect occupants of other vehicles. When a car underrides a trailer, the vehicle’s crumple zones, airbags, and seatbelts often provide little protection because the impact occurs above those safety systems.

As a result, underride and override crashes frequently cause:

• Traumatic brain injuries and skull fractures
• Severe facial and neck injuries
• Spinal cord damage and paralysis
• Crushing injuries to the chest and upper body
• Fatal injuries even at relatively low speeds

These accidents are disproportionately represented in wrongful death claims involving commercial trucks. Survivors often face lifelong disabilities, extensive medical care, and profound emotional trauma.

The Role of Underride Guards and Safety Equipment

To reduce the risk of underride crashes, federal regulations require many trailers to be equipped with rear underride guards, sometimes called Mansfield bars. These metal bars are intended to prevent smaller vehicles from sliding underneath the trailer during a rear-end collision.

However, not all underride guards are created equal. Some are poorly designed, inadequately maintained, or fail under real-world crash conditions. Side underride guards, which could prevent many intersection-related underride crashes, are not universally required in the United States, despite evidence of their effectiveness.

When underride guards are missing, defective, or fail to meet safety standards, manufacturers, trucking companies, and maintenance providers may all bear responsibility for resulting injuries.

Liability in Underride and Override Accident Cases

One of the defining features of underride and override cases is the number of potentially liable parties. These accidents rarely result from a single mistake. Instead, they often involve a combination of driver error, regulatory violations, and equipment failures.

Depending on the facts, liable parties may include:

• The truck driver, for speeding, distracted driving, or unsafe braking
• The trucking company, for negligent hiring, training, or supervision
• The trailer owner or operator, for failing to install or maintain underride guards
• The manufacturer of the trailer or underride guard, for defective design or manufacturing
• Maintenance contractors, for improper inspections or repairs

Identifying all responsible parties is critical. Trucking companies and their insurers often attempt to shift blame or minimize the role of equipment failures to limit financial exposure.

Federal and California Trucking Regulations

Commercial trucks operating in California are subject to extensive federal and state regulations governing vehicle design, maintenance, and operation. These rules cover everything from brake systems and lighting to load securement and driver hours of service.

Violations of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs) or California trucking laws can serve as powerful evidence of negligence. For example, a failure to maintain reflective tape or inspect underride guards may indicate that a trucking company prioritized efficiency over safety.

A skilled attorney will examine logbooks, inspection reports, black-box data, and maintenance records to uncover regulatory violations that contributed to the crash.

Proving Fault in a Complex Los Angeles Truck Accident

Underride and override accident cases are among the most technically demanding personal injury claims. Evidence must often be preserved quickly, including the vehicles involved, electronic data, and crash scene information. Accident reconstruction experts and mechanical engineers are frequently required to explain how the collision occurred and why safety equipment failed.

Trucking companies are typically represented by teams of lawyers and investigators within hours of a serious crash. Without experienced legal representation, injured victims and grieving families are at a severe disadvantage from the outset.

Compensation for Victims and Families

Because underride and override accidents tend to cause catastrophic harm, the damages in these cases are often substantial. Compensation may include medical expenses, lost income, future medical care, loss of earning capacity, and compensation for pain and suffering. In fatal cases, surviving family members may pursue wrongful death damages for loss of financial support and the loss of love, companionship, and guidance.

In cases involving reckless conduct or conscious disregard for safety, such as knowingly operating trailers without adequate underride protection, punitive damages may also be available under California law.

Legal Representation Matters. Contact Kosnett Law Firm in Los Angeles Today.

Tractor-trailer underride and override accidents are not routine car accident cases. They require knowledge of trucking regulations, product liability law, and high-stakes litigation against well-funded defendants. Attempting to handle these claims without experienced counsel often results in undervalued settlements or denied claims.

At Kosnett Law Firm, we have the resources and experience necessary to take on trucking companies, manufacturers, and insurers. We conduct thorough investigations, work with respected experts, and fight aggressively for the full compensation our clients deserve.

If you were hurt or a loved one was injured or killed in an underride or override accident in Los Angeles, contact Kosnett Law Firm for a free consultation. We are committed to holding negligent parties accountable and helping victims and families move forward after devastating truck accidents.