Latest / BSPE Legal Marketing Podcast / Garbage Truck Accidents in Boston - Colucci, Colucci & Marcus, P.C.
Transcript
- 0:00Garbage Truck Accidents in Boston Every day on Boston's streets, massive garbage trucks weighing over 60,000 pounds share the road with cyclists, pedestrians, and passenger vehicles weighing just a fraction of that.
- 0:11When a collision occurs, the injuries can be catastrophic — including traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, amputations, and in the most tragic cases, wrongful death.
- 0:21What makes these crashes especially complicated is that the rules governing who you can sue and how much you can recover depend entirely on whether the truck was operated by a public entity or a private waste hauler.
- 0:33If a public employee caused your crash while on duty, your claim falls under the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act, which requires written presentment within two years and caps damages at one hundred thousand dollars.
- 0:44A claim against a private hauler follows different negligence rules, carries no statutory damages cap, and allows for a broader range of recovery options depending on the circumstances.
- 0:55Identifying the responsible party is not always straightforward, because municipalities sometimes contract collection work to private companies whose vehicles may still display city markings.
- 1:05Registration records, U.S. DOT numbers, door placards, and crash reports are among the key documents used to determine who actually operated and controlled the truck at the time of the accident.
- 1:15Garbage trucks are inherently dangerous vehicles on collection routes because they make constant stops, sharp turns, and reversing maneuvers on narrow residential streets where pedestrians and cyclists are close by.
- 1:26A lawyer reviewing your case will look at route records, driver logs, maintenance histories, GPS data, and camera footage to piece together exactly how the collision happened.
- 1:36Driver fatigue is a serious contributing factor in many of these crashes, since collection routes often start early, run long shifts, and involve repetitive stopping pressure throughout the entire day.
- 1:46Equipment failures such as worn brakes, malfunctioning backup alarms, and defective cameras can also play a role, particularly when a truck is reversing in a confined alley or on a tight neighborhood block.
- 1:57Whether the collision involved a turning truck that trapped a cyclist against the curb or a reversing vehicle that struck someone the driver simply could not see, the attorney handling your claim must examine every contributing factor.
- 2:09Boston's personal injury statute of limitations is three years for private hauler claims, but if a public employer is involved, the presentment deadline arrives much sooner and missing it can end your case entirely.
- 2:21The law firm of Colucci, Colucci & Marcus, P.C. represents people injured in serious garbage truck collisions throughout Boston and surrounding communities, carefully examining the full picture of what went wrong.
- 2:32Call Colucci, Colucci & Marcus, P.C. at 617, 958, 3807, located at 31 Milk St 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02109, United States, to schedule your free case review today.