Recently, the Houston Chronicle reported on a serious multi-car pileup that resulted in one fatality and six serious injuries. The accident is an important reminder of how dangerous a multi-car crash can be. 
Our Houston truck accident lawyers know that multi-car pileups often occur on busy roads with multiple lanes and that these accidents often involve trucks or tractor trailers that spend much of their time traveling on busy interstates. For example, this recent tragic accident, like many others, involved a tractor-trailer.
Multi-Car Pileups Cause Many Risks
According to the Houston Chronicle, the multi-car accident occurred when a driver of a 2006 Ford Expedition tried to change lanes while traveling north on FM 1485 near Oak Grove. The woman in the Expedition struck a tractor trailer that was traveling south. She lost her life as a result of the accident.
The multi-car pileup also involved injuries to many other drivers as well. Multi-car pileups tend to be very dangerous accidents, especially when trucks are involved. The force of impact from multiple vehicles can result in all drivers and passengers involved sustaining serious harm. The more vehicles that are involved, of course, the more likely it is that there will be multiple injuries or fatalities.
This crash, for example, also affected an additional vehicle. The other car was a Toyota pickup truck. The 53-year-old driver of the pickup was taken to the hospital to treat injuries. Another woman and four children ages 9, 12, 14 and 15 were also hurt and required treatment at the hospital.
While the children have since been released, it is possible that the injuries they sustained will impact them for the rest of their lives. Many types of car accident injuries, including broken bones and brain damage, do not become immediately apparent and may not begin to show symptoms until several days or several weeks after the incident. Unfortunately, children are also especially susceptible to being seriously hurt in accidents since their developing bodies may not be equipped to withstand force as well as adults.
Responsibility for Multi-Car Pileups
In addition to creating medical complications and causing serious injury, multi-car pileups can also create complicated legal issues. Drivers who are responsible for causing a collision are also held legally liable for wrongful death or serious injuries sustained by passengers and other motorists hurt in the crash.
Unfortunately, with multiple vehicles involved in an accident, it can sometimes be difficult to make a determination about exactly who was to blame for the accident. You may need expert testimony or eyewitness testimony in order to be able to prove that a particular driver was to blame for the accident. In some cases, there may also be multiple drivers that you can take legal action against if there was more than one driver who made a careless mistake that caused you to be hurt.
If you have been injured in a Houston car accident, contact Hagood & Neumann at (800) 632-9404. Offices in Houston and Galveston.