Bucket Truck Accident Lawyer
Chances are you pass bucket trucks all the time without really noticing them. They are often parked on the side of the road, crane extended, with people working high above the street.
This kind of truck uses an electric hydraulic system to raise a work platform shaped like a bucket into the air, allowing accessibility to hard-to-reach places for a host of reasons. Distinctive in design, bucket trucks are also commonly called:
- Truck mounts
- Elevated work platforms
- Boom lifts
- Hydraladders
- Hydraulic aerial work platforms
- Basket cranes
- Man lifts
- Fruit pickers.
In contrast to cars, which may be used for business or pleasure, bucket trucks are solely used to pursue commercial interests. Therefore, certain professions need to work with basket cranes more frequently and have a higher probability of accidents. If you see any of the following type of work going on in your neighborhood or up ahead on the roadway, pay closer attention and drive defensively to keep yourself safe. Jobs impacted by cherry picker truck accidents include:
- Arborists
- Billboard repair and replacement workers
- Commercial roofers
- Electrical workers
- Landscapers
- Telephone line employees
- Tree trimmers
- Utility workers
- Cable television and satellite workers
- Construction workers
- External home maintenance service providers
- Facility maintenance staff
- Firefighters
- Fruit pickers
- Miners
- Painters
- Window cleaners.
While some bucket trucks are part of a business’s fleet, others are rented for a one-time job, such as painting a house, trimming a tree, or installing a sign. Renters are rarely given adequate training as to how to use the equipment or how to avoid the many dangers that can be involved in operating a bucket truck.
For example, the machines have a high center of gravity and can overturn easily. Drivers have to be careful not to park the truck on a steep slope, which can cause the vehicle to topple over when the bucket is raised at the wrong angle.
Drivers must also be careful to remember to lower the boom before driving on the road. Unbelievably, accidents have happened where bucket trucks with extended booms take down traffic lights and power lines as they barrel through intersections.
Whether owned or rented, lax maintenance and faulty equipment can lead to the boom failing, the bucket tipping, or any other number of mechanical failures. People who are working in a bucket truck on the side of the street may not give adequate warning of their presence and cause motorists to take risks in order to get by. Additionally, objects are often dropped from the raised bucket, and trying to avoid such debris can cause drivers to stop or lose control of their vehicles. Some accidents involve professional linemen working alone without a second person to mark off lanes, remove debris or monitor potential traffic problems. Cars, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians who are simply passing by are often the ones seriously hurt or killed in accidents involving bucket trucks.
Kentucky Bucket Truck Accident Lawyer on Your Side
If you or a loved one has been injured in a cherry picker truck accident, contact our office in Pikeville to secure experienced representation. Since 1998, the Johnson Law Firm has been working hard to build its reputation for skill, dedication, and commitment to provide the case outcome that you deserve. Founding attorney Billy Johnson has been named a Super Lawyer by U.S. News & World Report, as well as an American Trial Lawyers Association Top 100 trial lawyer. You can rely on his experience with the legal system and his commitment to his clients to help you get the best result possible given the circumstances of your case. Stop by, fill out this contact form or call 606-437-4488 for a free, confidential consultation and you’ll understand why the Johnson Law Firm is known as the “nicest place in town.”
Attorney Billy Johnson
William “Billy” Johnson grew up in the Dorton area of Pike County, Kentucky, and early on decided to stay in the beautiful Appalachian mountains. Like many others in Eastern Kentucky, Billy’s dad worked as a coal miner, a hard job but one that taught his son how to meet challenges head on and persevere. Attorney Billy Johnson has years of experience helping injured clients with claims such as car, truck, and motorcycle accidents, wrongful deaths, work injuries, and more. [ Attorney Bio ]
