In Pursuit of Compensation: Why You Need an Experienced 18 Wheeler Accident Law Firm
If you’ve been injured in an accident with a trailer truck or some other large commercial truck, then you may be dealing with serious losses — personal, career, lifestyle, medical bills, etc. Our law firm is committed to assisting truck accident victims in their pursuit of compensation, ensuring they understand their rights and the legal avenues available for recovering their losses. We encourage you to get in touch with an experienced truck accident law firm to get started.
Before you call us, perhaps you’d like to understand some basic legal and strategy issues associated with truck accident claims and related disputes. Let’s explore!
Large commercial truck accidents are uniquely dangerous
Trailer trucks — and other large, commercial vehicles and trucks — are uniquely dangerous in the auto accident context.
Why?
Consider the following issues:
- Eighteen-wheelers and other large commercial trucks are extremely heavy. This increased mass means that when they collide with other vehicles, the force of impact is often enough to cause severe injury or even death.
- Eighteen-wheelers and other large commercial trucks can be unwieldy and difficult to maneuver on the roadways. This can easily lead to accidents when there is not enough space on the road to allow for safe turning. They also require a great deal of room to come to a complete stop.
- Cargo loading can be improper, leading to one side of the truck being overloaded compared to the other. This causes balance issues, which can give rise to serious and unexpected accidents.
Truck accidents are more common, and when they occur, they tend to lead to catastrophic injuries with very serious life impacts. As such, it’s critical that you work with a skilled truck accident attorney who can help you explore your options and secure the maximum possible compensation. It’s also essential to preserve evidence from the accident scene to support your legal claims, highlighting the importance of documenting the scene, gathering information, and collecting contact information from witnesses.
Truck drivers have a heightened responsibility to others
Commercial truckers have a heightened responsibility on the roadways. Though all drivers of motor vehicles have a duty of care to avoid unreasonably causing harm, truckers have to get commercial licenses. This emphasizes their heightened duty of care to others — which makes sense, after all, in commercial vehicle accidents, given that they’re operating dangerous machinery at a high speed, on public roadways.
With this heightened duty of care, it tends to be “easier” to establish that a truck driver was negligent (and therefore liable).
For example, if a truck driver did not ensure that there was ample room to turn a corner, then they could more easily be found liable due to their heightened responsibility. By contrast, it would be a more complicated and back-and-forth argument in a dispute involving a regular driver.
What is the number one cause of trucking accidents?
Driver fatigue is the number one cause of trucking accidents in the United States. This has a number of implications for your lawsuit, as driver fatigue isn’t always just the trucker’s personal fault in car accidents (even though they are partly responsible for their own fatigue and not taking steps to avoid driving while fatigued).
In America, the trucking industry has long had issues with scheduling. Many industry critics have argued that the trucking industry contributes to driver fatigue by assigning truck companies to overly difficult routes, overscheduling truckers, and offering pay incentives that pressure truckers to drive for as long as possible without stopping.
Assuming that you work with an experienced truck accident law firm, their attorneys will be able to investigate the facts of your case and determine whether the trucking company contributed to driver fatigue (or any other issues) through their work policies.
Multiple defendants may be liable for your injuries
In a truck accident dispute, the trucker who hit you may not be the “only” truck accident claim defendant worth suing. There could be a truck accident case with many liable parties, in fact, multiple parties. This may include, but is not limited to:
- The truck driver
- The trucking company that employed the truck driver
- Other drivers on the road
- The business that loaded the cargo
- The business that maintained the truck
- The City
- Other property owners
- And more
Phew, that’s quite a bit! Not every case is going to involve all these defendants, but the potential is certainly there.
For example, after investigating your case further, your attorney might discover (with the help of an accident reconstruction expert) that the semi trucks’ truck crashed into you because it was improperly loaded with cargo. This could give you an opening to sue the warehouse whose workers loaded the semi-truck accident cargo incorrectly.
Damages can be varied and significant
Damages in a truck accident vary from case to case. Depending on the circumstances of the crash involving the accident victims and your case, you could have anything from a relatively minor claim to a major lawsuit worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Damages cover losses that may include the following:
- Wage loss
- Loss of earning capacity
- Medical expenses
- Property loss
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of companionship
- And more
Consider, for example, an accident involving a large commercial truck. In Scenario A, you somehow escape from the wreck mostly unscathed, with only minor injuries. In Scenario B, you sustain critical injuries, forcing you to undergo expensive surgery and years of painful rehabilitation. Your medical expenses and pain and suffering claims (in Scenario B) are likely to be substantial — likely rising into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, at least.
Given the potential range of damages for truck accident injuries (and the importance of developing a sound legal argument that supports your damages claim), you should work with an experienced truck accident lawyer if you’ve been in a truck crash.
You have a strict time limit to consider your legal options
The vast majority of claims have a deadline known as the statute of limitations. If you do not bring your claims (i.e., file them with the court) before the deadline passes, then you’ll have relinquished your claims under the law. Courts will dismiss your claims if you attempt to litigate them after the deadline has passed.
For example, in California, the statute of limitations for a standard negligence-based personal injury claim is two years from the date of injury. You could lose your legal right to be compensated if you don’t begin the litigation process in that two-year timespan! And in the wake of an accident, when you’re trying to recover from the severe injuries and get your life back on track, time can pass very quickly.
That’s why it’s so important to consult an attorney early on. They have a professional duty to act in a timely manner when handling your claims. Further, by having them work on your case, you’ll free yourself up to focus on recovering and managing your injuries, career, and personal life post-accident.
It’s worth noting that — even if you delay too long — there are some legal exceptions that could apply to your claim, giving you more time to litigate. For example, there’s a legal principle known as the “discovery rule” that doesn’t start the clock on the deadline countdown until you discover your injury. If you reasonably could not have discovered your injury until a later date (i.e., the car accident causes you to sustain a degenerative condition, the symptoms of which don’t appear until years later), then you’ll be able to litigate within two years of the date of discovery.
Truck accident attorneys: legal assistance won’t cost you anything out-of-pocket
Many trucking companies and accident injury victims worry that they can’t sue because they don’t have any money to litigate. This concern is borne out of a misconception of how personal injury litigation works.
Because in all likelihood, you won’t have to pay anything out-of-pocket to litigate your claims.
See, plaintiffs attorneys — which includes truck accident lawyers who fight to secure compensation on your behalf — generally work on a contingency fee basis. This has many different advantages.
But how do contingency fee arrangements work?
In a contingency fee arrangement, an attorney agrees to represent your legal interests at no upfront or out-of-pocket cost. Instead, they agree to take a percentage cut of the compensation they secure on your behalf — this can vary anywhere from 25 percent to 40 percent or more. Here’s the thing: you only pay the attorney their “cut” if you win compensation. If you don’t get paid, they don’t get paid.
This is an enormous advantage, as it allows most people (even those who don’t have any funds) to litigate their claims. Contingency fees also incentivize attorneys to work efficiently and effectively to maximize the client’s compensation — after all, they get paid more when you get paid more.
Contact 1-800-THE-LAW2 for a Free Legal Consultation
If you’ve been injured in an accident with a large commercial truck, then you could be entitled to compensation for your losses — and these losses are likely to be substantial, given that large truck accidents often have serious injuries and lead to severe and life-changing injuries. Given the high-stakes nature of truck accident cases and the personal injury claims in your dispute, you’ll want to work with an experienced personal injury attorney who knows how to best position you for success.
Contact 1-800-THE-LAW2 to connect to a qualified truck accident attorney in our legal network in just 10 minutes or less. They’ll be able to provide a free initial consultation, during which you’ll have the opportunity to discuss your truck accident lawsuit case in more detail. You’ll also be given guidance on your next steps and strategic options. That being said, if you decide that you’d rather not move forward, you’re under no obligation to do so — the free consultation has no strings attached at all.
So what are you waiting for? Call in today to have your case evaluated.
