Accidents involving trucks frequently lead to severe injuries requiring specialized care and resources. These injuries can lead to high medical expenses and lost income.
A truck accident attorney will seek compensation for these economic losses on your behalf. Your lawyer will also determine whether you need compensation for non-financial losses like physical discomfort and mental suffering.
Size and Weight
Trucks’ sheer size and weight make them more dangerous than smaller vehicles. Their distinctive shape and how they accelerate, turn, and stop make them difficult to manoeuvre on the road. It is essential to have a lawyer with expertise in truck accident cases.
The first step is to determine who was at fault in the accident. The truck driver or the trucking company might try to claim that you were negligent, such as speeding, driving while fatigued, or using drugs.
After the accident, the insurance companies will review police reports and other evidence and decide who should be compensated. They will send you a settlement offer. Before you sign any offers, it is crucial to have a truck accident lawyer analyze them. Before signing any offers, it’s imperative to have a truck accident attorney review them. They can help you secure compensation for damages to your property and any injuries you’ve sustained, which may include lost wages. This can include a lump sum settlement or an ongoing stream of payments.
Regulations
Trucking companies and drivers must adhere to strict federal and state regulations impacting liability and other claims. In addition, trucking companies must carry much higher insurance policies to cover the potential cost of serious accidents.
Evidence from the truck driver’s logbook, statements from the driver and coworkers, a copy of their commercial driver’s license, history checks, drug screening results, and the truck’s “black box” can all help establish negligence and other elements of your claim. A Denver truck accident lawyer – Lampert & Walsh will know how to subpoena and use these records in your case.
Trucking companies can be held responsible for truck accidents through the legal principle of respondeat superior. This principle holds employers accountable for the actions of their employees. This makes it possible to receive punitive damages in a truck accident lawsuit. These monetary penalties punish the perpetrator for extreme negligence and dissuade others from engaging in similar behaviour.
Insurance
As with other vehicle accidents, truck accident victims may need compensation for their medical bills, property damage, and lost wages. The problem is that multiple insurance policies often cover truck drivers, and their employers have powerful legal teams who will unapologetically use this knowledge to minimize or deny claims.
Trucking companies will have an insurance policy that covers their drivers and a separate cargo insurance policy to cover any products they’re transporting. They’ll also have maintenance records for their vehicles, and load manifests showing whether a dangerous load was improperly secured or the trucking company failed to keep up with routine inspections and repairs.
Some truck accidents result from a manufacturer defect which can lead to a product liability lawsuit. Other cases involve gross negligence or recklessness that can entitle victims to punitive damages. Determining all the liable parties and their respective insurance coverage is essential to calculating total and fair compensation.
Corporate Interests
Truck accidents can be exacerbated by the transportation company’s various layers of subsidiaries, contractors, and insurers. This can make it more difficult to determine liability and what a victim should receive as compensation for their injuries.
A skilled attorney specializing in truck accidents can carefully analyze the accident report to identify the root cause of the collision. They can also contact eyewitnesses and get their statements as soon as possible before memories fade.
A trucking company can be liable for directly contributing to the accident by hiring unqualified drivers or failing to supervise their driving correctly. It can also be held liable for indirectly contributing to the accident by not maintaining the truck or its parts. In addition, it can be held liable by the truck freight company if it fails to load the cargo correctly or by the truck manufacturer for a design defect.
