A car accident can cause you to miss weeks of work, undergo painful surgeries, and cope with daily losses to your physical and emotional health. But if you are in an accident with a semi-truck, delivery truck, or other large commercial vehicle, the chances that you will be incapacitated due to your injury increase several times over—and in some cases, victims may never recover from a crash.
Truck Accidents Are Very Different From Smaller Car Crashes
Semi collisions will typically cause drivers of passenger cars to suffer increased injuries, permanent disabilities, or even death in the event of an accident. Our truck crash legal team is well-versed in the laws pertaining to truck safety, liability, and insurance negotiations, making it possible for you to focus on healing rather than on legal details. We keep you informed throughout the entire process, helping you to understand your rights and maximize your compensation. If you have been injured in a truck crash or if you have lost a loved one in a commercial truck accident, contact the McGartland Law Firm today.
Victims are at a significant disadvantage in truck accident cases due to:
- Increased size and weight of semi trucks. Victims in truck-related accidents often suffer substantial injuries due to the size and power of commercial trucks. These crashes are more likely to cause traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, paralysis, coma, and fatal injuries, and often result in extensive and ongoing medical expenses for victims and their families.
- Insurance rules. Trucking companies are required to carry insurance to cover the costs of accidents they are responsible for, but these companies will do almost anything to avoid paying out. An adjuster may arrive on the scene of the crash to gather evidence to deny a claim, while the victim’s own insurance company may deny or delay full payment for injuries. As your legal representatives, we can help you maximize your injury claim and protect you from dishonest insurance companies.
- Trucking company tactics. The company responsible for your trucking accident may be liable for injuries caused by improper truck maintenance, lack of safety inspections, equipment malfunction, and other mechanical issues that increased the chances of an accident. However, rather than admit fault, trucking companies will offer lowball settlements to victims to get them to agree to far less compensation than they are rightfully owed.
Truckers Are Often At Fault for a Devastating Semi Accident
Truck drivers are under enormous pressure to deliver their goods on time. Although there are strict federal regulations dictating what drivers can and cannot do, truckers may ignore these safety laws in favor of meeting deadlines. Here are just a few truck driver actions that can place road users at risk:
- Distracted driving. Truckers spend many hours behind the wheel, and may attempt to take their mind off the road by texting, talking on a cellphone, eating, fiddling with GPS devices, listening to radios and personal audio players, or even watching TV or surfing the web while driving.
- Drowsy driving. Truck drivers must adhere to strict rules called hours-of-service regulations to make sure they do not fall asleep or become too drowsy while driving. Going over these limits can cause microsleeping, highway hypnosis, and fatigue that can lessen reaction times and make accidents more likely.
- Reckless or impaired driving. Speeding, tailgating, aggressive maneuvers, failure to signal, late braking, and driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol all constitute reckless driving.
- Improper safety inspections. Drivers are supposed to perform safety checks on all of their equipment before setting off on a delivery. Overloaded cargo, worn brakes, thinning tires, and broken or missing mirrors are only a few safety issues that can cause a collision with a smaller vehicle.
Both truckers and trucking companies can be held responsible for injuries that are caused by their drivers. An investigation into company records may discover that a commercial carrier engaged in negligent hiring practices, such as inadequate driver training, failing to conduct background checks and drug testing, accepting invalid driver credentials, and failure to ensure compliance with hours-of-service regulations. It is vital that your attorney perform a full investigation of the trucking company to see whether you could be owed additional damages.
We Fight on Your Behalf While You Take Time to Heal
Truck accident victims often need months or even years to fully recover from their injuries, and would rather concentrate on healing than fighting for their rights in court. Unfortunately, the more time that passes after a crash, the more likely it is that vital evidence will be destroyed, significantly decreasing your chances of receiving fair compensation.
The McGartland Law Firm has been fighting aggressively for injured clients for over twenty-five years. When we take on your truck accident case, we take responsibility for all legal matters and communication between you, the trucking company, and the insurance agents. We give you the time you need to recover in peace, while we get to work building your best case—and do not collect legal fees unless we win compensation for you. Simply call the number on this page to have our legal team begin working for you.