Commercial trucks are vital for transporting goods across the country. However, these large vehicles also pose serious dangers when drivers are negligent. Truck accidents often result in catastrophic injuries and wrongful deaths. If you or a loved one has been harmed by a negligent truck driver, it’s important to understand your legal options for holding the at-fault parties accountable.
Causes of Truck Accidents
There are many factors that can contribute to truck accidents. Some common causes include:
- Driver Fatigue – Truckers often drive long hours with little rest, which significantly impairs their reaction time and judgement behind the wheel. Drowsy driving impairs reaction times and judgment.
- Speeding – Trucks require much longer stopping distances than passenger vehicles, so speeding in a loaded truck can take over 500 feet to come to a complete stop. Excessive speeding greatly increases the risks.
- Distracted Driving – Actions like texting, eating, or checking the GPS while driving divert the trucker’s attention from the road for several crucial seconds.
- Impaired Driving – Drug or alcohol use negatively affects the driver’s abilities and coordination, putting all motorists at risk.
- Poor Maintenance – Faulty equipment like bad brakes can cause a truck to lose control and crash without warning.
- Improper Loading – Improperly secured cargo can shift and destabilize the truck, causing it to overturn at even moderate speeds.
Liability for Truck Accidents
When a truck crash occurs, multiple parties may share responsibility. These can include:
- The Truck Driver – Drivers are obligated to operate safely and can be held liable for negligence if they make dangerous choices behind the wheel.
- Trucking Company – Trucking carriers must ensure drivers are properly trained and trucks well-maintained, and failure to do so can directly lead to catastrophic crashes. They can be sued for negligence if these duties are breached.
- Parts Manufacturers – If defective equipment like faulty brakes contributes to a crash, the maker can be held accountable for producing dangerous components.
- Loading Company – Improperly loaded cargo that causes an accident can lead to liability for the loading company or warehouse.
- Shippers – Companies that overload trucks beyond legal weight limits may share blame for imposing unsafe demands.
- Maintenance Company – If improper maintenance leads to critical equipment failure, the company responsible for servicing the truck can be liable.
Seeking Compensation for Your Losses
The negligent actions that cause truck wrecks often result in extensive damages for victims. Some common losses include:
- Medical Bills – Severe crashes typically result in emergency transport, hospitalization, surgeries, rehabilitation and ongoing care, which together can total hundreds of thousands of dollars.
- Lost Income – Injuries that disable accident victims from working lead to lost wages both now and in the future, which can add up to millions over a lifetime.
- Pain and Suffering – Catastrophic injuries like brain trauma, burns, paralysis or amputations greatly diminish one’s quality of life and must be compensated accordingly.
- Wrongful Death – Families who lose a loved one may recover compensation for funeral costs, lost companionship, grief, and the loss of the deceased’s expected earnings.
Holding the Responsible Parties Accountable
To obtain compensation for truck accident losses, injured victims or grieving families should consult an experienced attorney. An attorney can conduct a thorough investigation to identify all negligent parties by obtaining driver logs, maintenance records, telematics data, and witness statements.
If multiple companies or individuals shared blame, an attorney can file a lawsuit naming all as defendants. This ensures victims receive full compensation by tapping into multiple insurance policies. Even if the truck driver caused the crash, their employer, the trucking company, can still be held vicariously liable.
Experienced truck accident lawyers also understand how to calculate and prove all past and future accident damages. This is key to maximizing your financial recovery. An attorney will negotiate assertively on your behalf and take the case to trial if insurance companies do not offer fair settlements.
By holding all negligent parties fully accountable, truck accident victims can obtain the maximum amount of compensation entitled to them under the law. This provides vital funds to cover extensive medical bills, replace lost income, and secure your family’s financial future.
Pursuing Justice with a Dedicated Law Firm
If you or someone you love has been harmed in a truck crash, The Mass Injury Group has compassionate attorneys ready to help. We have successfully represented truck accident victims throughout the United States. We have the legal skills to build strong liability cases against even major trucking companies and manufacturers. We also handle all cases on a contingency fee basis, so you pay us nothing unless we win your case. To discuss your legal options in a free consultation, contact The Mass Injury Group today.
Visit our office at the following address: 15 Broad St #800 Boston, MA 02109
Or call now for a free consultation at (617) 263-0860