Law Associates
When you are taking the truck, you are placing a certain level of trust in the driver, the company, and other drivers on the road. Naturally, you may believe that the truck you are traveling in is well maintained and is being driven by someone who has been properly trained. When this trust has been breached, and an accident occurs, you might sustain serious, even life-changing, injuries.
Following a truck accident, you might be concerned about how all of your financial losses will be covered. Since you were not in your own vehicle, will your insurance coverage pays for your medical care? Will the trucking company reimburse you for lost wages?
Experienced truck accident lawyers are able to successfully help the victims of truck collisions for decades. They understand how complicated these cases may be and can help to investigate what happened, who is responsible, and to what extent of injuries you suffered. If you have a claim, they will do our best to help you recover maximum damages.
Truck Accidents in the U.S.
Although truck accidents are not as common as car accidents, or even truck accidents, they do happen. According to data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, there were at least 15,000 truck accidents in 2015. This resulted in 24,000 injured people and 257 fatalities. Of these, 47 people who died were occupants on the truck. Sadly, many of these accidents involved school trucks, followed by public transport trucks, and commercial trucks respectively. As a truck accident lawyer, we believe statistics like these are unacceptable and will fight hard to protect victims’ rights.
Primary Causes of Truck Accidents
Truck accidents can happen for any number of reasons, and most are similar to those of other car accidents:
Distracted Driving – As one of the leading causes of accidents in the United States, driving while on the phone, using social media, or communicating through a CB radio is all too common.
Falling Asleep at the Wheel – Truck drivers may spend several hours behind the wheel, and like other driver operating a vehicle for long periods of time, they may become drowsy and fall asleep and the wheel.
Mechanical Errors/ Defective Parts – A trucking company has a duty to ensure the truck is working and all parts are properly functioning. A truck accident lawyer will check to see if the company failed to maintain the truck or was using defective parts.
Driver Error – Trucks are not easy to drive. When a driver lacks training or experience, or otherwise makes an error, they may cause an accident.
Who May Be Responsible
As an injured occupant or motorist involved in a truck accident, you may be facing extensive injuries that could take months or years to recover from. Furthermore, if the injury prevents you from working, you may worry about paying your bills or other expenses. As a truck accident lawyer might explain to you, the following parties may be liable:
- The driver of the truck
- The trucking company
- A manufacturing company
- The driver of another car
- The local government
- The school district
Who will cover your bills will largely depend on who is responsible and whether or not you have car insurance. Questions can be explained in further detail by a truck accident lawyer.
Thank you to the experts at MartinWren, P.C. for their input into truck accidents.
