Truck accidents can cause severe injuries or even fatalities. Learn about how you can recover if you’ve been hurt in a truck accident.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the number of large trucks involved in accidents involving injuries is steadily increasing. In 2014, the number of trucks involved in accidents that caused injuries increased to 88,000—a jump of 21 percent from 73,000 accidents in 2013. In that same year, there were 346,000 trucks involved in accidents causing only property damage (an increase of 31 percent) and 3,744 truck accidents causing fatalities (a decrease of 5 percent from 2013).
Truck accidents are a major problem on our roadways because they are more common and because the injuries that they cause tend to be far more severe. Truck accidents can cause permanent or life-threatening injuries, or even death. People involved in truck accidents may need to be hospitalized for a substantial period of time, missing work, and they may require ongoing medical treatment. This raises an important question: if you are involved in an accident with a big rig, who pays?
When Is The Truck Company Financially Responsible?
In many cases, it can be difficult to prove that the truck driver was at fault for an accident. That is why it is so important to have an experienced truck accident attorney representing you. They can investigate the crash and put together the best possible case to maximize your chances of the truck company being found financially responsible for the accident and your losses as a result of it.
The truck driver is at fault for a crash if it occurred due to the negligence, reckless behavior, or deliberate act of the driver. This can be hard to prove, but there are many factors that may come into play to show that either the driver or the trucking company itself was negligent and that this negligence caused the accident. Negligence is the failure to express an ordinary level of care that a reasonable person would express in a similar situation. If someone’s negligence led to an accident or injury, then that person is responsible for the loss. In the case of a truck driver, the driver himself, his employer, or other parties may be responsible for the loss.
Truck drivers are under increased pressure to deliver goods on a tight time schedule. This may account for the rise in big rig accidents shown in the NHTSA statistics above. If a trucking company sets unreasonable goals for its drivers so that they have to speed, go without sleep, or otherwise drive unsafely to meet those goals, then their negligence may have caused the accident. If the driver was not following traffic laws or engaging in any sort of unsafe behavior, then he may be at fault for the accident.
Of course, trucking companies and their insurers do not want to give out large settlements to people who have been injured in truck accidents. It can be both difficult and frustrating to get the money that you deserve for your losses, which is why hiring a seasoned truck accident attorney is so important. The lawyer can investigate the accident, negotiate with the different insurance companies involved, and if necessary, take the case to trial to prove who was at fault for the accident.
If you have been hurt in a truck accident, you do not have to go through the legal process alone. Contact the Law Offices of Larry H. Parker today at 800-333-0000 or info@larryhparker.com to schedule a free initial consultation. We will fight hard to make sure that you get the compensation that you deserve for your injuries — and we will never charge you a fee unless we are able to recover money for you.
