Truck accidents tend to result in catastrophic or fatal injuries. The sheer size and mass of a truck makes the damage that much more serious and devastating. This is especially the case when a collision involves the truck that is travelling at expressway speeds or high speeds. Often, we see that when a large truck collides with a smaller passenger vehicle, it is the occupants of the smaller vehicle who suffer significant injuries. According to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS), 3,852 people died in large truck accidents in 2015. Sixteen percent of those deaths involved truck occupants, 69 percent were occupants of cars and other passenger vehicles and 15 percent were pedestrians, bicyclists or motorcyclists.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a truck accident or if you have lost a loved one in such an accident, there are certain aspects of truck accident cases about which you should be aware. Truck accident cases are unique in some ways because of the different parties involved and the type of evidence that is collected.
1. Collecting evidence after a truck accident is critical.
Trucking companies are required under the law to retain important documents after an accident. However, if you don’t request that these crucial documents be preserved, they may be legally destroyed after the retention period has passed. For example, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requires truck drivers to maintain logs of hours worked. These hours-of-service records must be retained for six months.
These log books can tell us whether the truck driver may have been fatigued at the time of the crash. The trucking company is also required to keep vehicle maintenance records, which will show when the vehicle was last checked, what parts were fixed or not fixed and whether a vehicle part was damaged and not repaired. This type of evidence may play an important part if the truck accident was caused by lack of vehicle maintenance such as brake failure. An experienced truck accident lawyer can help prevent such documents from being destroyed by submitting a formal request to preserve the documents.
2. Truck companies are required to carry insurance.
Under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, interstate trucking companies are required to maintain at least $750,000 in liability coverage. If the carrier transports hazardous materials, the insurance limits are even higher. Intrastate motor carriers are governed by the state in which they operate and often the minimum limits of coverage are significantly higher than those required for regular vehicles. In the case of tractor-trailers, where the same company does not own the tractor and trailer, there is usually separate coverage on the trailer that acts as secondary coverage to the tractor.
3. You can seek damages for your injuries and losses from the at-fault parties.
When a truck accident occurs, the truck driver and his employer – the trucking firm or a large parent corporation may be held accountable for the injuries, damages and losses caused. There are several other parties that may also be held liable in a truck accident case. An experienced New York truck accident lawyer will be able to help victims and their families identify these parties and hold them accountable.
Injured victims of these accidents can seek compensation for damages including, but not limited to, medical expenses, lost income and benefits, hospitalization, rehabilitation, permanent injuries, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc. Families of deceased victims can also seek compensation by filing what is known as a wrongful death lawsuit.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been injured in a truck accident, or if you have lost a loved one in an auto accident caused by a negligent driver, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you.
For over 49 years, our skilled accident attorneys have established a proven track record of helping injured victims get fair compensation for their losses. Our law firm recently recovered $5,600,000 for a bicyclist who was hit by a van, and $2,550,000 for another victim of a truck accident, and $3,000,000 for a pedestrian who was hit by a car, and the full $1,000,000 insurance policy for a pedestrian who was hit by a truck, and $4,625,000 for a driver who was in a car and was hit by a van, and $2,500,000 for a man who fell through an improperly secured hole.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
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