How To Avoid Negligent Truck Accidents?
Truck accidents are different from ordinary car accidents. The damage is often catastrophic, and the legal cases are more complex. Hiring an experienced attorney gives you the best chance of recovering compensation for your injuries, pain and suffering, lost wages and other damages.
If you have been injured in a truck accident, you should know that there are three types of liability that could apply to your case: negligence (if another driver’s actions caused the accident), vicarious liability (if you were injured by a negligent third party), and strict liability (if you were injured because of a faulty product).
Determining who is liable in a truck accident case is one of the most critical issues in any accident case. In order to be successful, your abogada Accidentes de camiones Miami must be able to prove that the truck driver or other parties were negligent. The trucking company might be liable for any damages related to its equipment or vehicle, including defective brakes or tires. If this is the case, then those damages will be paid by the insurance company on behalf of the trucking company. You may also be able to recover damages from any other parties involved in causing your accident—including other drivers who failed to yield right-of-way or pedestrians who stepped into traffic without looking both ways first!
Sometimes, trucking companies will try to claim that a trucker they employ is an independent contractor to try to get out of being sued. But independent contractors must meet very specific conditions under employment and tax laws. If a truck company is paying employment taxes, such as Social Security, Medicare and federal unemployment taxes, then the trucker is an employee, not a contractor.
Trucking accidents can be caused by a number of factors, including speeding, carelessness while driving, fatigue and impairment. Distracted driving is also a common cause of trucking accidents, as well as improper cargo loading or equipment failure or defects.
According to an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study, three-quarters of trucks involved in crashes in North Carolina had vehicle defects that were identified during inspections after the accidents. The study also confirmed that driver fatigue is a big contributor to crashes: those who had driven 12 hours or more since an extended sleep period were nearly 86 percent more likely to be involved in an accident.
There are three things to know about truck accident cases:
- They can happen at any time between the accident and the trial verdict. The sooner you get an attorney involved, the better.
- There is a huge range of settlement amounts, depending on factors like whether there were injuries, who caused the accident, and how much property damage occurred.
- The trucking company’s insurance coverage may not cover all of it—if you have to pay out of pocket for medical costs or other damages such as lost wages or vehicle repair costs, your attorney will work with you to make sure you receive compensation for those expenses as well. Always consult a Truck Accident Lawyer Miami before filing a lawsuit.
