Boca Raton Truck ACCIDENT LAWYER
Semi-trucks are only responsible for a small number of motor vehicle accidents that happen each year. However, they also account for the most injuries and fatalities. This is because large commercial trucks, like semi-trucks and delivery vehicles, are so much larger and heavier than the passenger vehicles they share the road with. Because of this, when there is a collision, it’s usually the smaller vehicle’s driver who is injured or killed.
If you were injured in a semi-truck accident that was not your fault, you may be able to seek compensation for your injuries by filing a truck accident lawsuit. We are ready to help right now. GIve us a call at (561) 948-3700.
Filing a Semi-Truck Accident Lawsuit
Civil law allows for those that have suffered a severe injury as a result of another party's negligence to seek compensation for sustained damages. This legal field is known as personal injury law and can apply to injuries suffered because of car accidents and by extension, truck accidents. Seeking compensation for truck accident injuries often is accomplished through claims filed with the at-fault party’s insurance company or through a truck accident lawsuit.
Filing an insurance claim is typically the first action one takes in order to seek compensation. Florida has what is known as no-fault which means that those harmed in car accidents are supposed to seek coverage for their injuries via their own insurance coverage which often consists of personal injury protection. It is only when this coverage is exhausted that that one can seek compensation from the at-fault party’s insurance. In the case of truck accidents, injuries tend to be particularly severe and easily exhaust a person’s individual coverage.
Filing a claim with an at-fault party’s insurance usually consists of contacting the insurance company who will then open a file on the case and then evaluate the validity of the claim and the value of the damages claimed after which, they will contact the claimant about a settlement.
Truck Accident Lawsuits
Reaching a settlement out of court is the best-case scenario when seeking compensation after a truck accident. The alternative is filing a lawsuit against those liable for the accident which is a much more tedious and complicated process. Unfortunately, this can happen a bit more often with truck accidents than with car accident cases. Usually, both sides will want to do everything in their power to avoid a lawsuit since that would mean going to court which means court fees, uncertain outcomes, and a much longer process that can stretch over years after the initial accident.
Negotiating a settlement out of court is often in the best interest of both parties. However, truck accidents tend to cause particularly severe injuries which mean worse damages and very high case values that can go up into the millions of dollars. These increased stakes cause insurance companies to fight much harder to reduce the value of a claim or deny it outright on any basis possible. This increases the likelihood of settlement negotiations failing.
What Causes Semi-Truck Accidents?
Semi-trucks are some of the most difficult to handle vehicles on the road. Many semi-truck accidents are caused by a single mistake which is why tractor-trailers require more training and special certification before they can be operated. This makes the following common accident causes all the more dangerous and likely to lead to a collision.
Fatigue from driving long hours
Distracted driving
Driving under the influence
Poor background checks
Lack of training
Improper truck maintenance and inspection
Improper loading
Bad weather
Blindspots
How Dangerous Are Semi-Trucks
In 2019, there were 36,096 fatalities in motor vehicle traffic crashes of which 4,119 were the result of an accident involving a semi-truck. While this may be a smaller number, one must consider that semi-trucks account for only 2 million out of 284 million motor vehicles registered in 2019. This means that tractor-trailers contributed to about eleven percent of all accident fatalities that year despite only accounting for less than 2 percent of all registered vehicles in the United States.
This danger that semi-trucks pose is mostly due to their immense size and weight. The average semi-truck can end up weighing up to 80,000 pounds fully loaded and can span several car lengths long. All of this size and weight can make collisions with semi-trucks particularly damaging and can help increase the spread of the damage across the road. Debris from a truck can also fly loose and pose a threat as well. In many cases, semi-trucks trigger what are known as pileups where one collision starts a chain reaction of vehicles slamming into the initial accident causing more widespread destruction.
Semi-Truck Accident Types
Rear-end accidents
Jackknife Accidents
Rollover Accidents
Head-On Collisions
Sideswipe Accidents
Semi-Truck Accident Injuries
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Back and Neck Injuries
Broken/Fractured Bones
Psychological Disorders
Internal Injuries
Scarring/Disfigurement
Severe Lacerations and Contusions
Semi-Truck Accident Damages
The injuries inflicted by truck accident injuries are particularly severe and are known to disfigure, disable, and generally ruin lives if they do not manage to take them. These losses generated by injuries are known as damages. Truck accident injury damages will often consist of either economic or non-economic damages. The difference between the two of these types of damages lies in their tangibility and calculation.
Economic damages include things like medical bills, lost wages, and lost earning potential and consist of direct measurable financial losses. On the other hand, non-economic damages consist of intangible effects that do not have values that are easily calculated, like pain and suffering, mental anguish, etc. An attorney can assist you with identifying the damages you have suffered and can help you calculate and justify their value.
Common Damages in a Truck Accident Claim
Special damages (aka economic or compensatory damages):
Medical and hospital bills
Medical treatment costs
Physical therapy
Ambulance fee
Prescription drugs
In-home or nursing care
Medical equipment
Lost wages, missed bonuses, or other lost income
Increased living expenses
Property repair or replacement
Transportation
Domestic services, like house cleaning
To be awarded actual compensatory damages, the injury victim must be able to prove that the losses suffered equate to a monetary value. With damages, like the items listed above, this can be done with invoices, receipts, and wage statements.
The other type of damages, called general damages or non-economic damages, are a little harder to prove.
General damages (aka non-economic damages):
Pain and suffering
Mental anguish
Scarring and disfigurement
Future medical expenses
Future lost wages
Loss of earning capacity, for having to switch careers
Loss of quality of life
Loss of opportunity
Why You Should Hire a Truck Accident Lawyer
Increase the amount you recover: Hiring a truck accident lawyer dramatically increases the chances of you getting the full value of compensation for your case. Studies have shown that accident victims get an average of 3.5 times more money when they hire a lawyer, even after lawyer fees are removed.
Negotiate on your behalf: Many people end up being lowballed by insurance companies after accidents and take settlements significantly less than what they are actually owed. A personal injury attorney who specializes in truck accidents can handle all the negotiating for you using their experience and expertise.
Prevent mistakes from handling it on your own: Filing a lawsuit on your own often leads to a number of mistakes being made, like being lowballed, accidentally admitting fault, and sharing more information than necessary.
Understand your rights and options: Hiring an experienced truck accident lawyer will keep you informed of your rights and provide a number of other essential services needed to maximize the compensation you can receive from a settlement.
Investigate your claim properly: A truck accident attorney can investigate your accident, contact experts, retrieve video evidence, and use their resources to build the strongest case possible.
Relieve stress: Finally, hiring an attorney will prevent you from having to deal with all the stress that comes with pursuing an injury claim on your own. When you hire legal representation, you can focus on recovering while your lawyer handles the rest.
Speak to Truck Accident Lawyer Arye Corbett About Your Potential CLaim
If you or a loved one have been involved in an accident with a commercial tractor-trailer then don’t hesitate to contact the Law Offices of Arye P. Corbett. We are more than happy to discuss the details of your case and provide options regarding the kind of legal action available to you.
Arye Corbett is nationally recognized as one of the preeminent personal injury attorneys in the state of Florida and has provided legal representation to personal injury victims for over a decade.
Consider Arye to be not just your lawyer, but an ally in your fight for compensation for your damages. The Law Offices of Arye P. Corbett emphasizes close communication with clients, balanced with specialized and aggressive legal representation that has resulted in a long history of successful case results.
Contact us today by calling our office at (561) 948-3700 or filling out our contact form online.
2101 NW Corporate Blvd, Suite 410
Boca Raton, Florida 33431