At the end of October, an Orlando truck driver died after he collided with a tree on the side of I-75 in Hernando County. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the driver was not wearing a seatbelt and died at the scene of the accident. There were no other injuries or fatalities.
While this was a one-vehicle accident and the driver of the truck was the only fatality, accidents with trucks account for hundreds of thousands of non-fatal accidents and many fatal accidents in this country every year. Truck accidents are especially dangerous because of the heavy loads they are carrying, meaning that trucks are less maneuverable, have trouble braking quickly and cause more damage when they strike regular vehicles.
Truck accidents create an especially tricky legal situation because of the number of parties that can exist in a truck accident case. Unlike a regular car accident where you may have just the other driver, or a driver and car owner, there could be many defendants in a truck accident case. Among the parties that could be potential parties to a truck accident case are the driver, the company that owns the truck, the company that loaded the truck, companies that provide maintenance on the truck and even the truck manufacturers. Each truck accident creates its own set of potential defendants, and potential insurers. This creates a special complexity to truck accidents that means that you need an attorney if you were involved in one.
Unlike with regular car accidents, many times when a truck is involved in an accident, the insurance company is quick to start its own investigation and may even show up at the scene to gather evidence. This could mean that insurance representatives could be especially pushy to get a statement from a truck accident victim as soon as possible. It also means that insurance companies representing the trucking company could try to pressure an injured party into settling quickly, before police have even completed an investigation and before an accident victim has a chance to find a lawyer.
While the Hernando County case was a single-vehicle accident, most truck accidents are much more complex and involve heavy damages. Because of the greater chanced of there being a severe injury or even a wrongful death associated with a truck accident, damages could be much higher. Some of what can be collected could be pain and suffering damages, property damages and, in the case of wrongful death, the cost of replacement services and funeral expenses.
Truck accidents could be caused by many things. The driver may be sleepy or distracted, the truck could have been overloaded and be too heavy, the truck could be poorly maintained and not function properly, there could even be a manufacturers defect with the truck that could have led to the accident. No matter what the cause of a truck accident, it is essential that a thorough investigation be done right away.
If you or a loved one was involved in an accident with a truck, contacting an attorney right away is a must. Overtime, the evidence that points to the conditions that caused the accident could disappear. Insurance companies could also pressure you into a quick settlement before you know what the full damages are. Hiring an attorney, like the ones at Brooks Law Group, means that an investigation into the truck accident can be started right away so you get the biggest award. Call the Brooks Law Group right away at 1-888-WE-MEAN-IT to schedule your free consultation.
