Any vehicle accident could lead to significant injury or death, but collisions between passenger vehicles and commercial trucks are especially hazardous. Trucks cause an outsized share of fatalities on Florida highways.
If you were in a crash that involved a tractor-trailer or another type of commercial truck, consult a local personal injury attorney immediately. They could analyze the accident and determine whether negligence had a role. If so, a Winter Garden truck accident lawyer could bring a claim for compensation against the potentially responsible parties.
Many truck accidents occur because these vehicles are difficult to drive. They have large blind spots on all four sides, requiring drivers to mentally keep track of all the surrounding traffic; they accelerate slowly and cannot stop suddenly, making it almost impossible to avoid hazards that appear without warning. Trucks handle sluggishly and can be unresponsive, especially in bad weather.
Overloading, shoddy loading, or excess weight could cause accidents. Load shift could cause a trailer to tip, resulting in a jackknife or rollover. Excess weight can distort the truck’s steering, break an axle, or cause a tire blowout.
A Winter Garden attorney could investigate the circumstances of a truck accident to identify the factors that led to the crash. If driver error, poor vehicle maintenance, or improper loading was a factor, then the driver, their employer, and even the company that loaded the cargo could be liable.
Because the vehicles are challenging, truck drivers must have significant training to get a commercial driver’s license (CDL). If a driver with a CDL breaks safety-based traffic laws such as speeding or driving while intoxicated, the driver faces harsher penalties than drivers with standard licenses. The enhanced penalties apply even if the trucker was driving a passenger vehicle when the infraction occurred.
In addition, the federal government limits the hours a trucker can be on duty and how much they can drive each day and week. Drivers must keep a log of their activity. A truck collision attorney in Winter Garden could subpoena the log to determine whether the driver adhered to the work rules. If not, and if driver fatigue could have contributed to the wreck, the driver and their employer could be liable for damages.
Similarly, if the driver’s training was inadequate or they had a poor safety record, the employer could be liable for negligent hiring. The employer could be liable for negligent entrustment even if the driver was an independent contractor, especially if a reasonable investigation would have shown that the driver had a bad driving record or a history of work rule violations.
A person who suffers injuries due to another party’s negligence is entitled to compensation called damages. Damages cover all the losses the person suffered due to their injury.
Truck accidents can cause catastrophic injuries to the surviving occupants of smaller vehicles. Monetary damages could cover all the expenses associated with the injuries, including hospitalization and surgery, rehabilitation services, prosthetic devices, durable medical equipment, and any therapies that could improve the injured person’s functioning and quality of life. Damages will reimburse the injured person’s lost wages and provide funds to supplement their diminished future earning capacity.
The injured person also receives damages for the intangible losses they suffer due to the accident, with the liable parties paying compensation for disfigurement, inconvenience, disability, pain, lost ability to enjoy life, and emotional suffering.
Truck crashes can produce devastating injuries that might change your life forever. When a trucking company puts its profits ahead of safety, the company must pay for the suffering of the innocent people they harm.
A Winter Garden truck accident lawyer could use their legal knowledge and negotiating skills to achieve a generous settlement. Call today to discuss your case with The Umansky Law Firm.