As the victim of an auto accident, you have the right to seek compensation for injuries caused by a negligent driver. However, when your accident involves a negligent commercial truck driver, additional trucking laws, complex insurance policies, and legal opposition from large companies can create unexpected challenges in your litigation process.
The Fitzgerald Law Firm is recognized as one of Wyoming’s top personal injury law firms for catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases, many of which stem from commercial truck accidents. Among the firm’s many significant case results, our attorneys hold the record for the largest verdicts ever upheld on appeal in Wyoming for injuries and wrongful death.
Jim Fitzgerald is board-certified in Trucking Accident Law based on experience and testing. There are only two lawyers in Wyoming under this certification.
Continue reading to learn about the critical differences between passenger vehicle accidents and truck accidents and how these differences can affect your claim and subsequent litigation.
What Makes a Truck Accident Different?
There are several critical differences between handling the legal aspects of a standard car crash and a truck accident. From the size and shape of a commercial vehicle to the aggressive legal teams representing large trucking companies, a truck accident claim must be approached and handled differently than a standard crash involving two passenger vehicles.
Severity
Truck accidents are typically more damaging than a two-car crash, leading to a greater chance of fatality, life-threatening injuries, and catastrophic injuries that require immediate medical attention.
Commercial trucks are typically 20 to 30 times larger than a standard passenger vehicle, weighing up to 80,000 pounds when fully loaded. Their immense size and speed can cause severe damage in a collision when traveling at highway speeds, far surpassing the damage caused by another passenger vehicle. The larger and faster a truck is, the more distance it requires to come to a complete stop. For example, a semi-truck moving at 55 miles per hour would take about six seconds to stop, covering an additional 512 feet.
A 2023 study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety/Highway Loss Data Institute found that vehicles with a higher and more vertical front end are 45% more likely to cause fatalities when an accident occurs. When assessing the elements of an accident involving a large commercial truck, your attorneys and investigators must consider the physical specifications of the truck, its load, speed, and other factors. Make sure you find an extremely experienced truck accident attorney with a success record who has the understanding and resources to navigate the layers of complexity at an accident scene.
Determining Liability
Shared liability between drivers, truck companies, brokers, and manufacturers is a unique challenge contributing to truck accident lawsuit complications, requiring the plaintiff’s attorney to conduct extensive investigations, research, and witness interviews to determine where liability should fall.
In many cases, negligence is not singular to the truck driver but may involve numerous factors, people, and organizations. Improper training or improper equipment handling on behalf of the trucking company, over-loading or inappropriate loading of the vehicle, or improper maintenance of the vehicle’s mechanical features, including breaking gear, electrical, and hydraulic systems, can all cause catastrophic accidents and place the public at risk.
Causes
Like any auto accident, speeding or distracted, tired, or impaired driving are common causes of severe or deadly crashes. Truck drivers and transport companies must also abide by strict state and federal regulations and roadway laws, including maintaining accurate driving logs and managing service hours.
Driver fatigue remains one of the most preventable causes of trucking accidents. Truck drivers can experience extreme exhaustion due to the long hours spent behind the wheel and the pressure to complete drives on schedule. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration mandates breaks and periods of non-driving time for truck drivers. Drivers who break this law are more likely to cause an accident.
Driver awareness is paramount when operating a commercial truck, and comprehensive driver training is essential to maintaining road safety. Inexperienced, poorly-trained drivers can be a liability on the roadway. Specialized licensures and hours of experience are necessary to gain the expertise and understanding of potential roadway hazards. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of a trucking company to hire and train appropriately licensed and experienced drivers to drive for their company, and failure to do so can result in liability.
Truck Companies & Their Insurance Policies
While passenger vehicle accidents typically involve the everyday insurance policies of both drivers, a lawsuit against a commercial truck driver often involves a significant corporation with vast resources, legal teams, and aggressive insurance adjusters focused on minimizing or avoiding a substantial settlement for the victims. Working with an experienced truck accident attorney is crucial, as they possess the expertise and resources to advocate for your rights effectively and help you seek justice.
Hire A Top Wyoming Personal Injury Firm
The Fitzgerald Law Firm is devoted to helping individuals and their families suffering from catastrophic injuries or incidents of wrongful death seek justice and compensation for their injuries. We are a top Wyoming Personal Injury Law Firm and are highly selective in the cases we accept, ensuring the team has the resources and availability to fight for victims of the most catastrophic events through trial.
Among our many results, The Fitzgerald Law Firm represented a family in the wrongful death of their 57-year-old husband and father, who was killed by a truck that violated numerous federal regulations. A United States District Court Jury awarded the family $1,700,000.
Contact us today to initiate a free case consultation and learn how The Fitzgerald Law Firm can help you or your family on a path to recovery.