It is very common for people that are sharing the road with commercial trucks to be uncomfortable and afraid. Commercial vehicles have larger blind spots, making it harder for them to see you, and they can be potentially dangerous if involved in an auto accident. Collisions with these large vehicles will cause tremendous damage, life-altering injuries, and in some cases, death. Some trucks carry hazardous materials that can ignite upon impact while others have heavy loads of lumber, construction materials, or consumer goods. Even a truck without a load has the potential to destroy everything in its path in an accident.
If you or a loved one have been in a commercial truck accident, it is important that you consult with a personal injury attorney. The Phoenix truck accident attorneys at Wyatt Injury Law work on a contingency fee. This means that you do not need to pay anything when you retain us unless we win your case. At that point, we would take a percentage of compensation as our attorney retainer fee. We offer free case evaluations to help you determine what your next steps need to be and review the legal fees and percentages that you’d pay for a winning settlement or verdict. Contact us today to speak with a Phoenix truck accident lawyer from our legal team.
According to Arizona truck accident statistics, there are many reasons commercial trucking accidents occur, though driver error is the most common reason. Truck accident cases tend to happen due to the following causes.
Truck drivers and drivers of passenger vehicles share the same main cause for motor vehicle collisions with distracted driving. However, unlike other motor vehicle collisions, truck crashes have far more devastating results. When a truck driver sends texts, eats, or does any other task while behind the wheel, they can’t be fully focused on the road ahead. It only takes a few seconds for an accident to happen when distracted, and in a commercial trucking accident, it can have deadly consequences. In these situations, Phoenix truck accident attorneys can help you recover financial compensation.
Owners of commercial trucking operations must ensure that their fleet of vehicles are road-ready and safe. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has established rules and regulations that specifically pertain to regular maintenance and inspection of commercial trucks. When a commercial truck accident occurs, an investigation may reveal that the truck driver lost control due to a system failure or tire blowout, something that could have been prevented if the proper protocols were followed. Our Phoenix truck accident lawyers have the resources to investigate when truck accidents are caused by a failure to adhere to these federal laws and will seek maximum compensation for your damages from the negligent trucking company.
An overloaded truck or a semi-truck with freight that is not loaded correctly is a huge danger on the road. When cargo loaders do not follow procedures for loading large trucks, it can cause a rollover truck accident.
With a huge demand for goods, the trucking industry is experiencing a huge surge of growth. Unfortunately, this also means there aren’t enough truck drivers to move freight across the country. Trucking companies are responsible for hiring and training practices that follow the FMCSA’s guidelines. A trucking company’s failure to train or conduct appropriate background checks can easily lead to inexperienced truck drivers on the road who may not know the best ways to avoid a truck accident.
A truck accident involving a drunk or drugged truck driver may mean that gross negligence applies. Large trucks outweigh and outsize other vehicles on the road, and truck drivers are responsible for obeying traffic laws. When they are negligent by being intoxicated while driving commercial trucks, tanker trucks, and other large trucks, it can cause catastrophic injuries for truck accident victims.
One of the most important regulations set by the FMCSA is the hours of service. Truck drivers must make sure that they only drive the mandated hours and then take their required rest break. Some trucking companies push their truckers to continue driving, using consequences or even rewards to motivate them. This illegal tactic means that sleepy truckers may doze off at the wheel and cause devastation in a truck crash. Our Phoenix truck accident lawyers will work tirelessly to hold the trucking companies and drivers accountable for these negligent actions.
In some truck accident cases, reckless driving is a factor. Whether pressure from the trucking company to make a delivery is causing the truck driver to speed or they are behaving aggressively on their own accord, it can cause truck accidents to happen.
Some Arizona truck accident claims arise because debris in the road from construction work, potholes, and poor signage cause a tractor trailer accident. When these types of traffic accidents occur, they can be even more complicated than an ordinary commercial trucking accident because they will involve government entities who have a responsibility to maintain the roads.
While it’s true that no one can control the weather, a truck driver has a responsibility to adjust their driving to suit the conditions of the road. Rain, snow, ice, and hail can make this job even more challenging. However, when truck drivers do not slow down in these conditions or drive erratically, our Phoenix truck accident attorneys will hold them accountable for injured truck accident victims.
Often, truck accident victims may not even know what happened to them. Many accident victims wake up in the hospital after the accident occurred. At Wyatt Injury Law, we are committed to helping you with your truck accident claim and pursuit of fair compensation. Contact a Phoenix truck accident lawyer from our law firm to schedule a free consultation to discuss your truck accident case.
Truck accidents are so much more complicated than car accidents, motorcycle accidents, or other motor vehicle accidents. As a truck accident victim, you will want a Phoenix truck accident lawyer to help you navigate the legal process because the added complexities will make it harder for you to handle your truck accident case on your own.
It’s important to understand that injuries from truck accidents are more likely to be severe in nature. These injuries may permanently affect your life and require ongoing medical care. You need Phoenix truck accident lawyers who understand this and who can properly calculate your future medical bills and expenses.
Due to the large amount of money at stake, trucking companies as well as the insurance company will be fighting to minimize the payout. They may try to claim that you caused the accident or that your injuries aren’t as serious as you claim to reduce the amount they will pay.
Both state and federal regulations for the trucking industry will require lengthy investigations. They will look into the records for the trucking company and accident reconstruction specialists will need to be brought in to analyze the truck crash.
Many trucking companies work together with other parties such as shipping, cargo, parts and maintenance, and many more. A trucking company may try to shift the blame to another party to avoid being held responsible for your damages.
Experienced truck accident attorneys know to look for layered policies with a trucking insurance company. These policies usually aren’t available until the first one is used up the limits of the coverage.
The Phoenix truck accident lawyers at Wyatt Injury Law are well-versed in these complexities and prepare for them in all trucking accident claims. Schedule a free initial consultation with a Phoenix truck accident attorney from our legal team to learn more about your legal options.
If you were in an accident that was caused by a commercial vehicle, you may be wondering who is supposed to pay. Arizona law follows an at-fault insurance model, which requires the driver who is at fault to be held responsible for the damages caused.
Unlike car accidents where the vehicle is owned by the driver, this commercial vehicle crash may have many more liable parties than a typical auto accident.
Truck driver negligence is generally the most common reason listed on accident reports. Commercial drivers must follow federal law requirements as well as traffic laws. When a trucker’s actions or inactions are negligent, they can be held liable for commercial truck crashes.
In addition to the commercial truck driver, trucking companies are often named in these lawsuits. When trucking companies do not follow the regulations for large trucks by forcing commercial truck drivers to continue driving beyond their hours of service, not maintaining the trucks, or failing to train drivers, they will also be liable for trucking accidents.
Shipping companies are a third-party who may have liability in your truck accident. If the cargo loaders don’t follow the rules for loading the truck and the load shifts, causing a crash, they can also be liable for your financial compensation.
Defects in the truck itself or any of the parts used to repair or maintain them may also mean that product liability is an issue. A truck accident lawyer from our legal team can investigate to determine if this was a factor in your crash.
When a large truck is involved in an accident, there may be many more other at-fault parties as well. Government entities may be liable for not maintaining the roads. Mechanics may have been negligent in their repairs. The driver of another vehicle involved in the wreck could have cut in front of the truck, causing the accident. In any accident involving a large truck, you need a Phoenix truck accident attorney who will diligently investigate and pursue the full and fair amount of compensation you deserve.
Truck accidents can be tragic events and it is important that you know the steps you must take after you or a loved one is involved in a truck accident. Some of the steps you should take are:
Contact The Wyatt Injury Law Team: Before you contact the insurance companies, contact our team first for legal representation. Insurance companies are always focused on their bottom line of profits and will strategically work to pay accident victims as little money as possible. Taking advantage of our free consultation will save you money in the long run and our team will handle speaking with the insurance companies for you at no cost. You will have one less thing to worry about when you let our attorneys do what we do best, which is to fight for the rights of victims in truck accidents.
In addition to knowing what to do when you are in a truck accident, in the days and weeks that follow, you need to protect your legal rights. Trucking companies and their insurers all have teams of litigators working to protect them in the event the driver of a large truck in their fleet gets into a wreck. You should protect yourself as well to ensure that you get the settlement you deserve.
Any experienced personal injury lawyer will tell you that you must always follow the medical treatment plans detailed by your doctors. Delaying or deferring treatment can be used against you by these other entities. If the surgeon at the hospital who operated on you when you were brought into the emergency room refers you to different specialists, schedule those appointments promptly.
Follow the full course of every treatment, even for prescriptions. You may be feeling a bit better, but if you don’t take medications as prescribed, it can be twisted by the attorneys representing the trucker, trucking company, and other third parties to cast doubt on the severity of your injuries.
From your medical bills to your lost wages, make sure you keep an organized file of all the expenses and financial losses you’ve incurred as a result of this truck accident. Your truck accident lawyer can ensure that everything is calculated properly to get the right amount of compensation.
While it is easier to prove that you suffered injuries, lost your wages, had property damage, and accrued other out-of-pocket expenses associated with the accident, it is harder to prove the mental and emotional impact. Your truck accident lawyer can help prove that pain and suffering, mental anguish, and emotional trauma should be compensated as well if you document how you feel in a journal.
You may also be advised to work with a mental health professional for the emotional distress and mental anguish you have endured. By keeping a journal about your level of pain and how it has affected your life, it can pinpoint the degree to which your injuries have affected and changed your life.
If you have tried to handle the aftermath alone without an accident lawyer, you may have already discovered that accident claims involving trucks are difficult to manage on your own. Your injuries are likely painful and the stress of trying to figure out what needs to happen next will affect your road to recovery.
It is important that you act quickly after these types of events because the more time that passes, the less likely it will be that the evidence will remain. Additionally, witnesses may leave the area for many reasons. They may have only been visiting Phoenix, or they may move away. Even if they are still in the local area, they may forget crucial details about what they witnessed.
Additionally, the statute of limitations also puts a time limit on how long you have to file your lawsuit. You will have 2 years from the date of this trucking accident to start these proceedings. It may sound like plenty of time, but much of that will have already passed while you are in the hospital recovering or making calls to the insurer.
Certain circumstances may grant you an extended period to file, though others, such as cases that involve government entities, may shorten your time. You won’t have to worry when you have a truck accident attorney with Wyatt Injury Law working for you. Our legal team will take over the legal documents and file everything before the deadline.
Since accidents involving trucks have many more working parts, it is in your best interests to work with a lawyer who knows what it takes to fight the trucking company and insurer. At Wyatt Injury Law, we have what it takes to help you through this difficult time in your life. We will aggressively fight for justice on your behalf.
Here is what we can do for you when you’re involved in a truck accident.
While you do not need an attorney to help you with an insurance claim in minor accidents, such as a fender bender with another car, you will not want to be without one for a claim with a truck. You should be focused on healing from your injuries rather than being interrogated for an accident you didn’t cause.
We start right away with the trucking company’s insurer and look for layered policies to make sure they cover all of your damages. When you have a lawyer filing your claim and negotiating with the insurer from the start, it prevents them from being able to ask leading questions that could be used against you to lower your settlement.
After a serious truck accident, it is important that the attorney you decide to work with investigates and collects evidence to help you with your claim. Some of the evidence items that your lawyer will track down for you include:
In cases like these, the evidence alone isn’t always enough to win a settlement or verdict. We have the resources to bring in experts that can provide this level of testimony. These experts have specialized knowledge in their respective fields.
Medical experts may be brought in to detail the extent of your injuries and how they impact your life. Accident reconstructionist experts can recreate the accident and pinpoint the cause. Truck mechanics, engineers, and road design professionals may also be useful, depending on the factors of your case.
Since accidents with trucks may involve several different liable parties, we will review our investigation and evidence to identify them all. From the trucker to the company who employed this driver and from the cargo loaders to the mechanics, we will determine who is responsible for your injuries and pursue them for compensation.
Contact Wyatt Injury Law today and get in touch with our attorneys. Our responsive legal team will always keep you informed about your case and will relieve your stress when navigating the legal process.
Your financial losses are bound to be extreme in a truck accident. Our attorneys will work to calculate the full extent of your damages from this traumatic event. These damages are the most common in accidents with commercial vehicles:
Every expense required to help you heal from your injuries can be sought in your claim. Your ambulance ride, hospital stay, surgeries, medications, rehabilitation, physical therapy, and in-home care or modifications can be tallied up and calculated for your case.
Unfortunately, the extreme size and weight of trucks is a factor in the severity of injuries. You may need constant care for your injuries or specialized medical devices for the rest of your life.
When you are unable to work, it further adds burden to your financial situation. Normally, you’d have income coming in on a regular basis to pay for your usual household expenses. This type of accident may have you out of work for weeks or months to recover from your injuries.
Some victims are unable to ever work again, and the loss of your employment potential and earnings can be factored into your settlement to help provide for your family.
Property damage for your vehicle may require repairs though will likely need a full replacement, depending on the factors of the crash. We will make sure the liable parties cover this for you.
In the blink of an eye, this truck accident could take away the things that brought you joy and purpose. Disabilities will force you to change the way you live. Disfigurements could cause you embarrassment and to lose your confidence. You may have been active in sports or hobbies, or even loved playing with your children or grandchildren. When negligence is a factor in a truck accident and these things are suddenly ripped from your life, it is absolutely devastating. These impacts that you are forced to endure should be fully compensated in a fair and just way.
In the event that this truck accident has robbed you of a loved one who lost their life, we know that your world will never be the same. If you were in the vehicle too, you may be grappling with grief and survivor’s guilt at the same time. We know this is a painful and traumatic time for you, and our goal is to ease this burden. Money will never replace the void left behind from this loss, but it can help reduce the financial stress of this experience.
The Wyatt Injury Law legal team focuses on providing an excellent client experience while working to achieve the best possible outcome. When you choose Wyatt Injury Law to represent you, you will work directly with attorney Justin Wyatt who has vast experience in getting the most compensation for his clients in injury cases.
Our legal team has seen the devastating toll these types of accidents can take on victims. It isn’t fair that you should have your life completely altered and be left with expenses that can undo your financial standing. We pursue with diligence and aggression to command compensation while providing compassion service to our clients.
Our firm primarily serves the areas of Phoenix, Glendale, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and other areas around Maricopa County. If you or a loved one have been injured in a truck, auto, or motorcycle accident in Arizona, contact us today for a free case evaluation.
