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A collision with a tractor-trailer can cause severe injuries to anyone in a smaller vehicle. In fact, truck accidents cause a disproportionate share of highway fatalities.
Just as concerning, trucking companies aggressively defend their drivers. Their insurers do everything possible to avoid making a reasonable settlement with a person whose injuries could impact their life forever.
Contact a seasoned personal injury attorney immediately if you or a loved one were injured in a truck crash. A Lawrence truck accident lawyer knows the industry and how to get the payouts that injured people deserve.
Most accidents result from someone’s negligence and truck accidents are no exception. A large study the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration revealed that truck driver error contributed to 87 percent of the truck crashes that caused injury or accidental death.
Trucks are difficult to handle, and drivers must be well-trained, skilled, and alert. Drivers must obey strict work hours rules to ensure they get adequate rest and do not drive while fatigued. A momentary distraction could result in a massive collision.
Unfortunately, pressure to make deliveries on time sometimes induces drivers to ignore work-hour rules or drive at unsafe speeds, increasing the possibility of a crash. A poorly maintained or overloaded vehicle could blow a tire, break an axle, or cause its brakes or steering to fail. A Lawrence attorney knows how to look for evidence that truck driver error or trucking company negligence caused a crash.
Trucks are dangerous because they are so much larger than the other vehicles on the road. When a passenger car, SUV, or even a small truck collides with a tractor-trailer at high speeds, the smaller vehicle is often destroyed and its occupants severely injured.
Deep cuts and bruises, fractures, damage to internal organs, and even traumatic amputations are common in truck accidents. Depending on the victim’s position in the vehicle, they could suffer severe facial injuries. Traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries leading to paralysis are often a tragic result of a truck accident.
Apart from the physical damage, a truck accident often causes severe emotional trauma and might lead to symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which could also be compensated for.
When a truck gets into a crash that causes injuries, investigators from the trucking company are typically on the scene quickly. They aim to collect evidence that directs blame away from the truck driver and toward other involved parties.
A Lawrence tractor-trailer collision attorney could build the most robust case against the company and its driver if they get involved soon after the wreck. Some tasks a legal professional could complete immediately include the following:
If an accident victim waits to engage legal counsel, some evidence might be lost, eroded, or destroyed before they can review it.
Indiana Code § 34-11-2-4 allows an injured person only two years to file a claim seeking damages after a truck accident. When someone is recovering from severe injuries, two years can go by quickly. In such cases, they benefit from engaging an attorney immediately and allowing them to handle all issues related to insurance coverage, medical bills, and compiling evidence to support the claim.
The commercial transportation industry is powerful and an injured person needs aggressive legal counsel. A Lawrence truck accident lawyer has the skills and experience to take on the trucking companies and win.
Do not try to manage this claim without McCready Law at your side. Call today to schedule a consultation.