The company is responsible for servicing and maintaining the vehicles, so a busted tire or a faulty brake system is on them.
A 9-year old Louisiana boy was seriously injured after being hit by a dump truck as he was getting off the school bus on October 7, 2021. What are the odds of that happening? Truck accidents account for just 6.2% of all the injury crashes in Louisiana, according to a 2017 report. That year, 2,719 people ended up in the hospital following an accident involving a large truck or a bus. That’s more than 7 people injured every single day.
If you or another member of your family were recently involved in such a crash, you should get in touch with the best truck accident lawyers in Louisiana to make sure justice is done and you get the damages you deserve. Truck accidents often result in significant injuries, such as back or spine damage, broken bones, or traumatic brain injury. These types of injuries require prolonged medical care and rehabilitation programs. Even whiplash, though not life-threatening, can cause debilitating pain and leave you unable to work and provide for your family. Who’s going to compensate you for these losses?
When you reach out to experienced truck accident lawyers in Lafayette or anywhere else in Louisiana, they will offer you a free review of your case. They’ll have a look at your medical file, the police report and they’ll listen to your account of the accident. With an accident causing substantial losses, seasoned truck accident lawyers always try to identify the best source to get you adequate damages. Your insurance policy might not even cover the sort of damages you’ve sustained after a truck accident, so you need an alternate source to get money.
You have two options here – going after the truck driver or after the trucking company itself. Or both. To go after either of them you need to prove there was some sort of negligence on their part.
Most car accidents in the US are caused by distracted drivers and digital devices play an important part in that. Commercial drivers are not allowed to text while they’re on the road, nor are they allowed to hold or reach for the phone to make a call. If that’s the case, you can make a claim against the truck driver’s insurance, as this is a clear case of negligence.
However, if the accident is caused by the fact that the driver is inexperienced or drowsy, your lawyers can build a solid case against the company. If the company failed to check that the driver has a valid Commercial Driver’s Licence or to provide adequate training, they can be held accountable for the damages their employee causes. Likewise, if the driver had been on the road for more than 11 consecutive hours that’s a clear violation of the road safety regulations. If your lawyers can prove that the company encouraged them to break the law in order to deliver its load as soon as possible, they are fully responsible if the driver falls asleep behind the wheel.
At the same time, your lawyers might bring in experts to examine the truck and the police reports to see if there was a mechanical failure involved. The company is responsible for servicing and maintaining the vehicles, so a busted tire or a faulty brake system is on them.
Getting yourself a lawyer doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have to sue. In most cases, when they see you have a skilled attorney on your side the trucking company and their insurers will prefer to settle the claim out of court.
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