Truck Accident Injuries: Why These Cases Are More Complex Than Car Accidents
By Charlotte Berry
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The term “collision with a commercial truck” doesn't necessarily refer to a standard car accident because the collision itself isn't a typical one. The size difference is part of the answer. A semi truck carries twenty times the weight of a car, and the forces during a crash can be much more severe as well as the injuries.
However, most of the complications surrounding a truck accident have little to do with the size of the vehicle, and much to do with what's going on behind the scenes. A car accident is usually between two motorists and two insurance carriers but a truck crash may involve the truck driver, trucking company, cargo loading company, maintenance contractor, vehicle manufacturer, or commercial insurance policy, which is much larger than a personal auto insurance policy. Each party has its own legal team aimed at reducing its liability.
If you can grasp why these cases are different, you can help safeguard a claim worth a whole lot more than most injured victims know.
The Injuries Are Likely To Be More Serious
Due to the load and weight that must be transported, the injuries caused by truck accidents are often more severe than those caused by passenger vehicle accidents. Common outcomes are traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, multiple fractures, injuries to internal organs, and catastrophic injuries with permanent disabilities.
This severity alters the nature of a claim. The treatment that is required is also frequently a long process of surgery, rehabilitation, and continuous care months or years after the emergency response. For the lost income calculation, it can be more than a brief recovery period, but permanent changes in earning capacity. The odds are just higher with more serious damages, and when there are high odds, the insurance companies will work harder to minimize their payment.
Federal Regulations Add a Layer Most People Do Not Expect
State traffic regulations are the main sources of car accident laws. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration puts another layer of federal law into play when it comes to truck accidents.
Hours of Service Violations
Fatigue among drivers is one of the most prevalent causes of truck accidents. Federal hours of service regulations require a commercial driver to rest once they have reached the maximum number of consecutive hours on duty. The pressure of deadlines is one thing that many trucking companies are facing daily, and in some cases, drivers or the trucking companies that they work for exceed legal limits just to meet those deadlines.
This type of violation is often easy to establish when the data exists in a modern truck equipped with an electronic logging device that logs driving hours automatically, as long as data can be captured before it is lost, overwritten or deleted.
Maintenance and Inspection Standards
Federal requirements also apply to commercial trucks in relation to vehicle inspection, maintenance and repair. If the truck has been involved in an accident, it could be because its brakes were worn out or its lights were not working or because of a mechanical problem that should have been detected in an inspection. In any of these cases, the company that is responsible for keeping the vehicle on the road could be held responsible, in addition to the driver.
Determining if these rules are broken depends on someone who is familiar with what records to request, and how to interpret the records, but this is seldom something that an injured person can do while they are recovering from serious injuries.
A Number of Parties May Be Liable
In most auto accidents, there is typically only one driver or perhaps possibly two who are responsible. The list of potentially liable parties in truck accidents often goes beyond what you might think and each party could be responsible for some of the accident.
The driver of the truck could have been acting negligently in a number of ways: by speeding, being distracted, or being fatigued. The trucking company may have been negligent in hiring the driver or entrusting an unfit person to drive the truck. If the cargo was not loaded properly and caused the truck to be unsteady, there is a possibility that the third party logistics company which carries out loading tasks is liable. If there was a mechanical failure in the vehicle, such as faulty brakes or tires, the parts manufacturer or a mechanic could be responsible for the accident.
In order to identify all of the parties who may have liability, a detailed investigation is necessary and will determine the amount of total compensation that is received because each party with potential liability may have its own insurance policy that may apply to the case.
The Stakes On Insurance Are Significantly Higher
Commercial truck companies need to have insurance policies much bigger than those required for a regular driver. These policies vary in coverage from several hundred thousand dollars to several million dollars depending on the type of cargo and the size of the vehicle.
That increased coverage comes at a cost. It means that an injured victim could get more money, but it also means that the insurance company will have much more to lose and will invest much more in the effort to pay out as little as possible. Commercial trucking insurance companies have dedicated legal teams and will often have investigators at the scene of an accident within hours and sometimes before the injured person has even left the hospital.
This is one of the most obvious reasons for these cases to require a different approach to the legal preparation process than in a typical car accident case. The other side is building their defense almost immediately.
Evidence Disappears Quickly
The quality of evidence, which has a limited shelf life and is of critical importance, is key to truck accident cases. An electronic logging device, dashcam, or event data recorder (black box) can be wiped or erased within days after an incident if a written request has not been made to preserve the logs right from the get-go.
Skid marks fade. Damage to vehicles is repaired. The longer an investigation is postponed, the more difficult it will be to find witnesses. Truck companies are not obligated to volunteer evidence. They need to be willing to provide evidence that might be detrimental to their cause, and if there's no formal preservation request, critical information may just go away because it's routine business practice.
That is why it's essential to take prompt action in a truck accident claim rather than a car accident. Just a couple weeks after the accident, and it may be too late to get clear evidence of fault, depending on what you are seeking.
Why These Cases Require Specialized Legal Knowledge?
Considering the multiple parties at fault, federal regulations, time sensitive evidence and aggressive corporate insurance companies, an accident involving a truck simply is not a claim that can be handled on your own.
The laws surrounding truck accident litigation make it imperative that an attorney with the expertise and experience necessary act rapidly and send preservation letters to secure electronic logs and black box information before it is lost. They know how to research a trucking company's hiring process, and maintenance and safety history. They understand how to identify each party who could be liable and who would have the corresponding insurance that can be taken advantage of with each party. They also know how to deal with the investigative and legal resources that commercial insurers can provide from the get-go.
One of the most common ways that injured victims settle for less than what their truck accident case is worth is to treat it just like a car accident case without considering the federal laws and regulations, the corporate defendants, and the disappearance of evidence.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes truck accident settlements worth more than car accident settlements?
Truck accidents can result in more serious injuries because of the difference in the size and weight of commercial trucks as compared to passenger vehicles, which can lead to increased medical costs, loss of income, and long-term care requirements. Commercial insurance policies are also much larger and greater in compensation than those of the individual truck drivers, which can lead to more compensation available if the liability and damages are properly established.
Besides the driver, who else may be held responsible for a truck accident?
The trucking company can be liable for negligent hiring or negligent entrustment, the cargo loading company when they allowed someone to load the cargo without being properly secured, the maintenance company when they neglected to fix a mechanical failure, and even the parts manufacturer when a part they put on the truck was defective. Determining all liable parties can be a thorough process through a detailed investigation of the trucking company's history and activities.
What is an electronic logging device and why does it matter in a truck accident case?
An electronic logging device automatically logs a commercial driver's hours behind the wheel, ensuring that these hours are recorded in compliance with federal hours of service regulations. This information can give clues as to whether driver fatigue was a factor in an accident or not, however, without a formal request to retain this information, it can be overwritten or deleted within days of the accident.
When should I take action after a truck accident?
As promptly as possible. Electronic logs, black box data, and dashcam videos are just some of the types of evidence that can be lost or deleted within days due to common business activity in a truck accident case. Early filing of a formal request for preservation of evidence can make the difference between establishing a clear case and losing the evidence.
If the trucking company accepts liability, do I need a truck accident lawyer?
Yes. Usually, when you seem to have a clear-cut case of fault, there are several insurance policies to go through, federal regulatory issues to consider, and corporate defense attorneys to try and hold back the damage. Even if an accepted fault determination is made, it is not a given that they will offer you a fair settlement, and even if they do, the insurance carrier will try to put the lowest value on your medical bills, lost wages, and long term damages unless the claim is properly built and negotiated.