Truckers spend long hours on the road, where their attention to driving safety might become too relaxed. It might start with failing to signal here and there or not making full stops at stop signs, but eventually progress to much more dangerous driving violations.
If you were hit by a truck driver, you could be entitled to substantial compensation for your injuries. Truck accidents often cause serious injuries that can leave drivers paralyzed or disabled, but even without permanent injuries, long-term and short-term injuries can still leave you with expensive medical bills and lost time at work. Our attorneys can help you claim full compensation for the injuries you faced.
If you were hurt in an accident, call the Atlanta truck accident lawyers at Howe Law today at (844) 876-4357.
Damages for Injured Truck Accident Victims in Duluth, GA
Truck accidents can lead to substantial injuries, many of which might keep people unable to return to work and go about their lives for some time. The medical care costs, the lost earnings, the other financial harms, and the negative effects on your life can all be compensated through damages.
When you claim damages, there are two main areas of damages to consider: economic and non-economic damages. The economic damages you claim are proven with bills and financial statements, and they account for all of those harms that have a monetary value readily attached. Non-economic damages are paid as money damages, but they account for the harms that have no bills or statements, like the pain you feel and the distress of not being able to return to your normal day-to-day activities after a serious injury. These damages are often called “general damages” in that they flow generally from any injury, and you do not need to prove that they exist in the first place. Instead, you only need to make arguments as to the value of these damages.
Our truck accident lawyers will help you understand the value of your injury case. You should never accept the insurance company’s valuation of your case, as it will often exclude damages and potentially leave you with a reduced payout if you accept the money the insurance company offers without consulting a lawyer. Our attorneys can also help you put a value on difficult-to-calculate damages like lost future earnings and pain and suffering.
Proving a Trucking Company is Responsible for Your Truck Crash in Duluth, GA
In many cases, you can show that the trucking company that hired the trucker who hit you was truly responsible for the accident. While the truck driver was the person in the driver’s seat at the time of the crash, employees of a larger company are often considered to be something like agents of the company when accidents happen. This allows you to sue the trucking company rather than ending your case with the driver alone.
This concept is known as “vicarious liability” and is often used against companies. For example, imagine that you fell in an office building because the janitor did not put up a “Wet Floor” sign. That could be considered the company’s fault, not just the individual janitor’s fault. The same kind of thing is true when a trucker causes an accident while working as an employee at a trucking company.
However, trucking companies also commit their own errors that might make them share direct liability for a crash, whether the rest of the liability was their driver’s fault or someone else’s fault. For example, if the broader trucking company owns the truck and it had serious maintenance issues that made it unsafe, they could be liable as the vehicle’s owner. Negligent hiring and retention, unsafe loading, regulatory violations, and other issues can also make a trucking company at fault.
One thing to be aware of with these kinds of cases is that trucking companies often go out of the way to lobby state governments and get rules made to help them avoid liability. In many situations, trucking companies do not actually employ their drivers and merely contract with self-employed drivers. This could cut off liability at the driver, but their own insurance for commercial driving and operating their own business should still be able to cover your injuries if there is no larger company to sue for the crash.
Common Injuries in Truck Accidents in Duluth, GA
In many truck accident cases, drivers and passengers in other vehicles receive substantial injuries. Trucks can easily weigh over 20 times the weight of a smaller car, potentially crushing the vehicle in a crash. Especially at high speeds, the truck transfers so much momentum into the other vehicle when it crashes that it can cause incredibly severe injuries to the occupants, if they survive the crash in the first place.
Often, cases filed against trucking companies are for wrongful death. In these cases, the surviving family of the person killed in the crash can sue for their loss, including the economic effects of losing that loved one’s income going forward, the funeral expenses they paid, and more.
If you did survive a truck accident, you might be left with life-altering injuries, including brain injuries, spinal injuries, lost limbs, back injuries, and more. Even more moderate injuries like broken bones and crush injuries could leave you with long-term recovery needs and potential disabilities.
Even with somewhat minor injuries, you could still have a strong injury case to file. Any injuries that resulted in medical bills or lost time at work could lead to a lawsuit against the at-fault driver and their employer trucking company.
Call Our Truck Accident Attorneys at Howe Law Today
For a free case assessment, call Howe Law’s truck accident lawyers at (844) 876-4357.
