What You Need To Know About Truck Accident Cases
Moving Forward After Encountering Dangers on the Open Road
It’d be great if you could have the entire road to yourself, but we all know that’s never going to happen. Instead, you have to share the nation’s highways and city streets with trucks that don’t always make you feel comfortable about your chances of staying safe.
Truck accidents are a reality that accounts for thousands of serious injuries. If you’ve been victimized, your first step should be learning about what kinds of compensation you might be eligible to receive for your medical bills, legal costs and other damages.
Understanding the Risks of Trucks
According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, large trucks and buses played roles in more than 4,300 fatalities in 2015. This was an 8 percent jump from the previous year.
Although new safety rules and features have helped reduce deadly trucking incidents over the years, drivers and passengers are still at risk. It’s also worth considering that there are tens of thousands of non-fatal injury wrecks involving trucks each year.
What Can Victims Do?
Navigating a truck accident case may seem daunting, but there are a few things to bear in mind. For instance, wrecks caused by trucks and other commercial vehicles aren’t just the fault of the driver or operator behind the wheel. While these individuals can be deemed negligent for actions like ignoring recommended working hours or medical advice and driving while they were fatigued or under the influence, their employers and companies might also be found liable.
Suppose that a freight enterprise doesn’t maintain its vehicle fleet correctly. If the brakes on one of its trucks fail and cause a wreck, courts might find the company guilty of negligence that contributed to an otherwise preventable accident. If a firm loads pallets or other cargo on the back of a flatbed truck improperly so that the materials fall off and cause a highway collision, that company could be held liable.
The Burden of Proof in a Truck Accident Case
What does all of this variability mean? It’s critical to construct a well-researched lawsuit that targets the right parties. With so many potential contributing factors, a trucking company might launch a defense argument that attempts to shift the blame to someone else, so you need to understand all of the circumstances that led to you getting hurt.
From a legal perspective, negligence is failing to do something that any reasonable person should have or taking actions that such a person wouldn’t. This broad definition means that while many behaviors can be negligent, you also have to prove that someone else intentionally acted recklessly. You also need to establish in clear terms how their actions contributed to you suffering an injury.
It may seem like what happened to you should be obvious, but courts don’t base their judgments on common sense. It’s up to you to prove that you’ve been wronged if you want the compensation you’re entitled to receive, such as money for your medical bills or lost wages. To learn more about your options, visit us at Oser Legal.