Accidents with 18-wheeler commercial trucks do tend to offer up a greater level of complexity than what you have with regular car accidents. What are some of the reasons for this? We’re going to have a look at some of the reasons that these accidents tend to be more complicated than accidents with similar vehicles. When involved with an accident with a commercial truck it is important that you retain the services of an experienced car accident attorney because they will have the legal knowledge needed to properly deal with the opposing legal counsel, difficult insurance companies and also help you maximize your claim.
Greater Chance of Serious Injury
When you get behind the wheel of an 80,000-pound semi-truck and compare it to a 4,000-pound car, you can see why these accidents tend to carry a lot more seriousness to them. In many cases, when you get into a wreck with a commercial truck, you are going to have serious injuries. These 18 wheelers are much bigger. The result is that you have more fatalities, and the injuries will often be more serious. An experienced car accident attorney will be able to assist you in obtaining proper medical attention from an injury specialist who has experience in dealing with accident victims and their legal cases.
Multiple Parties Involved
In many cases, an accident with commercial trucks will often mean that multiple cars were involved in the accident. This is because of the size of the truck, and you will often have debris from it that goes off and hits other vehicles. This means that you will have multiple insurance companies involved and different employers and contractors involved with it. That can complicate the matter, which is why it is helpful for you to hire a car accident attorney as soon as you have gotten into an accident in order to properly understand the best path forward to maximize your claim.
Truckers from across State Lines
For many of the cases with these accidents, truckers will come from across state lines, which only serves to complicate matters because the laws from each state will differ in a few ways. For example, some states have a no-fault law while others do not. If you were involved in an accident with a commercial truck from outside of the state, you will need to hire a lawyer who has a strong understanding of the state laws in the offending parties state in order to properly provide a positive outcome to your case.
The Companies Fight Harder
With an accident involving a trucking company, they will often fight to keep from paying compensation, and this can only add to the complications involved. They normally want to pay as little as possible. This especially comes into play when they have a lot to lose from the accident. You have to know what you’re doing to get the best results in these cases. An experienced car accident attorney will be able to deal with these aggressive and difficult corporate insurance companies and in most cases they are able to maximize your claim.
You Have More Levels of Negligence
Based on federal law, truckers aren’t allowed to drive for over 14 hours at a time. If they’re found to have exceeded that number, they have a higher likelihood of losing the case. However, because of the greater laws and regulations, this can make these cases much harder to prove. This is where the legal experience of your car accident attorney will come into play because they will know all the different aspects to be looking at in order to achieve a positive and maximized outcome.
High Level of Destruction
In many cases with passenger vehicle accidents, you don’t have as much damage, so it can be easier to determine who was at fault. With a trucking accident, you almost always have a lot of damage and serious injury that follows as a result. Because of this, figuring out who was at fault can take more time and investigation, further complicating the matter.
If you have been involved in an accident like this, you should not hesitate to hire a car accident attorney. They can help you to navigate the tricky legal waters involved with commercial vehicles. You need someone who understands this field of law. Having an experienced and licensed attorney can make all the difference. If you’d like to learn more, call our law offices today at any of our convenient locations and get a free consultation.
Arlington (817) 522-4451
Dallas (972) 362-6848
Fort Worth (817) 764-1375
Plano (972) 354-4602
Cedar Hill (972) 338-9427
McKinney (469) 522-3688
Lewisville (972) 354-4605
Frisco (972) 725-7681
Grapevine (817) 835-8677
Irving (972) 354-4610
Keller (817) 204-0904
Garland (214) 572-2251
Denton (940) 222-4060
Addison (972) 564-8108
You can also contact us online by using our quick contact form.
