While car accidents are more common than truck accidents, the latter is way more dangerous for all parties involved in the crash. Trucks are bigger and heavier than standard motor cars, which leads to the accident causing more auto damage and injuries than the ones the victim would get in a collision with lighter motor vehicles.
Apart from that, it's way more complex to determine who is at fault in a truck accident rather than how it would be in a car crash. Things worsen when talking about head-on collisions. Who's at fault in a head-on truck accident? This page has all the answers!
Truck accident victims willing to file a personal injury lawsuit can count on the Law Office of Carl Maltese to put an experienced Long Island truck accident lawyer on the case! People can contact it by calling it at (631) 857-370.
Is a Truck Crash Handled the Same Way as a Car Accident?
Truck accident lawyers won't address a truck accident the same way they handle a car accident case. That's not because truck accidents are more dangerous than car crashes but due to all the parties involved in the former, which makes it a more complex and exhausting process for the victim.
If a qualified car accident attorney were to take a car collision case, they would only need to deal with the other driver's insurance company and legal team. Truck accident lawyers, on the other hand, have to take a case where the trucking company, insurance company, truck driver, and manufacturers are also involved.
Who Can Be at Fault After a Truck Accident in Long Island?
All the drivers involved in a truck accident suffer some losses, but they are not always accountable for what happened. Since several parties take part in truck accidents, many of them can also share their liability. These are the potential defendants in a truck accident:
Truck Driver
When someone hears a truck accident happened, they are prone to think truck drivers caused it, but things are not always that way. Truck drivers are only liable for head-on truck accidents if they weren't in the lane they were supposed to due to their own negligence.
If a truck driver, for example, was under the influence of any psychotropic substance while driving, they will most likely be held responsible for the crash. The same happens with distracted or reckless driving.
It's worth noting all truck drivers are meant to be careful and extra-aware of their surroundings to keep Long Island truck accidents from happening. Therefore, lawyers filing a truck accident claim need to prove the defendant wasn't as careful as they needed to be.
Car Driver
The liability of car drivers in truck accidents is similar to what happens with truck drivers since they are accountable for the accident if they were intoxicated, distracted, or recklessly driving. However, car drivers don't have the same duty of care as truck drivers.
This doesn't mean car drivers don't have to be careful around trucks since they still have to make sure they are out of any of the truck's blind spots.
Trucking Company
Trucking companies get involved in truck accident cases because victims can also file a personal injury claim against them. There are actually more scenarios where a Long Island truck accident happens due to the company's fault than regular car accidents.
Let's say the truck driver in a Long Island truck accident was the one who caused the crash by driving directly toward another vehicle. If the trucking company established demanding schedules that may have caused the driver to suffer from strong fatigue, it may be held accountable in a personal injury claim.
Truck drivers can only drive for 10 hours a day and stay on duty for 14 hours, so any truck accident case where the driver had to drive for more than that would be on the trucking company.
The same happens when trucking companies overlook the truck drivers' history of reckless driving or hire people who are not fit for the job. If the trucking company was in charge of getting trucks the proper maintenance they need, it would also be liable for a Long Island truck accident.
Manufacturing/Maintenance Company
Some accidents don't happen because trucking companies or drivers were negligent but due to a malfunction of the truck itself. Does this mean the accident is no one's fault? Not at all, since there's still someone to blame for it.
Trucks won't malfunction out of the blue, which means that either the manufacturing company sold a vehicle that wasn't ready to be driven or that the maintenance business didn't do its job when it checked if everything was okay with the truck.
Needless to say, people can only hold maintenance companies accountable for a Long Island truck accident if those businesses were meant to make sure it was safe to drive the truck and didn't. Hence, cases where a truck driver or trucking company had to hire maintenance services and didn't don't apply here.
Cargo Owner
While cargo owners can be liable for a Long Island truck accident, it's not that common when talking about head-on collisions. Cargo owners are mainly held accountable for cases in which they didn't tie their shipment properly since that could make the cargo fall off the truck and cause a crash.
What Can Truck Accident Victims Get Financial Compensation for After a Truck Collision?
Personal injury law is not the same in all states, so the truck accident lawyer the victim hires needs to know perfectly how the law works in the state where the crash happened. New York, for example, is a no-fault state, which means victims need to seek compensation by talking to insurance companies and not the liable party for the accident.
As confusing as it may seem, this doesn't mean victims can't hire a Long Island truck accident lawyer to file a lawsuit against the person who caused the accident. Insurance companies can only offer compensation for mild medical expenses and lost wages, but that doesn't cover more severe injuries and non-economic damages such as pain and suffering.
If a victim suffers from mild injuries after a truck crash and notices their car got a bit damaged due to the accident, they would need to ask the insurance company for compensation. In this case, victims can't hire personal injury lawyers file a claim against the defendant.
The other side of the coin is when a victim gets severely injured or dies after an accident. Naturally, this would come with other problems, such as pain and suffering or other non-economic damages.
Since insurance companies can't cover outrageously expensive medical bills or pain and suffering, the victim is entitled to hire a Long Island truck accident lawyer to take care of the matter.
It's not common for a head-on truck accident case to be mild, so most victims hire a truck accident attorney to help them.
How Can Victims Get Compensation After Suffering Serious Injuries in a Truck Collision?
Once victims know they can get compensation for a crash, they need to go through the legal process of filing a lawsuit, negotiating with all the parties involved in the accident, and going to trial if necessary.
This may seem a stressful thing to go through, and it is, but hiring an experienced personal injury attorney for the case is the first step to take.
Personal injury cases are often similar due to the legal process all parties need to follow, but it's best if victims hire a truck accident attorney since they already know how to deal with trucking and manufacturing companies.
Lawyers and their clients need to find evidence the defendant caused the accident. Here are some of the main pieces of evidence truck crash victims use for their cases:
Black boxes
Truck maintenance records
Truck driver's record
Photos
Videos
Cell phone records
Witnesses
Physical evidence from the accident scene
Personal injury attorneys can try to get to an agreement with the defendant to get compensation apart from the one given to the victim by the insurance company to pay for lost wages or medical expenses.
Some settlements offer to pay for a part of the property damage the accident caused. However, if the negligent truck driver or other parties fail to get to an agreement, the personal injury lawyer the victim hires would need to take the case to trial.
How much compensation can the victim get if they need to cover expensive emergency medical services, medical treatment, and car fixes in Long Island? Well, everything depends on the case, but some settlements have even gotten to $1,000,000 for extreme accidents.
Bottom Line - Get Help from Truck Accident Lawyers from the Law Office of Carl Maltese!
Motor vehicle accidents can cause severe health issues such as spinal cord injuries or traumatic brain injuries. It's not fair for victims to cover all those things for something that wasn't their fault. The Law Office of Carl Maltese can also answer questions such as, "Who's at fault in Rear-End Truck Accidents in Long Island?" and "Who's at fault in Brake Failure Accidents in Long Island?"
Therefore, if they can file a lawsuit against the liable party for the accident, they shouldn't miss the chance to do it. The Law Office of Carl Maltese offers free legal consultation to its clients, so they shouldn't hesitate to call it if they go through a truck accident.