If you have suffered losses because of a truck driver’s negligence, you may be frightened or concerned about your future. Collisions with these massive vehicles can cause not only severe physical injuries but also threaten your financial future and emotional well-being.
Truck drivers have the same duty to drive safely as all other motorists. Additionally, federal trucking regulations control essential parts of the trucking industry, such as maximum vehicle weights and daily driving times. A trucker or company that fails to follow these rules and causes an accident is likely liable for your losses.
An Altoona truck accident lawyer may be able to help you to pursue your claim for damages following an injury. A dedicated personal injury attorney could work with you to help you understand the relevant laws, build your case, and demand fair compensation for your losses.
Truck accidents routinely lead to catastrophic personal injuries. This is due in large part to the disparity in size between large commercial trucks and passenger vehicles. In some cases, commercial vehicles can outweigh passenger cars by 20 times or more. Their enormous size leads commercial vehicles to impact motorists with devastating force. Some of the injuries that can occur in these collisions include:
An experienced semi-truck crash lawyer could work to ensure the injured party recovers compensation for each of his or her injuries.
Many rules of the road are universal for all travelers. Regardless of the size of one’s vehicle, all drivers must follow speed limits, yield when required by law, signal before changing lanes, and refrain from texting while driving. A failure to follow these rules is a strong indicator of negligence–a common cause of Altoona truck accidents.
In addition to the common rules of the road, truck drivers and their employers must also follow federal trucking regulations concerning driver hours and maximum cargo weight. For example, the U.S. Department of Transportation mandates that truckers cannot drive more than 60 hours in 7 days or 70 hours in a consecutive 8 day period. An attorney could help injured individuals investigate the cause of their accident involving truckers.
Broken bones, spinal injuries, separated joints, concussions and other traumatic brain injuries are all common examples of physical injuries that often result from a truck accident. A claim for compensation will always demand payment to cover the costs of all needed past and future medical care.
However, plaintiffs who only seek compensation for their physical injuries and medical expenses may be selling themselves short. The full impact of a truck accident may not be limited to physical injuries. Many people also suffer from severe economic harm, such as lost income because of an inability to work.
Many plaintiffs also suffer from emotional trauma. The pain and suffering that may accompany a physical injury can be significant. Additionally, many people suffer from nightmares, PTSD, or other forms of anguish that are difficult to measure but are valid components of a claim. A diligent Altoona truck accident attorney could help to pursue a case for proper payment.
It is easy to assign blame to the operator responsible for a truck wreck. In most cases, the negligence of the truck driver is the primary cause for this type of collision. That said, there could be multiple parties with some degree of civil liability for a truck crash. For instance, as long as the truck operator was within the scope of their employment at the time of the crash, a plaintiff could pursue compensation from both the driver and employer.
Truck accidents often result from manufacturing defects. When these defects cause a crash, an injured motorist may have the right to pursue an injury claim against the maker of the vehicle or part in question.
The statute of limitations dictates the amount of time a plaintiff in a truck accident case has to file a claim. In Altoona, 42 P.S. § 5524 governs the statute of limitations for injury claims. Under the statute, the deadline to file suit generally expires two years from the date the accident happens.
The failure to comply with this statute carries serious consequences, often resulting in the court dismissing a claim entirely. While there are some exceptions to the statute that can extend the time to file, their application is rare.
The prospect of taking on a large trucking company following an accident can be intimidating. It may seem like an impossible task to gather evidence, file a case in court, and to fight back against a trucking company and its powerful insurance companies.
An Altoona truck accident lawyer could stand by your side and tilt the scale in your favor. An attorney could work for you to gather essential information that demonstrates the truck driver’s negligence. That attorney could also help to accurately measure your losses and represent your interests in settlement talks and in court. Contact us today at Marcus & Mack to schedule a consultation.
By: Jeff T.
820 12th Street, Suite B Altoona PA 16602 Phone: (814) 942-9443