Clearwater Rear-End Truck Accidents

There are many ways rear-end collisions can occur in Clearwater, and they are often attributable to distracted driving such as texting, fiddling with the radio, or accepting a telephone call, which can lead to vehicles following too closely behind one another.

Additionally, many drunk driving accidents are rear-end collisions, as well as drivers falling asleep at the wheel, which is of particular concern with truck drivers. If you have sustained injuries due to a rear-end collision with a truck, contact a Clearwater truck accident lawyer today to walk you through the claims process toward securing compensation for your injuries.

Assigning Fault in a Rear-End Collision

It is not true that if a driver’s vehicle is rear-ended, it is always the fault of the driver behind them. There have been some situations in Clearwater where drivers have backed into a vehicle behind them because they did not see the car, or the driver was trying to back up to avoid traffic.

There have also been instances where one driver gets cut-off by another driver merging into their lane, creating a rear-end accident that is actually the fault of the driver in front. Many times, fault is attributable to the driver that rear-ended the vehicle in front of theirs because the cause is usually following too closely or being distracted behind the wheel, whether or not a cellphone is involved. Fault is generally determined by statements from both drivers, as well as any witnesses for the law enforcement officer that completes the investigation.

For Clearwater truck accident cases, if the truck driver rear-ends the car in front of them, the law enforcement officer will see if there are any witnesses and take everybody’s statements, before issuing a citation to the driver that the officer feels is at fault for the accident, which a truck accident lawyer will follow up on.

Contributory Negligence

Even if a driver is rear-ended by a truck, they can still be contributorily negligent if they pulled down in front of a truck, backed up into a truck, or were not wearing a seatbelt and were caused to slam into the dashboard or the steering wheel because while the truck caused the accident, the driver’s injuries would not have been as severe if they were wearing a seatbelt. So, there are ways drivers can contribute to their injuries even if the truck driver was at fault for the accident.

Establishing Liability

A truck accident lawyer can help establish liability by sending out an investigator, either to do an accident reconstruction, or to interview witnesses. A personal injury attorney can depose the police officer that talked to other witnesses, and can depose those witnesses to see if their stories are all straight. A lawyer can also check to see if there were any traffic cameras or anything that picked up the accident that may be used to help prove liability in the case.

Contact a Lawyer Today

If you are the victim of a rear-end collision with a truck, contact an injury lawyer right away to make sure that your case and your rights are well represented. If you do not hire an attorney early, they may miss the opportunity to implement certain investigative tactics to prove who is at fault in the case. It is not uncommon for people to get in car accidents where the other driver will apologize and admit fault at the scene, and then their insurance company will call and say that they were not at fault. So while you may know the other driver was accepting liability, an attorney is still necessary to prove that upfront, and will also handle your injury claim for you, dealing with medical bills and records so that your sole focus can be on recovery.