Pinellas County Truck Accident Lawyer
Motor vehicle accidents can result in terrible injuries. If a truck is involved, the chances of serious harm increase substantially. Anyone who has been through such an accident faces enormous challenges – not just the physical recovery, but also the financial problems brought on by lost income and health care costs.
If you or a member of your family has been injured in an accident, you should contact a heavy truck accident lawyer in Pinellas County as soon as possible. Our team will listen to your story, gather the necessary information, and work to get you the compensation you deserve.
Types of Damages
What kind of damages that can be won in truck accident cases? They include the following:
- Lost wages or other income
- Medical expenses
- Loss of consortium (the deprivation of the benefits of a family relationship, if your loved one was the person injured)
- Psychological distress
The federal government regulates the trucking industry. All trucking companies must abide by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, which contain rules about how many miles truck drivers can drive at a time, what kind of rest breaks they get, and what kind of cargo they can carry, among many other regulations.
Pinellas County truck accident attorneys enlist investigators to determine whether the truck that hit the injured person’s vehicle was in compliance with these federal rules, plus any state rules. If the truck was violating any rules – for example, if the driver was not sufficiently rested to safely operate the vehicle – that will be a big help to winning an injury case.
Getting fair compensation from a trucking company or its insurer can be difficult since they are involved in so many accidents and they have aggressive attorneys to defend their interests. But it can be done – if an individual has Pinellas County truck accident lawyers on their side who know where to find the critical evidence and how to use it to mount the strongest possible case.
Gathering the Evidence
Investigators will go over the crash scene with a fine-toothed comb. Photographs of the scene itself and the damaged vehicles are essential. Witnesses’ memories can fade quickly, so they must be tracked down and interviewed as soon as possible.
Trucking companies are required to keep logs showing how many hours their employees have driven in a particular week, as well as the distances traveled. These logs can be extremely important in determining whether the other driver was suffering from fatigue, which alters one’s judgment and reflexes.
Sometimes truck drivers with poor driving records are sent back onto the road, despite the damage they have caused in the past. This is clear evidence of negligence on the part of the company. If the management of the company knew or should have known, that the driver was careless, then the company itself can be held liable.
Expert Testimony
Expert witnesses, who can testify with authority about both the causes of road accidents and the effects of fatigue on drivers, are highly useful. Our legal team will call upon well-respected experts who can help support the case, or work toward a substantial settlement even if it does not go to trial.
Sometimes a defect in the truck itself can cause an accident – such as inadequate brakes, or malfunctioning headlights. If this is the case, then the manufacturer of the vehicle can be required to pay damages.
Dealing with the consequences of a truck accident can be very difficult. You do not have to do it alone. Contact our Pinellas County truck accident lawyers today, so they can start fighting for you.