Things can become deadly when a commercial truck collides with a smaller car. Even what seems like a little nudge from an 80,000 pound vehicle can crumple a car and cause devastating harm to the individuals inside.
Let’s talk about how commercial truck accidents and regular car accidents differ from ones where you collide with a non commercial vehicle.
Article Summary
How Commercial Truck Accidents and Regular Car Accidents Differ
There is no doubt that truck accidents and regular car accidents are different in several ways. The most obvious differences are the size of truck accidents that involve greater, heavier vehicles compared with car accidents and their severity.
Such differences in size make a crash with a truck tend to have way more damage than another kind of accident and more serious injuries, considering those people involved in the trauma.
The complexity of truck operations and how it looks like its loads from cargo weight distribution over the dirt ventricle of the vehicle are among other cons to consider.
Overall, regular car accidents are usually less complicated and include smaller vehicles while having less effect on different parties and people who might be involved.
Differences in liability in truck accidents can be understood after learning that royal trucking, freight, and loads often involve a greater number of parties involved who might take care of the investigation, such as drivers, trucking companies, and cargo owners.
At last, truck accidents are usually stricter in terms of regulatory inspections and may include more complex legal procedures.
You Must Usually Contact a Lawyer When These Accidents Occur
Sometimes, you can get away with not hiring a lawyer following a car wreck involving a non commercial vehicle. That’s less likely with commercial truck accidents, though.
Car crash lawyers have specialized knowledge about commercial truck wrecks that you simply don’t have.
For instance, one of these attorneys will know that Florida residents must file personal injury lawsuits within two years in most instances.
If you’re in that state when a commercial truck hits your vehicle, you probably won’t know this till you consult with a lawyer specializing in personal injury cases.
In addition to specialized knowledge about personal injury lawsuits in general, if you contact a commercial truck accident lawyer, they will know all the ins and outs of this particular personal injury law niche.
In every aspect of personal injury law, you’ll find little details that make huge differences. That’s true with slip and fall cases, dog bite lawsuits, medical malpractice, and certainly with commercial truck accidents.
While the steps following a standard car wreck with a non commercial vehicle might seem straightforward, you’ll likely find the ones after commercial truck accidents considerably less so.
That’s why you’ll probably want to start looking around online for a commercial truck accident lawyer the moment you get home following such a collision.
You May Not Know Who To Bring a Lawsuit Against
Sometimes, you may not need to file a lawsuit after a commercial truck wreck. For instance, if you made a mistake and caused the accident, then you can’t sue the truck driver.
However, let’s imagine that you’re certain the commercial truck driver caused the accident. If so, you may feel it’s necessary to file a personal injury lawsuit if you’re not able to swiftly recoup the money necessary to repair your vehicle and pay for your medical bills.
You might also need money to cover your lost wages while missing work. You may also want to collect additional non economic damages for your pain and suffering.
If a non commercial vehicle hits you, you should be able to sue the other driver. You likely won’t have any doubts about your lawsuit’s target even before you hire a lawyer. What about in the instance of a commercial truck driver hitting your car, though?
It’s true that you might sue the driver, but maybe you’ll find the situation more complicated than that. Perhaps you must sue the trucking company if they insist the driver put in some extra hours behind the wheel to get their load to its destination by a certain designated time.
The law mandates that commercial truck drivers must rest periodically, but some companies will violate those regulations if they think they can get away with it.
Maybe the commercial truck hit your car because it wasn’t properly maintained. If so, then you might need to sue the company that serviced it instead. You can easily see how you might not know who to sue if you’re in a commercial truck accident.
You May Not Know in Which State To File the Lawsuit
Following that same train of thought, you may not know in which state to file a lawsuit following a commercial truck crash.
Should you file it in the state where the collision occurred? Maybe you need to file it in the state where the trucking company has its headquarters.
With these considerations in mind, you will likely need to reach out to a commercial truck accident lawyer after one of these wrecks.
Once you have collected yourself and you’re at home and out of danger, you can review the accident in your mind and decide on the best path forward.
If you feel sure that the commercial truck driver caused the accident, either because of something they did or some mechanical failure, you’ll likely want to look at the best reviewed personal injury lawyers in your area immediately.
Go to see one of them while the details of the wreck remain fresh in your mind. Make sure that the attorney you select knows about these particular kinds of cases and has represented commercial truck accident victims in the past.
Conclusion
We must learn how to differentiate a commercial truck accident from a regular car accident because truck accidents typically result in both more property damage and more serious injuries than standard cars.
Furthermore, car accident law and insurance are different than truck accident law and insurance in that they often involve numerous parties and can be more complicated with a broad range of regulations that differentiate them from regular cars.
