Truck accidents can result in severe injuries for drivers, passenger vehicle occupants, pedestrians, and other innocent bystanders. Due to trucks’ large size and weight, other motor vehicle passengers risk significant damages. You might be entitled to damages if you or a loved one suffered harm in an auto accident due to truck driver negligence.
A personal injury lawyer will work with you to seek compensation from those liable for your injuries. Our truck accident attorneys in Alexandria, LA, have over 250 years of combined experience, have recovered over $600 million for clients, and our top attorney has been invited into the Top 100 Trial Lawyers association. You don’t pay any fees when we work on your case unless we win compensation.
Our Law Firm’s Experience in Winning Million-Dollar Verdicts and Settlements
With our team’s experience, we’ve won several settlements exceeding $1 million. Take a look at our notable victories:
- A $2,700,000 settlement for an 18-wheeler accident victim
- A $1,750,000 trial verdict for an 18-wheeler accident victim
- A $410,000 settlement for a client hit from the rear by a commercial truck
- A $375,000 commercial truck accident settlement for a client with a back injury
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How To File a Truck Crash Lawsuit
If you have been involved in a collision with a truck, it’s important to understand how to file a claim. Truck wrecks can be complicated and involve multiple parties, so taking certain steps to protect your rights is vital.
Here are tips on how to proceed with a truck accident claim:
- Seek medical attention: The first step after a truck accident is to get proper medical attention. Obtaining medical care is essential even if you do not feel any pain or discomfort.
- Gather evidence: It is helpful to gather evidence from the crash scene, such as photos, witness statements, and police reports. This will help your Alexandria truck accident lawyer build a strong case for your claim.
- Contact an attorney: An experienced truck accident lawyer can help you navigate the legal process and protect your rights.
- File a claim: Once you have gathered the necessary evidence, your attorney can help you file a claim with the responsible party’s insurance company. While it is possible to file a claim directly with the insurer, victims who hire a lawyer typically walk away with more money than those who don’t.
- Negotiate a settlement: A truck accident attorney in Alexandria, LA, will help you get a fair settlement from the insurance company after an accident by negotiating and proving the fault of the responsible parties.
Our experienced team of truck accident lawyers is dedicated to helping truck collision victims seek justice and financial compensation. We understand the complexities of these cases and are committed to providing the personalized legal representation you need.
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When To Hire a Personal Injury Attorney
If you’ve been involved in a truck accident, it is important to consider hiring an experienced attorney. Truck collisions can be complex and involve multiple parties, making it difficult to navigate the legal process without professional help.
An experienced truck accident lawyer can help you understand your rights and ensure you receive fair compensation for your injuries and losses.
Commercial Truck Wreck Injuries
When deciding whether or not to hire a truck accident attorney in Alexandria, LA, it is important to consider the severity of your injuries and the damages you seek. Due to the sheer size and weight of most commercial trucks, occupants of smaller vehicles often sustain devastating injuries such as:
- Neck injuries
- Broken bones
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Internal organ damage
- Severe burns
- Other catastrophic injuries
If you or a loved one has suffered any of these injuries, it is important to contact a lawyer as soon as possible.
If your injuries are debilitating or you seek a large amount of compensation, hiring an experienced Alexandria truck accident lawyer is in your best interest. An attorney could help you navigate the legal system and ensure you receive appropriate compensation for your losses.
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How Much Does it Cost To Hire an Alexandria Truck Accident Attorney?
The cost of hiring a truck accident lawyer can vary depending on your case’s complexity and the attorney’s experience. We will provide a free initial consultation to discuss your case and determine whether or not you have a valid claim.
During this evaluation, the attorney will review your case and explain the percentage they would charge for their services. Our personal injury attorneys work on a contingency basis, meaning they will only receive a payment if they successfully obtain compensation for you.
You won’t pay fees upfront when you choose our law firm to handle your case. Instead, attorney fees will come from your insurance settlement or court award. With this arrangement, we can provide you with legal representation regardless of your financial state.
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Potentially Recoverable Damages in Truck Crash Cases
Under Louisiana law, victims can hold the liable party or parties responsible for the expenses and losses they incurred because of their injuries. You can recover two types of compensation: economic or non-economic, with the help of our auto accident attorneys.
Economic Damages
Our truck accident lawyer in Alexandria, LA, can help you recover economic damages to cover your losses in a commercial trucking accident. These damages may include the following:
- Injury-related medical bills, rehabilitation costs, and surgical bills for physical pain
- Future medical treatment and care costs related to their injuries
- Lost wages, both current and future
- Reduced earning ability if you have lasting injuries
- Property damage to any vehicles
Non-Economic Damages
Although more difficult to quantify financially, these damages may also be available. They may include:
- Emotional distress
- Psychological harm
- Mental anguish
- Reduced quality of life
- Loss of consortium
- The effects of permanent scarring and disfigurement
A truck accident lawyer from our firm can help individuals recover damages for their injuries. We know how to document these damages, put a fair value on the claim, and seek maximum compensation based on that value. In addition, we can work with professionals like accident reconstruction specialists and doctors to accurately determine the value of your personal injury lawsuit.
You could be eligible for punitive damages depending on the accident details in question. Punitive damages are designed to punish and discourage the at-fault party from repeating the negligent actions.
Preserving Evidence of Negligence
Evidence of negligence is crucial to any personal injury claim. A prompt phone call to a truck accident attorney in Alexandria could be a key step for injury victims to take in preserving essential evidence. Key evidence an experienced truck accident lawyer in Alexandria, LA, could obtain includes:
- Documentation of the accident scene, including written reports and photographs
- Interviews with witnesses of the crash
- Trucking company safety, maintenance, and repair records
- Drug and alcohol screening results for the truck driver
- Cell phone records, truck driver logs, and time records
- Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations compliance records
Given the complexity of most truck collision claims and the short time you have to file a claim, you may benefit from contacting a truck accident lawyer sooner rather than later.
Statute of Limitations for Truck Driver Injury Cases in Alexandria
As mentioned above, it is important to remember you have limited time to file a personal injury or wrongful death claim in Louisiana. Per CC § 3492, you must file your case in civil court one year from the accident or injury date. If you miss the window, a judge will dismiss your case, and you will lose your opportunity to seek compensation for your injuries.
We are deeply sorry if you lost a loved one due to an accident. You may recover compensation for the decedent’s final medical care, funeral and burial costs, and your family’s intangible losses. There is a one-year time limit for filing a wrongful death lawsuit, per CC § 2315.2.
A truck accident attorney in Alexandria, LA, can discuss the details of your case with you to determine if you are eligible to recover damages. We can also help you take legal action in time to recover compensation.
Our Alexandria Team Knows How To Navigate Your Personal Injury Claim
In most cases, our investigation reveals that the driver made a mistake behind the wheel. They likely violated a traffic law, which caused the crash and your injuries and losses. When this occurs, Louisiana law, CC Art. 2320, recognizes a situation known as “respondeat superior.” This means:
- We can hold the trucking company vicariously liable for their employee’s actions.
- We file our primary insurance claim based on the company’s corporate liability policy.
- We negotiate for a settlement based on a much larger insurance policy than most individual drivers would carry.
This is not something most accident victims would want to try on their own. Going up against a large corporation with its team of lawyers and insurance representatives can be intimidating.
However, our team knows how to navigate these claims. We handle them regularly and will not back down, no matter how big the company is.
We Can Assess the Value of Your Case and Negotiate with Insurance Companies for a Fair Settlement
Some people settle for far less than they deserve because the insurance company makes an offer, and they do not believe they can afford a truck accident attorney to pursue more. However, your case is likely worth more than an insurance company will initially offer.
We can review your case before you agree to a payout. Once you learn about your case’s merits and recoverable damages, you will understand why you should allow us to fight for an appropriate settlement.
Negligence in Truck Crash Cases
Truck drivers are expected to drive their trucks safely and in a manner consistent with other reasonable truck drivers. When they fail to do this, they could be considered negligent, and you can take legal action. An attorney must prove the following elements of negligence in a truck accident case:
Duty of Care
Proving a legal duty of care is the first step to filing a successful civil lawsuit. Every driver on the road has a responsibility to drive safely and actively avoid causing an accident.
Breach of Duty
Your attorney must also prove to the jury that the defendant’s breach of duty was the cause of your injuries. To prove this element of legal negligence may include evidence such as witness testimonies and accident reports.
Resulting Damages
Lastly, you must have compensable damages for a personal injury lawsuit to have merit. A valid claim may exist if your injuries led to financial, physical, or emotional losses. Evidence used to prove this may include medical records and associated bills.
Liability in Alexandria Truck-Related Cases
Traffic collisions are not always straightforward. There are often questions of who played a role, shared fault, and other concerns that could affect who is legally responsible. Various parties may be liable when motor vehicle accidents involve a commercial semi-truck.
Aside from the truck driver, who may have acted negligently, other parties may be held responsible for injuries resulting from the crash. Our team’s experienced truck wreck attorney can investigate and assess all liable parties when a case involves a commercial vehicle.
What Happens When There Are Multiple Defendants in a Case?
As we mentioned, truck collision cases may have more than one defendant, and it is common for multiple parties to be found liable. Those who could be held responsible in a truck crash lawsuit include the following:
- The truck driver
- Other drivers on the road
- The owner of the truck
- Employees who loaded the truck
- The company that performed the repairs
- The party leasing the truck or trailer
- The trucking company that employed the driver
- The manufacturers of the truck or its parts
- The government or private entity that provides road maintenance
If the jury finds more than one defendant at fault, they will assign a percentage of liability to each defendant as per CC § 2324. Each defendant would then be responsible for paying you your portion of damages based on their percentage of fault.
If the jury determines that you share some of the liability, your award would be reduced by your percentage of fault. Of course, insurance companies may try to shift blame onto you to save money, but our truck accident attorney, who handles cases in Alexandria, could help refute these arguments.
Commercial Trucking Accident Causes
There are many reasons truck collisions take place. Violating federal regulations implemented by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and state laws should not be one of them. Yet, driver safety violations account for a significant portion of 18-wheeler wrecks.
According to the FMCSA, driver error, including legal violations and simple misjudgments, is a factor in many semi-truck accidents. Some of the errors our Alexandria truck accident attorneys see that lead to crashes include:
Driver Fatigue
Drivers of large trucks typically spend extended amounts of time on the road. Many of them travel between states, transporting goods. Sometimes they are also responsible for loading and unloading their payloads when they arrive at their destination.
This can be a lot of work for anyone operating on an ideal eight hours of sleep, but commercial truck drivers often get far less than that. Moreover, sometimes those hours are not even consecutive. For instance, a semi-truck driver could be required to operate a big rig on one or two hours of sleep.
Their driving performance, reaction time, ability to make sound decisions, and consequently, the safety of those on the road can be compromised. For example, the FMCSA requires commercial drivers to rest for a certain number of hours, but some truckers and their employers disregard hours of service regulations.
Distracted Driving
Driver distractions inside the truck are common, such as texting, using a cell phone, operating a radio, looking at a map, and reaching for food or other objects. While some of these actions are not illegal, such as changing the radio station, drivers shouldn’t do them while driving.
However, texting while driving in Louisiana is illegal. Drivers who break the rule are at higher risk of an accident and paying a fine of $175.
Driving Under the Influence
Marijuana, narcotics, and stimulants some truck operators use will impair their judgment and performance. This means the potential for accidents increases when adding drugs or alcohol to an already sleep-deprived driver.
Inadequate Surveillance of Surroundings
Sometimes, truck drivers do not properly assess their surroundings before acting. For example, a negligent trucker may have missed a smaller car changing lanes before attempting to move into the same lane.
Or they may have failed to notice the driver approaching from behind or a passenger car traveling in the opposite direction when attempting to complete a turn. In both situations, other drivers could suffer severe injuries.
Speeding or Traveling Too Fast for Road Conditions
Truck drivers may use excessive speed to reach their destinations and meet deadlines. They may bypass the speed limit, violating the law in some cases.
Other times, they may go too fast for the current road conditions. Inclement weather, road construction, or higher traffic may all require a slower speed. A truck accident lawyer in Alexandria, LA, will look at all possibilities during a thorough investigation to determine how your crash was caused and who is responsible.
The Most Dangerous Road in Louisiana for Truck Collisions
In Louisiana, the I-10 is notorious for truck accidents. I-10 is so dangerous that many people have labeled it as a “death trap,” according to the New Orleans newsroom NOLA. One of the reasons I-10 is so dangerous is its bridges.
Especially the Pearl River Bridge; when you get onto the bridge, the shoulders of the road narrow quickly, leaving no room for higher speeds. But because of the congested traffic, many cars and trucks try to speed up or pass other drivers. Unfortunately, these actions often result in devastating accidents.
According to a Louisiana State University (LSU) 2021 crash report, there were 71 fatal accidents on the I-10. Compared to other interstates like the I-12 and I-49, between 2016 and 2021, the I-10 overall had the highest number of fatal wrecks.
Work With an Alexandria, LA, Truck Accident Attorney Today
To help uncover the negligent party in your crash, hiring a truck accident lawyer in Alexandria, LA, is critical. Laborde Earles is committed to protecting the rights of auto accident injury victims. We’re the Louisiana Attorneys That Care, ready to help you recover from your injuries.
We’re proud to serve neighborhoods throughout Alexandria, including Acadian Village, Good Earth, Evarist Dr., Lakes, and Tennyson Oaks.
Call today for a free legal consultation and get started on your case, or fill out the online contact form. Our law office in Alexandria is conveniently located on Versailles Blvd, near Coliseum Blvd.
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