Truck accidents can result in severe injuries for drivers, passenger vehicle occupants, pedestrians, and other innocent bystanders. Due to a truck’s large size and weight, other motor vehicle passengers tend to be at a huge disadvantage in terms of potential damages resulting from a crash.
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. Contact an Alexandria truck accident attorney today for a free case evaluation.
How To File a Truck Accident Claim
If you have been involved in a collision with a truck, it is 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 some 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. Even if you do not feel any pain or discomfort, it is important to get checked out by a doctor as soon as possible.
- Gather evidence: It is helpful to gather evidence from the scene of the accident, such as photos, witness statements, and police reports. This will assist your Alexandria truck accident lawyer in building 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, those represented by lawyers typically walk away with more money than those who handle their own claims.
- Negotiate a settlement: A truck accident attorney will help you get a fair settlement from the insurance company after an accident.
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.
For a free legal consultation with a truck accident lawyer serving Alexandria, call (318) 777-7777
When To Hire a Truck Accident 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 that you receive fair compensation for your injuries and losses.
Commercial Truck Accident Injuries
When deciding whether or not to hire a truck accident attorney, 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 an experienced lawyer as soon as possible.
If your injuries are debilitating or you are seeking a large amount of compensation, it is in your best interest to hire an experienced Alexandria truck accident lawyer. An experienced attorney could help you navigate the legal system and ensure that you receive appropriate compensation for your losses.
Alexandria Truck Accident Lawyer Near Me (318) 777-7777
How Much Does it Cost To Hire a Truck Accident Lawyer?
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 out of your insurance settlement or court award. With this arrangement, we can provide you with legal representation regardless of your current financial state.
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Establishing Negligence in Truck Accident Cases
All too often, catastrophic trucking accidents are caused by the negligence of truck drivers. Common situations that lead to collisions include:
- Driver inexperience
- Fatigue due to working hours violations
- Distracted driving
- Traffic violations such as speeding, following too closely, and improper turning
In the case of tractor-trailers, improperly securing cargo or overloading trailers can constitute negligence if they lead to a damaging collision.
Whatever the exact cause, victims who sustain injuries because of these collisions may be able to pursue claims for compensation based on the truckers’ negligence.
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Potentially Recoverable Damages in Truck Accident Cases
Under Louisiana law, victims can hold the liable party or parties responsible for the expenses and losses they incurred because of their injuries. Recoverable trucking accident damages may be economic or non-economic.
Economic Damages
These damages may include the following:
- Injury-related medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, and surgical bills
- 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
- Other out-of-pocket expenses
Non-Economic Damages
Although more difficult to financially quantify, these damages may also be available. They may include:
- Emotional distress.
- Psychological harm.
- Reduced quality of life.
- Loss of marital benefits for injury victims’ spouses.
- 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 compensation based on that value.
Truck accident victims should not have to pay for medical bills or other expenses out of their pocket when they did not cause the crash. If you were hurt by a negligent truck driver or trucking company, we are here to help.
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 trucking accident lawyer may be able to obtain includes the following:
- Documentation of the accident scene, including written reports and photographs
- Interviews with witnesses to 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 limited one-year timeframe for filing lawsuits, individuals may benefit from contacting a truck accident lawyer sooner rather than later.
Statute of Limitations for Truck Accident Cases in Alexandria
As mentioned above, it is important to remember that 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 that 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.
Call us today to discuss the details of your case with a team member to determine if you are eligible to recover damages.
Liability in Alexandria Trucking Accident 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. Particularly, when motor vehicle accidents involve a commercial semi-truck, a variety of potential defendants may be liable.
Aside from the truck driver, who may have acted negligently, other parties may be held responsible for injuries resulting from the crash. Examples include:
- The trucking company that employs the driver
- The truck’s owner
- The party leasing the truck or trailer
- The company that performed the repairs
When a case involves a commercial vehicle, it typically falls to a qualified Louisiana truck accident lawyer to investigate and assess all potential liability sources.
Our Truck Accident Lawyers Know How To Navigate Your Personal Injury Case
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 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. Your case is likely worth more than an insurance company will initially offer.
Please let us 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.
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 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 the plaintiff their portion of damages based on their percentage of fault.
If the jury determines that the plaintiff shares some of the liability, their award would be reduced by their percentage of fault. Insurance companies may try to shift blame onto the plaintiff to save money, but our truck accident attorney, who handles cases in Alexandria, could help refute these arguments.
Negligence in Truck Accidents
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.
Duty of Care
Proving a legal duty of care is usually the first step to filing a successful civil lawsuit, but it is not the only requirement. In addition to possessing and subsequently breaching their duty to drive as a reasonable driver would, defendants must meet a few other conditions to be liable for damages.
Breach of Duty
The plaintiff’s attorney must prove to the jury that the defendant’s breach of duty was the proximate cause of the plaintiff’s injuries. Evidence used to prove this element of legal negligence may include witness testimony and accident reports.
Resulting Damages
In addition, the plaintiff must have compensable damages for a personal injury lawsuit to have merit. A valid claim may exist if injuries suffered by the plaintiff led to financial, physical, or emotional losses. Evidence used to prove this may include medical records and associated bills.
Commercial Trucking Accident Causes
There are many reasons truck collisions take place. Violating safety 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 truck accidents.
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 are discussed below:
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.
That 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. Sometimes those hours might not even be 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. The FMCSA requires commercial drivers to rest for a certain number of hours, but some truckers and their employers disregard the rules.
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.
Driving Under the Influence
Marijuana, narcotics, and stimulants used by some truck operators impair judgment and performance. The potential for accidents is compounded when adding drugs or alcohol to sleep deprivation.
Inadequate Surveillance of Surroundings
Sometimes, truck drivers do not properly assess their surroundings before acting. A negligent trucker may have missed a smaller car changing lanes before attempting to move into the same lane.
For example, 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.
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. Rainy weather, road construction, or higher traffic may all necessitate a slower speed.
A truck accident lawyer serving Alexandria will look at all possibilities during a thorough investigation to determine how your crash was caused and who is responsible for it.
Work With an Alexandria Truck Accident Attorney Today
To help uncover the at-fault party in your crash, an Alexandria truck accident lawyer from our firm may be your best option.
Laborde Earles is committed to protecting the rights of auto accident injury victims. Call today for a free legal consultation and get started on your case, or fill out the online contact form.
Call or text (318) 777-7777 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
