If you recently suffered damages and injuries as a result of an accident with a tractor-trailer, 18-wheeler, or another type of commercial vehicle, our Henderson truck accident lawyer can help you seek compensation for your injuries and more.
Although recovering damages can be a lengthy, complicated, and stressful process, you do not have to take on a trucking company or the insurance company on your own. We will help you build a case for recovering truck-accident-related medical bills, material losses, lost wages, or even damages for the wrongful death of a loved one. We can explain your options during a complimentary case review.
How Our Law Firm Can Help You with Your Truck Accident
Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers has worked hard to earn a stellar reputation as a team that helps the injured people of Henderson, Lafayette, Alexandria, Marksville, and New Orleans. We fight to get the maximum compensation for people like you who have suffered loss from a truck accident.
Our attorneys put their combined experience of 350 years to beat the big carriers and their insurers. To date, our clients have benefited from our commitment to outcomes by recovering more than $200 million in cash settlements and verdicts. Consider this small sampling of wins from our track record of successes:
- $7,000,000: Judgment for a client injured by the driver of an 18-wheeler
- $2,700,000: Settlement for a client injured in an 18-wheeler accident
- $1,800,000: Settlement for a victim of an 18-wheeler accident
- $1,750,000: Trial verdict for our client, an 18-wheeler accident victim
- $1,000,000: Settlement for the victim of an 18-wheeler accident
What We will do as Your Personal Injury Attorneys
Truck accident cases are notoriously complex. As the victim trying to recover damages, you are having to deal with a massive network of deep-pocketed parties that make up the trucking industry.
As your personal injury lawyers, we will handle every interaction with every party and conduct every bit of work required to get you the compensation you deserve in your Henderson truck accident. This includes:
- Investigating your accident
- Calculating your damages
- Negotiating with the insurance company
- Filing a lawsuit in civil court, if necessary
- Litigating your case in court, if necessary
We do it all, so you can focus on recovering from your injury.
Damages You May be Able to Recover After a Truck Accident
Being the victim of a truck accident, or the family member of a victim, is stressful enough without the added burden of trying to recover your financial losses. Our legal team can advise you on any legal action you could take against a negligent driver and/or trucking company, maintenance company, manufacturer, government entity, or other at-fault party.
The financial compensation you may be able to recover after an accident can include:
- Medical bills for any current, past, or future treatments related to the accident
- Damages for mental suffering and anguish as a result of the accident, which can also include loss of companionship
- Loss of wages, including potential future earnings
- Wrongful death expenses, including expenses to cover lost financial support, burial expenses, pre-death medical care expenses, and others.
This list represents only a small sampling of the types of damages you might be able to recover as a result of a truck accident.
How a Truck Driver’s Negligence Can Make Them Liable for Your Accident
Often, truck collisions result from drivers’ negligence. Some examples of common reasons for truck crashes involving driver negligence include:
- Speeding: Truck drivers are often under pressure to adhere to strict delivery deadlines. In some cases, the operators speed to get to their destination faster, even though there are heavy truck speeding limits in every state, as the Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy reports.
- Distraction: Distracted driving can occur when a driver is typing on a mobile device, talking on the phone, eating and drinking, or listening to music.
- Fatigue: Truck drivers can also be distracted by tiredness and even fall asleep at the wheel. They often have to drive long distances across the country and may not always adhere to the appropriate rest periods.
- Impaired driving: A truck driver may be impaired after drug or alcohol consumption. Prescription medicines can also cause impairment. Five percent of fatal accidents involving truck drivers in 2017 involved a truck driver who subsequently tested positive for at least one drug, according to large truck and bus crash facts from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
If we can prove the driver was negligent, we may be able to hold the trucking company liable under vicarious liability laws.
The Trucking Company Might be Liable for Your Truck Accident
Not all accidents happen solely because of a driver’s fault or negligence. A trucking company may also be negligent and could even be found acting illegally by not adhering to regulations or by neglecting vehicle maintenance.
Sometimes, truck accidents are caused by the combined effect of negligence on the part of the driver and trucking company. Some examples of a trucking company being negligent include:
- Failure to maintain vehicle: An accident can be caused by faulty brakes, threadbare tires, or any other preventable mechanical failure.
- Hours-of-service violations: Violations can occur when an employer alters logbooks or asks a truck driver to skip breaks. The trucking company can be vicariously liable even if it did not know the driver violated hours of service regulations.
- Failure to hire safe drivers: A trucking company has the duty to ensure it hires safe drivers by conducting drug testing and/or thoroughly checking a driver’s past driving record, among other reasonable practices.
If we find that a trucking company acted illegally by ignoring regulations or not maintaining vehicles to an appropriate standard, we might be able to recover more compensation through the carrier’s insurer on your behalf.
Other Potentially Liable Parties in a Truck Accident
The laws and regulations surrounding trucking companies and their drivers are often complex. It can be challenging to establish who is at fault. The negligent party may be neither the driver nor the trucking company, but rather the company responsible for the maintenance of the vehicles or the shipper responsible for loading the cargo that shifted during delivery.
Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers’ team of professionals can help in establishing who is at fault. If you or a loved one has been impacted by a truck accident, we are here to help you determine who is responsible and what is owed to you. We can help gather the evidence and witnesses to build your case showing negligence.
We Represent Clients on Contingency
You do not need to worry about any expenses or out-of-pocket costs when you decide to work with us. We work on contingency which means we get paid when you get paid.
Louisiana’s Statute of Limitations Limits Your Time to Sue
Louisiana’s statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits (CC Art. 3492) is short compared with that of other states. You generally have only one year from the date of the accident to make a claim for injury or damages.
Missing the deadline could end your opportunity to bring a lawsuit to court and recover any awards. This is why it is important to speak to a Henderson truck accident lawyer as soon as you can after the accident. The sooner you act, the sooner we can advise you on your legal options, help you build a case, and gather all the evidence.
Our Henderson, Louisiana, Truck Accident Lawyers Can Help
We understand the frustration and anguish you might be experiencing after a truck accident, dealing with the damages, injuries, and insurances. We can help you understand the legal issues surrounding your accident.
Working with us is risk-free. At Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers, we offer free consultations and charge no attorney’s fees unless and until we win your case. Call Laborde Earles Injury Lawyers today for your free consultation: (337) 777-7777.
