It’s an all too common story: truck driver falls asleep and causes a bad traffic accident. Truckers spend long hours on the road and can put every other car and family on the road in harm’s way. Not only do drivers drive for a long time, legally they can drive up to 11 hours, they also spend time with loading, unloading, weigh station stops, rest breaks and fueling the trucks.
There are several factors that can contribute to a trucking accident and they must all be looked at. This can include traffic law violations, driver error, equipment failure, road conditions, and even road design. What we’re looking for is how to prove the driver was careless and caused your injuries.
To help prove this negligence, a full investigation of the accident and the driver must be done. A driver must carry a log in which information regarding how much he drives is reported. This can be a very good tool in showing how the driver was irresponsible. Also used in a lawsuit are police reports, eyewitness testimony, expert testimony and photographic evidence of the crash site all help paint the picture of how the driver caused harm.
Victims of trucking accidents can receive compensation if it can be proven that the driver showed negligence. This means the truck accident has to have resulted from the driver’s carelessness. And due to that negligence, the driver caused injury and costs to the victim.
These costs can include:
- Medical bills
- Doctor visits
- Prescription drugs
- Even physical therapy
Although some trucking accident claims are managed by insurance companies, there are times when the victim will need to seek the advice of a personal injury attorney. This lawyer can help protect your rights even before settling your claim. In some cases, it may be necessary to hire an attorney even if you’ve been offered a settlement. This can be attributed to you not receiving all of the compensation you need, the insurance company holds up the settlement, the government denying your claim or if you’ve been injured by a party who doesn’t have insurance coverage.
