Commercial Truck Accident Attorneys in Birmingham
Living comfortably in America today would not be possible without large trucks. To be sure, large trucks, including tractor-trailers and semi-trucks, are responsible for the transportation of goods across the country, bringing things like food, supplies, medications, clothes, and basic necessities to consumers in Alabama and elsewhere.
Regardless of the importance and necessity of large trucks, though, these vehicles present an increased risk of accident and injury on the roads. In fact, in a single year in Alabama alone, there were nearly 9,000 large trucks involved in accidents, resulting in more than 150 fatalities and thousands of non-fatal injuries.
If you or a loved one has been in a truck accident, you may be coping with serious injuries, large medical bills, and looming questions about the future. Our truck accident lawyers at the offices of Mann & Potter, P.C. can help you to understand your legal options, file your truck accident claim, and recoup the financial award that you need in order to move forward with your life.
Fault in Truck Accidents
Because Alabama is an at-fault car insurance state, anyone who is involved in an accident and suffers harm or property damage must turn to the at-fault driver’s liability insurance policy for compensation. As such, establishing fault in a truck accident is absolutely essential – if a plaintiff is found to be partially at fault for an accident, their ability to recover damages from the other party may be completely annihilated based on Alabama’s system of pure contributory negligence. One of the most important things that our truck accident lawyers will do for you is open an investigation into your case to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that your accident and injuries would not have occurred but for the negligence of another party.
Top Causes of Truck Accidents
Truck accidents are almost always preventable, and would not occur but for the fault of one of the parties involved. To be sure, some of the most common causes of truck accidents include:
- Driving distracted;
- Fatigued driving;
- Driver intoxication or impairment, including the use of prescription or over-the-counter drugs;
- Aggressive driving;
- Speeding;
- Cargo shifts; and
- Vehicle defects, such as defective tires or brakes.
Liability for a Truck Accident
Once the cause of a truck accident has been identified, the next step is determining who is liable—or legally responsible—for the damages that have resulted. Parties who might be named in a truck accident lawsuit include:
- The truck driver;
- The trucking company;
- A third-party driver;
- A vehicle part manufacturing company; or
- The party responsible for cargo loading and securement.
Our lawyers will consider all potentially-liable parties and explore all available insurance options in order to increase your chances of recovering your full settlement amount.
Why Truck Accidents Are More Dangerous Than Car Accidents
Across the board, truck accidents are far more dangerous than accidents that only involve passenger vehicles. The average tractor-trailer is roughly 20 times heavier than a passenger vehicle, so it can do a lot of damage even in a minor accident. Because of this, truck accidents often cause far more property damage than passenger vehicle accidents. Vehicle owners often have to deal with totaled vehicles and the difficulty of getting compensation for their inconvenience.
Additionally, an accident caused by a commercial truck is likely to cause far more severe injuries than one involving passenger vehicles. Drivers and passengers are likely to suffer whiplash, concussions, broken bones, spinal cord damage, TBIs, and even paralysis. The treatment for just one of these injuries can easily reach hundreds of thousands of dollars, and few accidents leave victims with just one injury.
Fatality rates for trucking accidents are higher than those reported for passenger vehicle accidents. Per the FMCSA, over 5000 people died in truck and bus crashes in 2018, representing an 8% increase in fatality rate.
The Financial Aspects
Next, think about the financial and legal aspects of a crash with a commercial truck. There are a lot of people with a vested interest in what happens when a truck crashes. The person sending the shipment still wants to get paid for the goods they entrusted to the driver. The person receiving the goods wants to make sure they aren’t paying for anything they don’t receive. Both parties want to know they won’t be held liable for injuries. The truck driver does not want to be held personally liable for the damage caused, and the trucking company that employs them wants to minimize their legal risk.
That’s a lot of parties, all of whom want to wash their hands of responsibility and point the finger at someone else. How are you supposed to get to the bottom of it, get the facts, and figure out who’s liable when everyone is putting their own spin on it?
Many truckers are protected by multiple insurance policies. The company who owns the truck may have insurance, as does the company employing the driver. The person who owns the cargo being shipped may also have insurance.
On the plus side, this may allow you to recover compensation from more parties. On the other hand, those insurance companies will all be doing everything they can to minimize their percentage of the settlement payout. You need someone who is only looking out for your best interests.
Determining Liability
Determining liability in a trucking accident is a massive task. There is much more evidence in a truck crash than in a passenger vehicle crash. The “black box” of the truck contains vital information regarding the driver’s actions and safety, and trucking logs indicate recent repairs, assessments, and issues.
From this and other evidence, your attorney can figure out what caused the accident and who is liable. This allows them to begin the truly challenging part of this process: fighting for a fair settlement from the other party.
Remember, trucking companies know that there is a lot at stake when an accident occurs. They will spend a lot of money on legal representation to minimize their payout and their own risk. If you want any chance of getting the compensation you deserve, you need to fight back by hiring your own attorney.
Who is Responsible for a Truck Accident in Alabama?
Trucking accidents are among the most complicated types of personal injury cases, because of the number of parties that may be involved. For example, if the accident is the fault of the truck driver, the trucking company who hired the driver may also share liability. It is important to look at all parties that may be liable, so that the injured party receives maximum compensation, and so that those responsible are held fully accountable for their actions.
Here are some of the parties that someone who is injured in an accident with a commercial truck could go after:
The Truck Driver
Driver negligence is a major contributing factor in a large number of commercial vehicle accidents. And in a truck accident case, proving that the driver violated federal or state trucking regulations leading up to the accident can help demonstrate fault. Examples of commercial trucking violations include:
- Driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs (DUI);
- Hours of service violations (i.e., driving too long without taking a break);
- Traffic violations such as speeding, driving recklessly, distracted driving, etc.
The Trucking Company
The company that employs the driver or contracted with them to make the delivery may also be responsible for the accident. Trucking companies will often try to avoid liability by claiming that the driver is an independent contractor rather than an employee. However, just because the company says the driver is an independent contractor, this does not necessarily mean it is true.
For example, even if the company does not withhold taxes and provide workers’ compensation, unemployment, and health insurance benefits, the driver may still be an employee if they are required to display a company placard in the vehicle and/or they make deliveries exclusively for this trucking company. An experienced truck accident lawyer can thoroughly examine the relationship between the driver and the trucking company to determine if the trucking company can be held responsible for the accident.
The Cargo/Shipping Company
Some commercial trucking accidents happen because the truck was overloaded (beyond allowed weight limits) or loaded unevenly, causing the truck to rollover or tip to its side. When this is the case, the shipping company that loaded the truck may be partially responsible for the accident, particularly if they violated cargo loading rules.
The Designer or Manufacturer of a Faulty Vehicle or Vehicle Part
If the defective vehicle or defective vehicle part played a role in the accident, it may be possible to bring a product liability claim against the designer, manufacturer, or another party in the supply chain. Common product defects that can cause truck accidents include tire blowouts, brake line failures, computer dashboard malfunctions, and steering system failures.
The Party Responsible for Maintaining the Truck
Big rig trucks put on thousands of miles over-the-road in a typical month. But sometimes, in a rush to get them back on the road in time to meet tight and often unrealistic schedules, they are not serviced properly. Truck maintenance is essential to keeping the vehicle in safe working order, and when the party who is in charge of maintenance fails in this duty, they can also be held responsible if a preventable mechanical failure plays a role in the accident.
Truck Accident Injuries and Damages
It is incredibly rare for those who are involved in a truck accident to walk away from the accident unscathed. Because of the massive weight of the larger vehicles that are involved in truck collisions, and the sheer amount of force that is then involved in the accident, smaller, passenger vehicles are often completely totaled or crushed. As such, occupants of those smaller vehicles may suffer devastating injuries and damages, including disabling and permanent injuries and impairment, high medical bills, the inability to return to work, a diminished quality of life, psychological harm, and a myriad of other losses and impediments to living a happy, healthy life. In particularly severe truck crashes, victims may suffer fatal injuries, leaving surviving loved ones with grief and questions about the future.
Filing a Truck Accident Claim in Alabama – Evidence and Deadlines
If you have been in a truck accident in Alabama, it’s important that you understand the types of evidence that you will need to bring forth a successful claim for damages, as well as the limit on the amount of time that you have to file your lawsuit.
Our lawyers will be responsible for gathering and organizing all evidence on your behalf, although we encourage you to participate in the process to the greatest degree possible and to provide us with any evidence and documentation you have at your initial consultation. Types of evidence that are valuable in a truck accident claim include:
- Truck driver’s logs;
- Truck servicing and maintenance reports;
- Police reports;
- Eyewitness reports;
- Doctors’ opinions;
- Medical reports;
- Truck black box (event data recorder) data;
- Testimony from friends and family;
- Accident reconstruction experts’ opinions;
- Vehicle design specialists’ opinions;
- Photos of the accident scene; and
- More.
Once evidence is gathered, fault is determined, and the amount of damages that you have suffered has been calculated, our lawyers will issue a demand letter to the relevant insurance companies. From there, negotiations will ensue – we are skilled negotiators who won’t back down or accept lowballed settlement offers. In the event that negotiations are unsuccessful and you are not offered the settlement that you deserve, we will consider litigation. If you decide to file a lawsuit, you must do so within two years’ time. Failure to file your suit within this time frame will serve as a permanent bar to recovery.
Let Our Lawyers Help You Recover the Settlement You Deserve After an Alabama Truck Accident
There are few things that may change your life more than being involved in a catastrophic truck accident. As you recover from your injuries and learn more about what your future will look like, our lawyers want to lend you the legal support and aid that you need. While nothing can truly give you back what has been taken or restore your life to the quality that it was before the accident, a large settlement can ensure that there are the financial resources necessary to pay for your medical bills, accommodate for your disability in the future, and support your costs of living.
When you call our Alabama truck accident lawyers, we will sit down with you to discuss your case and provide you with a free overview of your options and our professional legal opinion. You can call us today at 205-879-9661 to schedule your free consultation, send us a message telling us more about your case, or visit our Birmingham law office in person. We are also able to travel to your location if injuries preclude you from traveling to ours. Please reach us today to get started.
We also handle the following cases:
Truck Accidents in Hoover, Alabama
Truck Accidents in Montgomery, Alabama
Truck Accidents in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
