Tucson, AZ Truck Accidents Lawyers Assisting Injured Victims with Truck Accident Claims
Accidents with large trucks can be life-altering for people riding in passenger vehicles, as serious injuries or death can occur when a semi-truck collides with your car. If you’re still trying to recover from the devastation of a recent trucking accident on an Arizona highway or street, you should seek legal assistance from a personal injury lawyer with experience taking on truck accident cases.
At Milano Legal Group, PLLC, our compassionate truck accident attorneys are aware of how much a truck crash can affect all aspects of your life. You may have suffered injuries that have left you in pain since the day of the commercial truck accident, or you might have lost a loved one to a fatal accident involving a semi-truck. When you pair this kind of devastation with lost wages and a vehicle that needs to be fixed or replaced, it’s easy to see how truck accident victims often feel completely overwhelmed after truck crashes.
That’s why we want you to know that our truck accident lawyers are here to help you from the beginning to the end of your case. Our skilled legal team will work tirelessly to help you recover the financial compensation you need to pay all your accident-related bills. Contact our Tucson law firm for a free consultation at your convenience to get started on your truck accident case.
What Are Common Causes of Truck Accidents?
Truck accidents are usually caused by a driver’s negligence, which may lead to severe injuries and even death. While no truck driver tries to cause a serious truck accident that takes lives, some drivers make poor decisions that result in this type of tragic outcome.
A common example is truck driver fatigue, as some truck drivers choose to drive more hours in a row than they’re supposed to, according to trucking regulations. They may even feel urged to do so by their employer despite federal and state laws, including those set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Drivers who remain behind the wheel for too long without taking breaks to sleep have slower reaction times and poor decision-making capabilities. This can cause them to drift into other lanes unexpectedly and then lose control of the truck when they try to overcorrect it, causing serious truck accidents that injure other people.
Drivers who operate their large commercial trucks after drinking alcohol or taking drugs may have similar problems behind the wheel, as they tend to get confused or even fall asleep while driving. This can lead to deadly head-on collisions, rollover crashes, T-bone accidents, and other serious trucking accidents that injure or kill drivers and passengers in other vehicles.
Some truck drivers are overly confident in their driving skills and believe they can ignore traffic signs, stop signs, and red lights without any consequences. Unfortunately for the people in nearby passenger vehicles, they’re usually wrong, as reckless driving injures and kills people on the road every day across Arizona.
On the other hand, some newer truck drivers just don’t know the rules for safely driving a large truck, as they didn’t have proper training before setting out on the open road. They might not yet realize how long it takes them to stop in a commercial truck with a trailer that weighs up to 40 tons, causing them to rear-end the passenger vehicle in front of them. They also might struggle to properly load and secure their cargo due to a lack of training, causing cargo to come loose and injure other drivers and passengers.
If you think any of the above causes of crashes may have contributed to the tractor-trailer wreck you were involved in, let your lawyer know. If you’re not sure what caused the truck crash, that’s okay, as the law firm you hire will complete an investigation to get answers. If you are ready to talk about your legal options with a trucking accident lawyer, come to Milano Legal Group, PLLC, to start your truck accident case.
What Injuries Are Common in Large Truck Accidents?
When commercial trucks collide with passenger vehicles, serious injuries usually occur. This is because tractor trailers are quite large and heavy in comparison to other cars, so their impact tends to be devastating to smaller vehicles, especially when they’re speeding. As a result, some debilitating injuries that many accident victims suffer might include:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Broken bones
- Open wounds
- Spinal cord injuries
- Internal bleeding
- Facial scarring
- Burns
- Amputation of limbs
- Paralysis
Such injuries can require you to spend months in the hospital or even end up permanently disabled. These can end up being fatal injuries, as well, so if your loved one passed away from these or other severe injuries caused by a truck accident, you may be able to file a wrongful death case after the deadly collision. Either way, you will need a highly skilled team of accident attorneys to guide you through the case, so contact our Arizona law firm today to learn what your legal options are after a tragic truck accident. We offer free consultations to all new clients looking for legal representation in Tucson.
Who Usually Has Liability for Truck Accidents?
One of the most important steps of the legal process is determining liability for the crash. In most car accidents, one of the drivers is usually considered at fault, so you bring a claim against their insurance company. But with commercial truck accidents, you may be able to hold additional people or companies responsible for your injuries and property damage, which can increase the total settlement amount.
For instance, commercial truck drivers are nearly always working for their employer when they’re operating their tractor trailers. As a result, the trucking company that employs them is often held legally responsible for the actions of the truck driver who is on the clock. This means you can bring a truck accident claim against the insurance company of any trucking companies involved in the semi-truck accident that injured you.
During the investigation, your truck accident attorneys might find that the semi-truck had one or more defective parts, meaning you can hold the truck manufacturer at least partially liable for the trucking accident. In addition, if it’s clear that improperly loaded cargo played a role in the truck accident, you can find out who loaded the trailer and prove liability before pursuing compensation from them.
Your truck accident lawyers will investigate the details of your crash by looking closely at evidence gathered from the accident scene, police reports, medical records, and witnesses. They can then decide to pursue damages from one or more insurance companies, such as the trucking company’s insurance carrier or the driver’s insurance provider.
Semi-truck accident attorneys have the skills and experience to take on these complicated tasks so you can work on fully healing from your injuries after a truck accident. If you’re ready to let the legal professionals handle these details for you, contact our law firm today to set up a time to talk to our semi-truck accident lawyers about your options.
What Damages Can Tractor-Trailer Accident Attorneys Help Me Seek?
The main reason to file a truck accident claim is typically so accident victims can afford their expenses after the collision they were involved in. If you suffered serious injuries or lost a loved one in a truck accident, you are likely struggling to stay above water when it comes to your bills. This is why you should talk to a truck accident lawyer about getting help with financial recovery after a crash.
Your settlement from the insurance company should include a few types of economic damages, so you don’t end up in debt due to the poor decisions of the truck driver who collided with your passenger vehicle. Among the most expensive parts of tractor-trailer accidents is medical care, which is why most personal injury claims from victims request damages for medical expenses. Otherwise, you could end up paying a lot of your own money for medical bills that include:
- Surgery
- Physical therapy
- Medical equipment
- Doctor copays
- Prescription medications
- Ambulance ride
- Future medical expenses
A fair settlement from the insurance companies of the parties involved in a crash should include compensation for medical bills. But that’s just the beginning. Most truck accident cases also request damages for lost wages, as auto accident victims may take months to fully heal after crashes involving commercial trucks. This means if you had to take time away from your job to recover, your truck accident lawyer can include lost wages in your settlement from the insurance company. If you find that your injuries are permanent and debilitating such that you can no longer work at all, you can request money for lost earning capacity, as well.
Collisions with big rigs have a penchant for destroying smaller vehicles, so if you need a new car after the accident, your lawyer will include this request in your claim. Fortunately, most trucking companies have larger insurance policies to match the serious injury and property damage that accidents with commercial trucks can cause. As a result, an experienced truck accident lawyer who is able to prove negligence on the part of the truck driver and trucking company should have no problem getting you a fair settlement that includes enough money for all your damages.
This should include non-economic damages, including pain and suffering and emotional distress. After all, large truck crashes have far-reaching consequences for injured victims, leaving them feeling depressed, anxious, or afraid to drive again for years. If this sounds like your emotional state after a big rig crash, you should know that non-economic damages compensate for the trauma you’ve gone through because of the negligence of a truck driver or trucking company. This is why the law firm you hire will likely calculate these damages for you when you initiate a personal injury suit or a claim against an insurance company.
Finally, truck collisions have the potential to become fatal crashes that kill one or more people involved, in which case surviving family members can file wrongful death claims. With this type of claim, you can get compensated for any costs you paid for the funeral, burial, and medical bills involving your deceased loved one. You may also be able to get damages for pain and suffering, loss of future income, and other losses you may have suffered when your loved one was killed due to the negligence of a trucking company or driver.
To find out what kind of financial compensation you may be eligible for after a crash with a big rig, you should schedule a free consultation with an Arizona law firm. The right truck accident lawyer for your case will work hard to get you the compensation you deserve while you recover from your injuries. Contact our law firm today to set up a free consultation and get the legal counsel you need for your case.
Why Should I Hire a Truck Accident Lawyer?
It can be difficult and time-consuming to file your own personal injury claim with the insurance companies that may have liability for your damages. This is why it’s better to hire truck accident lawyers who have experience with the legal procedures necessary to get the financial compensation you’re looking for from insurance companies that represent trucking industry professionals.
When you come to our law firm for a free consultation, you will meet with caring attorneys who will spend hours researching your truck accident case before calculating the compensation you should get. During the investigation, our injury attorneys from Tucson will request information from the truck’s black box to determine what led to the accident, such as speeding, tire blowouts, or defective brakes. They will also review driver logs and driving records to get an idea of how safe the driver and the trucking company that employs them may be.
Once our lawyers know who to hold liable, they’ll come up with a fair settlement that will cover all your expenses plus any inconvenience or trauma caused by the crash. They can then start negotiating with the insurance companies involved, including talking to the insurance adjuster and other representatives about car accident details while fighting for sufficient compensation for you. If the insurance company won’t pay the compensation you deserve, we can discuss the benefits of bringing truck accident lawsuits against the at-fault parties to ensure you get the money you need.
If you don’t have the time or desire to take on these steps in the legal process, we fully understand, and we’d like to do the work for you. This way, you can breathe a sigh of relief that your case is in good hands. Contact our Tucson law firm today at 855-545-1777 to schedule your free consultation with our truck accident attorneys.