The massive weight and size of trucks make them difficult to stop and maneuver, mainly when speeding. If not driven in a prudent manner, it can result in a devastating accident, severe injuries, and considerable losses like lost wages, medical bills, and psychological trauma. Since the accident could negatively alter your life, you deserve compensation to get your life back to normal. Bringing a personal injury claim is the only way to be awarded compensation, but you need to determine and prove liability. You need an aggressive attorney who can help you prevail in the case. The lawyer can conduct thorough investigations, engage expert witnesses, collect all relevant proof, and build a strong case that can help you hold the defendant accountable and get your compensation.

Understanding the Causes of Truck Accidents

Operating a truck could be both physically and mentally demanding. To keep up with long hours and tight schedules, motorists drive for long hours with little or no sleep. It can result in hazardous situations for other road users.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reports that twelve percent of truck accidents are due to driver non-performance. Driver non-performance includes the trucker falling asleep or experiencing a medical event like a heart attack.

Additionally, the truckers should be professional, keen, and observant. The era of mobile technologies means a lot is competing for their driver's attention. Distraction could cause severe collisions, injuries, or death. According to the FMCSA study previously mentioned, distraction and inattentiveness cause approximately twenty-eight percent of truck crashes.

The study also reported that the trucker's decisions like driving too fast, following too closely, and misjudging other cars' speed caused about thirty-eight percent of the accidents.

Possible Liable Parties in Truck Accidents

While many believe that accountability lies with the driver, the reality is the defendant could be an entity or individual that you haven't previously encountered. For instance, if an inappropriately loaded truck caused the accident, the cargo loading firm is accountable if the rig was unbalanced and rolled over.

Possible defendants include (but not limited to):

  • Truck driver

  • Truck owner

  • Cargo loading company

  • Trucking company

  • Contractors

  • The mechanic who serviced the truck

  • Freight forwarding firm

  • Truck maintenance firm

  • Other drivers

  • City, county, or state government if subpar road maintenance caused the accident

Sometimes if the truck driver caused a crash, the employer could be legally responsible for the collision if the motorist was acting within their employment's scope. Also, the company should protect you by:

  • retaining skilled drivers,

  • maintaining the fleet, and

  • ensuring the drivers adhere to FMCSA regulations on driving shifts and electronic logging.

If there exists evidence that the company did not satisfy these responsibilities, they could be held liable for your accident.

How Truck Accident Defendants Fight Claims and Comparative Negligence Law

More often than not, truck accident defendants shift the blame for their wrongdoing to other parties. Some of the common defenses they use include:

  • The manufacturer might argue that the motor vehicle was in good condition when the driver or trucking company purchased it.

  • The motorist might argue that the alleged victim or another agency/person caused the accident.

  • The county or city government could claim that it maintained the road where the collision took place.

  • The truck motorist's employer might claim that the driver was acting outside the scope of the job responsibilities at the time of the crash.

It is, therefore, your competent personal injury lawyer's duty to conduct thorough investigations of your accident to discredit the defendant's arguments. If you have a strong case, the defendant might be willing to settle your case without proceeding to trial.

Even if the victim partially caused their truck accident, they can still recover damages provided the defendant is at least fifty percent liable. Thanks to the comparative negligence law. For instance, you are operating your car when Jayden loses control of their truck and slams into you. You sustain severe head injuries. Suppose your case proceeds to trial, the judge might rule that you share accountability because you didn't have your seatbelt buckled. If the judge rules that Jayden was more than fifty percent at fault, you should receive compensation. However, the amount will be reduced by the percentage of your responsibility.

How Insurance Providers Determine Liability

After filling your personal injury claim with the insurer, the insurance company will assign the claim to their insurance adjuster to handle claim settlement and investigations.

The insurance adjuster will:

  • Speak with witnesses

  • Research on the truck crash

  • Review the medical reports

  • Examine the injuries sustained

  • Verify details in the insurance policy of the truck driver

Once the insurance provider has determined accountability, they will assign a portion of responsibility to every party. Liability is determined based on negligence. Negligence occurs when a person fails to exercise the degree of caution a prudent person would under a similar state of affairs.

Facts of Establishing Liability in a Truck Accident Claim

There are numerous claims that you can file against the defendant, depending mainly on your case circumstances. They include:

Negligence

To establish the at-fault party committed negligence, you should demonstrate that:

  • The defendant owed you a duty of care,

  • The defendant broke the duty of care, and

  • The breach resulted in your injuries.

All truckers owe all road users the responsibility to operate their vehicles safely. Should the motorist suffer from fatigue or get distracted and, as a result, cause a traffic accident, the driver is deemed negligent.

Negligence Per Se

To establish the at-fault party committed negligence per se, you should establish that:

  • the defendant was supposed to comply with a specific law,

  • you were among the persons the law was tailored to safeguard,

  • the defendant broke the law, and

  • the liable party's violation led to your injuries.

Truck motorists in Nevada should adhere to traffic laws like not driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs or speeding.

Strict Products Liability

If your accident happened because of a defect in the truck, its manufacturer is accountable. To prove strict products liability, you should demonstrate that:

  • The vehicle was defective due to manufacturing, warning, or design defect

  • The defect was there when the truck left its manufacturer's possession

  • The truck was used in a manner reasonably foreseeable by the manufacturer

  • The defect result in the plaintiff's injury or damage

Wrongful Death

Should a truck collision cause a person's death, the victim's family could bring a wrongful death claim. The family (plaintiffs) should prove the elements below:

  • The victim succumbed

  • The demise was due to somebody else's negligence or wrongful conduct

  • The plaintiffs are the victim's representative or heir

  • The passing of the victim caused the plaintiff to suffer damages

How to Prove Responsibility in Your Truck Accident

Like all events that can lead to a personal injury case, determining liability involves deciding who was negligent.

Typically, common sense will tell you that the truck driver, state government, or the cargo loading company acted with negligence, but you might not know what law the defendant broke. The argument to an insurance provider that somebody else was liable for your case can be strengthened if you have evidence to support your conclusion. Below are methods to prove and determine responsibility.

  1. Traffic Laws Violation

Assigning liability is obvious when the driver breaks a traffic law.

Violation can be:

  • failing to yield,

  • speeding,

  • running a stop sign,

  • drunk driving, or

  • distracted driving.

If you are not sure about the law, consider speaking with a skilled personal injury lawyer.

  1. Police Report

Regardless of whether your accident was a fender-bender or severe, you should contact the police to make investigations and a police report. If injured or required to file a property compensation claim with the defendant's insurer, you should contact the insurance adjuster with a copy of the police report.

Police officers are skilled in accident assessments. Their report might have essential information that can lead to proof that will aid you in establishing the cause of your accident and the liability. These details include:

  • Accident basics like date, place, and time of your accident — It is crucial to prove that your truck accident took place.

  • Statement — The police will interview all parties involved and collect a narrative of the events leading to the crash. It will also contain the police's conclusion regarding the issue.

  • Road and weather conditions can assist you to show the truck driver wasn't exercising reasonable care.

  • Depending on your accident's severity, the police could capture photos of the scene, damage to your property, and injuries.

  • Contact information of all parties involved in your accident.

  1. Photographs Play a Significant Role in Determining Liability

Among other details surrounding the crash, capturing images of the accident comes in handy, especially when proving liability to the insurance adjusters. These pictures can also assist in refreshing memory when talking to the insurer or testifying in court. It is because the images give an idea of what occurred.

When thinking about images to take, it might not be apparent which information will become essential later. Therefore, take as many pictures as possible. Using your smartphone or a camera, take photographs of:

  • The truck and the damage it sustained

  • Your car and its damage

  • Skid marks

  • Shattered glass, vehicle parts, and debris that might be lying on the ground

  • Accident scene, including parking lot, intersection

  • Condition/location of traffic signals and stop signs

  • Weather and environmental conditions

  • Your injuries

Be sure you snap photos from different distances and angles.

Moreover, be aware of weather conditions and sunlight and how they can affect the photographs. If possible, capture your images with and without flash or use various flash intensities.

  1. Admitting Fault

The other method of fault determination is simple. If a person says they are sorry to the other parties, they are admitting guilt. Even if you did not cause your truck accident, the trucker could use this against you when denying accountability.

Even when the other party blames you constantly, just let them talk and be firm in denial. Unless they present established evidence of negligence to the court or insurance provider, the court or insurer can't blame you. Your seasoned lawyer will analyze your accident and develop a defense. Also, even when it is apparent that you caused your accident, there might be proof of other factors that you didn't have control over.

  1. Expert Witnesses

An expert witness is an individual qualified by experience, skills, training, education, or knowledge in a specific field and can offer vital insight into your case. They do not have to witness your truck accident but can review the case circumstances and determine what and who caused the crash based on evidence.

The following are different types of expert witnesses that your qualified personal injury attorney can engage when determining your truck accident's liability:

  • Engineering expert — Sometimes, poor public infrastructure can cause your accident. An engineering expert can offer key details regarding road construction, road design, and vehicle design.

  • Telecoms expert — Texting while driving is dangerous since it takes time for a human brain to readjust to the surroundings after using a phone. A telecom expert can offer comprehensive text and call records that show whether the use of a cellular device contributed to your accident, which could assist in determining responsibility.

  • Accident reconstructionist — An accident reconstructionist can review the evidence and determine how your accident occurred. Typically, it involves a combination of police reports, witnesses, vehicle positioning, accident photographs, and GPS data. The expert might recreate your collision in video form and be an essential resource in your insurance claim negotiations and court proceedings.

  • Highway safety experts — These are experts who understand how truck accidents happen, how drivers act, and how conditions such as time, traffic pattern, road, and the weather could cause your accident. Additionally, the experts might give insight into your crash's location.

How Witnesses Can Aid in Your Truck Accident's Liability Determination

Another effective strategy to determine liability is using a witness statement. A witness is an individual who saw what happened.

Even if a third party observed your accident, witness testimony is crucial, provided that individual is credible. Here is one of the reasons for this. Generally, people who see traffic accidents aren't trying to take mental inventories of movement or placement of the cars for reference. Instead, if they are operating a motor vehicle close to the accident, they are more concerned about their safety and avoid being involved.

Determining your witnesses' credibility depends on numerous factors. Listed below are factors that have to do with the viewpoint and location of your witness regarding the collision.

  • Was your witness a pedestrian watching your accident from a safe distance? Was the witness driving their vehicle and, therefore, paid attention to avoid the crash?

  • Was your witness's attention drawn to your collision by the noise of the impact?

  • Did your witness observe your truck accident from the beginning to the end?

  • Is your witness relying only on personal observation?

  • Did your witness observe the truck for an adequate duration to determine whether the driver was speeding?

On that note, you should select your witnesses carefully. Here is a list of persons you can obtain witness statements from:

  • Clients and employees of adjacent businesses

  • Pedestrians

  • Construction workers — Orange cones and changing traffic patterns can make driving challenging, resulting in an accident. Therefore, if your accident happened in a work zone, speak with the construction employees and, if possible, collect their statement.

  • An occupant of a car

  • Persons who stopped to assist

  • Security cameras — Not every witness should be a person. Find out if any nearby businesses, stores, or ATMs have hidden cameras on their property since they might have your accident's video surveillance.

Make sure you collect your statement as soon as possible. A statement acquired immediately is more accurate than a later statement. Human memories fade with time.

  1. Information to Obtain from Witnesses

A witness is notoriously challenging to locate following the accident. As a result, it is essential to acquire as many contact details as possible from all witnesses, including their name, home address, work address, email address, and telephone numbers.

After you acquire your witness' contact information, you should determine:

  • What the witnesses heard or saw

  • Where the witnesses were going to or coming from

  • The witnesses' position during your accident

If your witness cooperates and their statement supports your personal injury claim, request them to draft and sign a statement with an account of what they observed.

Find a Knowledgeable Las Vegas Personal Injury Attorney Near Me

If injured in a truck accident, the negligent party should compensate you for the losses and injuries suffered. However, determining liability is not always easy, and winning a personal injury claim requires skilled legal representation. At Las Vegas Personal Injury Attorney Law Firm, we have the required knowledge and resources and can assist you in obtaining fair and full compensation. The earlier you contact us, the better the chances of collecting evidence and receiving your damages. While many truck accidents settle outside court, we aren't afraid to proceed to trial if that is the only strategy. To get your filing process started or learn further about determining liability, the available options, the litigation process, call us today at 702-996-1224.

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