Commercial vehicles like 18-wheeler trucks, fleet vans, delivery cars, and buses are used across the State of New York every day.  In most cases, drivers are required to carry commercial licenses and transportation companies are required to follow specific laws whether they carry cargo or persons.  When these professional drivers and their employers make mistakes, everyday people can be seriously injured.

If you were in an accident with a truck or some other commercial vehicle, call a lawyer right away.  Our New York commercial vehicle accident attorneys represent injured drivers and work to hold the commercial drivers and transportation companies responsible for their injuries.

For a free initial evaluation of your injury case, call The Carrion Law Firm today.  Our New York commercial vehicle accident attorneys are ready to take your call, discuss your potential case, and represent you in your claims.  Call us at (718) 841-0083.

Suing Commercial Drivers and Transportation Companies in New York

Commercial drivers and the companies that they work for are often responsible for accidents and injuries in commercial vehicle accidents.  Drivers may be able to pursue claims through their insurance, but many times lawsuit are necessary to recover full damages in your case.  Our New York commercial vehicle accident lawyers explain how we may be able to file a lawsuit and what grounds you can use to hold both the driver and the company they work for responsible.

Filing a Lawsuit

As mentioned, insurance claims are often available in auto accident cases, but they might not pay enough.  In New York, drivers are usually limited to filing an injury claim with their own no-fault insurance when they face injuries in a car accident.  However, this may not include full damages because of deductibles, and the damages you can receive might be limited by your policy.

If your injuries qualify as “severe” or you are suing for the death of a loved one, you can typically file a lawsuit against the responsible driver instead.  This means taking the commercial driver to court and getting compensation from their insurance company.  In many cases, you can also sue the company they work for.

Suing the Transportation Company for Vicarious Liability

Commercial drivers like truckers, bus drivers, delivery drivers, and more all drive as part of their job.  Typically, you sue the driver who caused your crash for car accident injuries.  However, when they are driving as part of their job, you can often sue the company they work for for vicarious liability.  This allows you to sue trucking companies, bus companies, taxi companies, and other commercial transportation companies.

A negligent driver’s employer can be held liable for the driver’s mistakes behind the wheel in many cases.  New York’s “respondeat superior” laws require employers to answer for their employees’ mistakes when those mistakes happen in the course of their employment, while the employee is working for the company as an employee.  Since commercial drivers are hired to drive a vehicle, most crashes while they are on duty and behind the wheel can be grounds to sue the company.

There may be some exceptions to this rule.  For example, drivers who work as independent contractors are often excluded from this rule, but certain factors might alter whether that classification is permitted.  Additionally, commercial drivers who go off route, drive their commercial vehicle while off duty, or otherwise violate company policies (e.g., driving under the influence while working) might also take liability onto themselves because they are not working within the scope of their employment when an accident happens.

Sometimes, companies can be held liable for their employee’s driving even if the driver is not typically a “commercial driver.”  Quick deliveries and driving runs performed as an agent of the company and within the scope of employment may still lead to the company’s liability even if the employee that caused the crash is not “a driver” at the company.  Talk to our New York commercial vehicle accident lawyers for more information about whether you sue the driver or the company.

Suing Transportation Companies for Violations

In many cases, the transportation company might have helped cause the accident itself.  Trucking companies, bus companies, and other companies often own the vehicles that their commercial drivers use.  This means that repair issues or equipment failure could be the company’s fault, and the commercial driver might be a victim as well.

Transportation companies also have to follow federal regulations for shipping and passenger transport.  These rules require drivers to have commercial driver’s licenses (CDLs), bar drivers with certain health conditions, require cargo to be loaded in certain ways, and mandate breaks during shifts and off-duty time between shifts.  Violating these rules or forcing a driver to violate the rules can make a company share at least some of the fault for causing the accident.

Damages in Commercial Vehicle Accidents in New York

When you sue for injuries, you can often get damages beyond what your insurance might have covered.  The defendant could be ordered to pay for any damages related to your injuries, including pain and suffering damages and vehicle repair costs that your personal injury protection (PIP) coverage might not pay for.

Financial or economic damages in your case can involve payments for medical bills, lost wages, vehicle repair costs, and any other costs brought about by your injuries.  For example, the cost of home nursing care, occupational therapy, and more can usually be included in your lawsuit.

Non-economic damages can also be claimed in many cases to cover intangible effects like pain and suffering.  Your New York commercial vehicle accident lawyer can explain how these damages might be unavailable in an insurance claim.  We can also explain how to calculate these damages in your commercial vehicle accident case.

Call Our New York Commercial Vehicle Accident Lawyers Today

If you or a loved one faced injuries in an accident with a commercial vehicle like a truck, van, or bus, call The Carrion Law Firm’s New York commercial vehicle accident attorneys today.  You can reach us at (718) 841-0083 for a free case evaluation.