Huntington, NY Truck Accident Lawyer

Truck accidents are incredibly dangerous experiences. Very few motorists or pedestrians who are hit by 18-wheelers, semi trucks, or other big rig vehicles leave the experience unscathed. Recovery periods for injuries sustained in truck accidents can often take many months if not years. In some cases, injuries from truck accidents can be permanent and forever alter how you live your life.

With so much at stake after a truck accident, you do not want to leave anything to chance. You need experienced attorneys who are ready to work tirelessly to get all the evidence and information about your case and fight hard for you in court.

Get in touch with our truck accident lawyers from The Carrion Law Firm by calling (718) 841-0083 to get a free case analysis.

How to Pursue Damages in a Truck Accident Case in Huntington, NY

After a truck accident, you could be dealing with very severe injuries, and you need compensation for the pain and suffering, medical expenses, and lost wages from the crash. However, getting those damages paid can be an uphill battle because of certain New York laws as well as the general requirements to prove and win a truck accident case against the proper parties.

NY No-Fault Laws

New York uses a no-fault insurance rule in Huntington and across the state. This means that when you are involved in an auto accident, you can file a claim for property damage against the at-fault driver’s insurance, but damages for injuries come from your own insurance regardless of fault. The only way to reach beyond your own insurance and file a third-party claim or a lawsuit against the at-fault party is to show you have “serious injuries.”

Many cases do qualify as “serious injury” cases because this definition includes any permanent injuries, any fractures, and any injuries that will disable you for at least 90 of the next 180 days after the injury. Loss of a fetus and death also always count as “serious,” allowing lawsuits for the loss of a loved one.

If you just use your insurance for coverage, it has limits on what percentage of medical bills and lost wages it covers, as well as an overall policy limit. You cannot get pain and suffering damages or full coverage for your injuries and expenses unless you file against the at-fault driver.

Burden of Proof

To prove your case and win an insurance claim or lawsuit against the at-fault parties, you need to show that they were at fault. When a trucker causes your crash, this usually means you need to provide sufficient evidence to convince a jury “by a preponderance of the evidence” that the trucker violated a legal duty they owed you and that that violation caused your crash and your resulting injuries. In many cases, this means simply pointing to a traffic law they violated, such as when the accident was caused by the driver running a red light, failing to yield, speeding, or driving drunk. Violations of trucking regulations might also satisfy the breach of duty requirement, such as when the driver violates hours of service regulations.

You can also sue for unreasonably unsafe driving that does not violate a specific law, and you can also sue trucking companies for mistakes that cause the crash.

At-Fault Parties

As mentioned, the trucker will likely be responsible for the crash as the person behind the wheel. However, the trucking company is often involved in these cases, too.

Trucking companies can be sued for their role as the negligent driver’s employer as long as the truck driver was performing their job duties when the crash happened. If that is the case, then the company they work for will be at fault in place of the individual driver. The ways that trucking companies often try to dodge liability in trucking accident cases is by positioning their driver as a self-employed independent contractor or by claiming that the trucker was not performing job duties if they were unreasonably off course or taking the truck on personal errands.

Trucking companies can also share liability if their truck or driver was unsafe and they should have known about it. This negligent hiring, negligent retention of an employee, or negligent upkeep of a vehicle they owed can place them partly at fault for the crash, or else it might be the main cause of the trucking accident. Additionally, trucking companies who violate trucking regulations can also be held responsible when those violations cause accidents, such as if they have a driver drive beyond their legal driving limits and the driver crashes because they were tired.

Types of Truck Accidents in Huntington, NY

Truck accidents can happen in a variety of ways. We will go over some of the kinds of truck accidents our truck accident lawyers can represent you for in a truck accident lawsuit below. Different accidents can happen for different reasons, which can determine who you bring to court to sue.

Rollover Accidents

Rollover accidents are when a commercial truck tips over to one side, potentially crushing any vehicle driving next to it. Additionally, rollover accidents create an obstacle on the road that other drivers may not be expecting, and they could crash into the overturned truck if the drivers do not have enough time to react.

Rollover accidents are often caused by a truck trailer being imbalanced. Commercial trucks, especially tractor-trailers, are much more top-heavy than ordinary vehicles. This means that truck drivers operating these vehicles have to be very careful when turning or making sudden moves on the road, lest the truck loses its balance and rollover. Oversteering or turning too sharply are common causes of rollover accidents. In addition, an improperly loaded or overloaded trailer can contribute to a rollover accident taking place.

Fishtailing Accidents

Fishtailing is when the rear wheels of a vehicle cannot gain traction with the road and swerve back and forth from side to side in a “fishtail” motion. These accidents can be caused by poor road conditions like icy weather or roughly paved roadways, equipment issues like substandard tires or some sort of defect in the axle of the vehicle, or improperly loaded trailers. A fishtailing trailer could easily sideswipe another vehicle and seriously injure the driver.

Jackknife Accidents

A jackknife accident is when the trailer of an 18-wheeler pivots around the linking mechanism to the truck cab and folds in on itself like a pocketknife. For that reason, jackknife accidents are nearly as dangerous to the truck driver as they are to other motorists. A rapidly moving trailer swinging around like a lever is incredibly hard to predict, so other motorists could get hit by surprise or not be able to move out of the way effectively. In extreme cases, the linking mechanism could snap, and the trailer could go flying down the roadway. However, substandard construction or another defect with the linking mechanism likely would have a part to play in that kind of accident.

A common cause of jackknife accidents is improper braking from the truck driver. The trailer of an 18-wheeler moves of its own accord and follows what the cab is doing, so the trailer will not stop when the rest of the truck does. Jackknife accidents are prone to happen when the truck driver comes to a sudden stop.

T-Bone Accidents

A T-bone accident is when a truck hits another vehicle perpendicularly. These accidents are incredibly devastating for any passengers located on the impacted side since they are very close to the area of impact and face the full brunt of the oncoming truck.

T bone accidents are frequently caused by driver negligence. A trucker who is not paying attention, drunk, or misjudges how soon they need to hit the brakes can cause a T-bone accident through their incompetence.

Causes of Truck Accidents in Huntington, NY

The cause of your particular truck accident is an extremely important part of your truck accident lawsuit. One of the things you need to prove in court to be able to recover damages is that the defendant caused your injuries. Therefore, going over your case with our truck accident lawyers and figuring out the cause of your accident can help to have us file the best lawsuit possible on your behalf.

Tired Drivers

Driver fatigue is a serious problem in the trucking industry. Driving a vehicle while extremely tired or fatigued is about as dangerous as driving after a night of heavy drinking. One does not need to work hard to imagine the destruction that can be caused by a truck driver who cannot react properly to the driving situation around them.

Because of how dangerous tired driving is, there are rules that put limits on how long a trucker can be on the road continuously. For example, truck drivers must take a 30-minute break after eight hours of consecutive driving and may only drive a maximum of eleven hours after ten consecutive hours off duty.

Inexperienced Drivers

There is currently a shortage of truck drivers in the United States. Accordingly, trucking companies are looking to fill the ranks of their fleets and may hire drivers who either do not meet their usual standards or are not quite ready to go out on the road. Less experienced truckers could run into a road situation that they do not know how to deal with and get in an accident.

Damages for Injured Truck Accident Victims in Huntington

As mentioned, when you sue for a truck accident, you can claim damages for lost wages, medical bills, and pain and suffering. If you try to rely on your insurance alone, you can only get partial coverage for your medical bills and lost wages, given that you are subject to certain percentage limits, a policy limit, and deductibles you need to pay to access your coverage. Our truck accident lawyers, as part of your case, will help you understand your total damages and help you maximize them, seeking full coverage for all injuries and damages caused by this crash.

When we sue the at-fault driver, we can often show the jury evidence of expenses that stemmed from the crash. This predominately covers medical care costs, but it can also cover home care needs, childcare needs, and other expenses. The money you miss out on because of the injuries the crash caused you – e.g., lost wages and earnings – can also be claimed.

On top of all of this, pain and suffering damages can account for the physical, mental, and emotional suffering you went through from the crash.

In the case that the at-fault driver’s insurance does not cover your damages in full, a lawsuit against the trucking company can often pay for the remaining damages. On top of this, if you need to use them, your insurance policy might have additional coverages that can support you, such as uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage to pay for your damages when the other driver’s insurance is too low. Even so, commercial truck drivers and trucking companies often have to have higher insurance than what an everyday driver will have, increasing the likelihood that these damages will be covered in full in your case.

Talk With Our Huntington, NY Truck Accident Lawyer Today

Our truck accident lawyers are ready to review your case when you call The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083.