Truck crashes take a special approach compared to other auto accidents. These cases often involve two defendants: the truck driver and the company they work for. On top of this, insurance companies get in the way and try to protect their policyholders.
Our attorneys can cut through the noise, focus on your injuries, and work to get your damages paid. We are not afraid of standing up to massive trucking companies in settlement negotiations or at trial if it means getting you the damages you deserve.
For a free case review, call The Carrion Law Firm’s Queens truck accident lawyers right away at (718) 841-0083.
What Should You Do After a Truck Accident in Queens?
After a truck accident, there are many steps you can take, but our lawyers recommend focusing on two things: getting yourself safe and calling for help. That includes calling 911 and calling a lawyer.
Get Safe
Truck accidents on highways can be especially susceptible to secondary crashes. Get yourself out of your vehicle and move to a safe place on the side of the road. If you can, move your car out of the way of traffic.
Call 911
Calling 911 is important because that is how you get the ambulances to come and how you notify the police of the crash. EMTs can assess your condition and, if you need it, take you to the hospital for medical treatment. The police will write up a report, and this can help you track down important evidence for your case.
Additional Steps
You can collect evidence such as photos and the name, insurance, and contact information for everyone involved, though this should also be in the police report. Noting everything you can about the weather, road conditions, lighting, and location will help, but if you need to go to the hospital, focus on your injuries first.
Calling a Lawyer
Calling for help also means getting our truck accident lawyers involved as soon as you can. We can look for evidence you might have missed – such as security camera footage – and begin collecting medical records and other evidence to build your case. We can also speak with insurance companies and start negotiating a settlement.
Evidence We Can Use in Your Commercial Truck Accident Case
Most of the evidence in a truck accident case is what you might expect: driver testimony, witness testimony, photos of damage, etc. However, there are some important pieces of evidence you might not realize are so vital.
Medical Records
Your medical records link the injuries directly to the accident and make it hard for trucking companies to deny their trucker hurt you. Getting immediate medical care also shows how serious the injuries were.
Moreover, these records detail your exact injuries.
Trucking Records
The truck driver and trucking company are legally required to keep certain logs saying how long they were driving, what cargo they were carrying, what checks were performed, etc. Problems with these records can highlight the driver’s or company’s negligence.
Additionally, many trucks track info like how fast the vehicle was going and how many miles it has logged. We can subpoena all relevant records the trucking company has.
Video
More and more truckers and other drivers have dash cams to make auto accident cases easier. If there was footage of the crash, it can help us prove the trucker caused your accident.
Additionally, nearby businesses or homes might have security cameras that caught the crash on video. As web-based security cameras become cheaper and more popular, our lawyers can often find more video – and more angles – of the crash than you might expect.
Traffic camera video can also be obtained in some cases.
Photos
If you can take photos of the aftermath of the crash, they can help show the jury what happened and back up your claims about the accident. For example, photos showing the positioning of the vehicles and the damage can highlight who hit who and where they were hit, corroborating your account of the crash.
Photos of injuries can also link your injuries to the crash. You can also use your camera to copy down info like the trucker’s ID and auto insurance card.
How Can You Hold Trucking Companies Responsible for Your Injuries?
Trucking companies are usually liable for truck accidents in two ways:
Vicarious Liability
A legal principle called “respondeat superior” allows victims to sue the defendant’s employer when the accident happened in the course of the defendant’s job. Truck drivers are hired to drive, so any accidents they cause while doing so can be filed against the trucking company.
There may be ways that trucking companies can get out of these rules by claiming their driver was in violation of company policy or had taken the truck on a personal errand. However, the cases where those defenses actually apply are rare.
Direct Liability
As mentioned, trucking companies are responsible for things like screening drivers and maintaining their vehicles. If the crash was based on something the trucking company did directly, victims can sue them directly.
These issues are common mistakes trucking companies can be directly liable for:
- Negligent hiring
- Negligent retention of dangerous drivers
- Negligent truck maintenance or missed maintenance
- Overweight trucks
- Improper loading and tie-downs
- Regulatory violations.
Trucking companies have also been held liable in past cases for directly ordering truckers to violate rules. For example, there are real cases where trucking companies have denied paychecks to truckers unless they falsify their hours of service logs and do unauthorized overtime.
Trucking companies might also put their truckers in danger by using dangerous equipment, failing to notify them about hazardous materials, and more. Both the drivers they hit and the truckers themselves might be victims of what dangerous trucking companies do.
Why Are Commercial Truck Accidents More Complicated Than Car Accidents?
In most car accident cases, there is you and the other driver. Some crashes involve multiple drivers, but truck accident cases have the added element of the trucking company being involved.
Most truckers work for a trucking company rather than being independent owner-operators. This means they have a boss, and their boss might be liable for what the trucker did on the road.
Trucking companies are responsible for their driver’s health and safety qualifications, screening drivers before hiring them, and keeping their vehicle fleet in working order. Involving these companies in the case makes them automatically more complicated, and it means there is a rich company paying for its own lawyers to shut you down.
There are also complex trucking regulations at the state and federal levels. Violations of these rules can help you prove fault in your case, but the rules are sometimes complicated in how they apply, whether the violation is on the driver or the company, and how that relates to fault in your case.
Do You File an Insurance Claim or Lawsuit for a Queens Truck Accident?
Typically, injury victims will file both insurance claims and lawsuits for a truck accident.
New York uses a no-fault insurance system that expects you to use your own insurance – called PIP (personal injury protection) – to cover medical bills and lost wages. These policies typically have $50,000 limits and do not cover all damages in these categories. They also pay nothing for pain and suffering.
If you have “serious injuries” – usually including a permanent injury, lost function, or a broken bone – then you can file against the at-fault driver for additional damages and pain and suffering. Pain and suffering usually will not come from your own insurance, no matter how bad your injuries are.
However, insurance companies rarely pay claims in full without a fight. Rigorous negotiation from our attorneys might be enough to pressure the insurance company and trucking company to settle for a fair value, but if they refuse, we can file your case in court.
Once a lawsuit is filed, we can use this added pressure to negotiate a settlement. If they still refuse, we can take them to trial where the decision goes to a judge and jury.
Compensation Available for Truck Accident Victims in Queens
Injured truck accident victims in Queens can get compensation for both economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages pay you back for vehicle repairs, medical bills, lost wages the injury causes, and other expenses. Virtually any costs you face because of the accident can be claimed, and our attorneys can comb through your finances to see what applies.
Non-economic damages cover any of the other symptoms of a crash that have no bills, receipts, or financial value. Physical pain, mental/emotional suffering, lost enjoyment, and more can all be covered.
Keep in mind that non-economic damages – a.k.a. “pain and suffering” – can only be claimed against the defendant; your insurance will not cover these. You also need “serious injuries” to qualify for a claim against the defendant under our no-fault laws.
Do You Have a Strong Truck Accident Claim?
There are many factors that go into what makes a truck accident case “strong.” Cases are ultimately decided on the “totality of the circumstances,” with juries weighing all kinds of details. However, three factors can make your case very strong:
Innocent Victim
If you did nothing wrong, you are more likely to win your case. Not only will the jury side with a sympathetic victim, but it will be harder for the trucking company to blame anyone but themselves for your crash.
Serious Injuries
If you have very serious injuries, juries will see this. More severe injuries are more expensive injuries, and courts take those cases very seriously – as do insurance companies who might want to settle to avoid getting embroiled in a case they know they will ultimately lose.
Strong Evidence
If you have eyewitnesses, video of the crash, photos of the damage, strong medical records, and unequivocal proof that the trucker was at fault, your case will be quite strong. No injury case is a slam dunk, but all of this evidence helps.
How Long Will it Take to Get Paid for Your Truck Accident Injuries?
When people are hurt, out of work, and dealing with an injury, they need damages now. Fortunately, New York’s no-fault rules often mean your insurance can provide you with some damages in the meantime to cover daily expenses like rent and groceries. Unfortunately, truck accident cases can still take months to settle.
More complex cases can take even longer, but many truck accident cases need a few weeks for the insurance company’s initial settlement offer, a few weeks for negotiation, and then 2-6 months before the case is scheduled for trial.
If your case goes to trial, the trial itself will usually not be more than a few days. Payment should be issued within around 30 days after the verdict.
If your case settles, it will end much faster, and you will get paid sooner. However, check with our attorneys about the specific timeline for your case and whether you should settle or fight it out in court.
The earlier you start your case, the earlier it ends.
Our Queens Truck Accident Lawyers Can Help
For a free review of your potential case, call The Carrion Law Firm’s truck accident attorneys at (718) 841-0083.