Utica Truck Accident Lawyer
Large trucks frequently transport heavy cargo and goods across vast distances. Although trucks are common on the roads, they are not always the safest.
Truck accidents may leave numerous other drivers with severe injuries. If you are injured in a truck accident, you can sue the truck driver and possibly the trucking company. Truck accidents may happen in any number of ways. Most accidents result from inexcusable driver negligence, but many others are caused by equipment malfunctions or even other drivers on the road. While you can file a lawsuit against the truck driver and the trucking company, you must first confront restrictions from New York’s no-fault insurance laws. Once we file your lawsuit, we can help you recover damages for economic and non-economic losses and injuries.
If you or someone you love is injured in a truck accident, the injuries and expenses you incur might be extreme. Our Utica truck accident lawyers can help you pay for your damages and hold the defendant accountable for their negligence. For a free case review, call The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083.
Determining Liability in Utica Truck Accident Lawsuits
The point of a lawsuit is to prove in court that someone is responsible for your injuries and have the court hold them liable for your damages. In a truck accident case, several parties might be to blame or even share blame for the accident. Identifying the appropriate defendants is very important, and you should talk to our Utica truck accident lawyers about your case before filing anything.
Often, the truck driver is held liable in accident cases. Truckers are entrusted to get the rig and its cargo from point A to point B as safely as possible. Truck driver negligence is a significant cause of truck accidents across the country. Things like distracted driving, driving drunk, or just general recklessness and a disregard for traffic laws may lead to severe accidents, and truck drivers should be held accountable.
In many cases, the trucking company may be held vicariously liable for the truck driver’s negligence. This might seem a bit strange since the trucking company was not present for the accident, and they likely did not want or expect the accident to happen. However, under the legal doctrine of respondeat superior, an employer may be held vicariously liable for an employee’s negligence if the employee was acting in furtherance of their ordinary job duties.
In some cases, truck accidents happen at least partially because of other drivers besides the truck driver. For example, if another driver negligently cuts off a trucker, but the trucker is speeding and unable to brake safely, both the trucker and the other driver might be responsible for the accident.
How Truck Accidents Can Happen in Utica
Part of what makes truck accidents so dangerous is that so many different factors can cause them. While driver negligence is a major concern, equipment failures and driver fatigue are other possible causes of truck accidents. Our Utica truck accident lawyers can help you determine how your crash happened so we can get started on your lawsuit.
Driver negligence is a big problem in any car accident, but it can be deadly in truck accidents. Failing to obey basic traffic laws like speed restrictions or using turn signals may lead to catastrophic accidents when a truck is involved. Other acts of negligence might include distracted driving or driving while intoxicated.
One of the biggest concerns plaguing the trucking industry is driver fatigue. Many truckers are responsible for driving across very long distances, and industry regulations require drivers to stop and rest. Sometimes, drivers would rather go without sleep to finish a trip sooner, or they face pressure from their employers to get the job done faster. Either way, a trucker who falls asleep at the wheel might cause a major accident.
Accidents might also be caused or made worse by equipment failures. Trucks are extremely large and heavy, and they have safety equipment designed to make driving safer for drivers and other cars on the road. For example, the rear underride bar is meant to stop other cars from getting wedged under the truck in case of a rear-end collision. If this equipment fails, a rear-end crash might turn deadly.
Filing a Lawsuit for a Truck Accident in Utica
While our Utica truck accident lawyers can certainly help you take legal action against the person or people responsible for your injuries, there might be a few hurdles to overcome first. New York is a no-fault insurance state, meaning drivers must carry no-fault personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. This PIP insurance covers them no matter who caused the accident.
Since all drivers are practically automatically covered by their own insurance, New York’s insurance laws prohibit personal injury lawsuits for car accidents unless your case meets the “serious injury” requirements. According to I.S.C. Law § 5104(a), injured drivers cannot recover for non-economic losses in a personal injury lawsuit unless they have suffered a serious injury.
A serious injury is defined under I.S.C. Law § 5102(d) and includes the following injuries that might seriously limit a person’s daily functioning:
- Dismemberment
- Significant disfigurement
- Broken bones
- Lost fetus
- Permanent loss or limitation of a body part, organ, or function
- Death
- Another non-permanent injury that prevents someone from performing substantially all their normal daily tasks
If your injuries meet one of the above criteria, we can move forward with your lawsuit. A lawsuit is often preferred over an insurance claim because a lawsuit may allow you to recover non-economic damages for your pain, suffering, humiliation, and more.
Recovering Damages in Utica Truck Accident Lawsuits
Economic damages available in most truck accident cases include medical bills, property damage, and lost income. Injuries from truck accidents are sometimes so catastrophic that plaintiffs need extensive and long-term medical care. As such, their medical bills tend to be very high. Also, plaintiffs might be so injured that they cannot return to work and lose income, making it even harder to cover their medical bills and replace their destroyed vehicle. Our Utica truck accident lawyers can help you make the defendant cover your bills since they caused the accident.
Non-economic damages relate to injuries and losses that were not necessarily financial. For example, you can claim emotional and physical pain and suffering as part of your non-economic damages. This is often the case when plaintiffs are so injured that they can no longer enjoy life as they used to. Truck accidents can also be mentally and emotionally traumatic, and victims often take years to recover.
Contact Our Utica Truck Accident Lawyers for Assistance
If you are injured in a truck accident, you can hold the trucker, the trucking company, and possibly others responsible for their negligence. Our Utica truck accident lawyers can help you file your claims while you focus on recovering. For a free case evaluation, call The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083.