Trucks are monster or semi-monster vehicles as compared to cars, and any accident with a truck can be an overwhelming, life-changing experience. Typically, the weight of big trucks ranges between 30,000 and 80,000 pounds, or even higher, as compared to the average weight of 4,000 pounds of a car. It is easy to imagine that a collision with a truck can be a devastating affair.
You may have read many posts online where it is said that resolving a trucking accident is easy. Well, it’s not. Our team of experienced truck wreck lawyers put together the following information, which is nothing but the hard truth, and some of it can startle you. Take a look:
Fixing Liability in a Trucking Accident
It sounds easy to blame both the truck driver and his trucking company on paper, but proving it is a time-consuming task that requires a fair amount of investigation. That is because trucking companies try to escape responsibility by claiming that the driver was an independent contractor who worked on a per-hour basis.
Classifying drivers as contractors saves the company on employee insurance, training, minimum wage rates, social security, etc. In the food industry, drivers are often classified as “distributors.” Therefore, it takes a lot of effort to prove that such rogue companies are equally responsible for the accident.
Trucking companies have deep pockets, and to pin them down you need to work with an experienced truck wreck lawyer who is focused o the personal injury niche and has a successful track record of handling trucking accident cases.
How Trucking Companies Defend the Case
Trucking companies hire top lawyers and spare no expense in their defense because they stand to lose millions of dollars if the case goes against them. Aside from claiming that the driver was an independent contractor, trucking companies’ lawyers also try to prove:
- That the victim’s fault was more than 50%. Utah follows the law of comparative negligence; if a party’s fault is more than 50%, he cannot claim any compensation.
- That the victim failed to keep his losses to the minimum after the accident. Typically, the victim is expected to seek medical attention immediately and ensure that his conditions don’t worsen. The victim is not entitled to claim any expenses for injuries that he allowed to worsen.
- That the victim’s history suggests that his driving skills were poor (in case the victim was involved in an accident in the past) or that his medical history is responsible for his current injuries.
- That the accident happened because of the road condition.
- That the accident was caused by an unidentified vehicle.
- That the victim weakened his case by posting statements on social media. For example, commenting “I’m fine,” on a social media post expressing concern for the victim’s health can be twisted by the defense.
Why Trucking Accidents Take Time to Investigate
That is because truck wreck lawyers in Utah have to go through a mountain of evidence. For starters, they subpoena the trucking company for the Driver Qualification File (DFQ), which contains the driving records of the truck driver, his employment history, his medical certificates, and his driving license. They also obtain the truck details like the road test results, vehicle maintenance details, licenses, and more.
They check the driver’s license and ensure that he fulfills all the conditions stipulated by Utah’s laws for truck drivers. The lawyers also pay attention to whether the driver had a history of drug abuse, the breaks he took on the current assignment, driving-related information derived from the truck’s black box, GPS data (for checking location/speed), and more.
Thereafter, the lawyer has to work with accident reconstruction experts, inspect the truck, interview witnesses/driver/police/trucking company officials, etc.
The entire process takes time, but what’s surprising is that many legal firms offer a fast turnaround. Wrapping up the case rather quickly can compromise it and increase the victim’s vulnerability quotient.
These cases need a methodical approach. If you’d like to know more, we urge you to take advantage of our free meeting offer.
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Trucking companies do not yield easily and do their best to discredit the victim. In most trucking accident cases, the insurance money is insufficient to cover the economic and non-economic damages.
So, if you work with an inexperienced lawyer or one who is not a trucking wreck specialist lawyer, you are likely to be arm-twisted by the trucking company.
You need to work with an experienced trucking wreck lawyer who has experience in successfully resolving many truck accident cases.
We urge you to take advantage of our no-pressure, no-obligation, free meeting offer. During the meeting, we will calculate your approximate compensation claim, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your case, and demonstrate how we have helped hundreds of trucking accident victims in Utah get millions of dollars in compensation.
You have everything to gain and nothing to lose by meeting us.
And, we are just a click or a phone call away.
