If you were recently injured in a New Jersey truck accident, it’s important that you identify the liable party. If you don’t know who is at fault for your injuries, you may have difficulty recovering compensatory damages in New Jersey.
Depending on the circumstances of your New Jersey truck accident, either a truck driver, parent company, or a passenger car driver may be liable. It’s also possible for multiple parties to share fault. New Jersey victims can take certain measures after a truck accident, like calling the police and taking photos, that can ultimately help an attorney determine fault. Once you identify the responsible party, your lawyer can help you pursue compensation through an insurance claim or a lawsuit. Generally speaking, truck accident victims can recover economic and non-economic damages from a liable party when they file a compensation claim in New Jersey.
Our attorneys are dedicated to helping truck accident victims throughout New Jersey hold negligent parties responsible. For a free case evaluation with the New Jersey truck accident lawyers at Legal Care, call today at (732) 838-9769.
Who Can Be Liable for a Truck Accident in New Jersey?
Accidents involving trucks can cause serious injuries to New Jersey victims. Depending on the circumstances of your collision, one of several parties may be liable for your injuries. Negligent truck and passenger car drivers can cause these severe accidents. Parent companies can also be partially liable for a collision involving a truck. Your attorney can launch a thorough investigation to determine who is liable for your New Jersey truck accident.
Truck Drivers
Often, truck drivers are liable for accidents. Suppose a New Jersey truck driver is driving negligently, by speeding or driving on the influence. If their recklessness then causes an accident, a negligent truck driver can be held responsible in New Jersey. Generally, New Jersey truck drivers are at least partially responsible for accidents.
Parent Companies
If a truck accident happened while an employee was on the clock and acting within their scope of duty, you can typically sue the parent company for vicarious liability. Holding a parent company responsible for vicarious liability can be difficult if it classifies its drivers as independent contractors.
Parent companies also have a responsibility to vet their drivers and properly maintain their vehicles. If a parent company acted negligently during the hiring process or failed to maintain a vehicle, it can be directly liable for a resulting accident. To understand a parent company’s liability, consult a Jersey City truck accident lawyer about your case.
Other Drivers
Trucks often have large blind spots, making it difficult for truck drivers to respond quickly to another driver’s negligence. This is why passenger car drivers can cause truck accidents in New Jersey. If negligent passenger car driver acts recklessly, that can cause a truck driver to swerve. Such actions can result a multi-car accident that causes you injury. While it may seem like truck drivers are the only ones that can be responsible for such an accident, that’s not always the case. Passenger car drivers and others, like motorcyclists, can also be liable for truck accidents in New Jersey.
Multiple Parties
Truck accidents can be complicated. While a parent company’s negligence can contribute to an accident, so can a truck driver’s negligence. If multiple parties share fault for your truck accident in New Jersey, you should have the option of holding each one accountable. That said, identifying all liable parties can be difficult. If you believe multiple parties share fault for your collision, reach out to a Newark truck accident lawyer. A skilled attorney can help you correctly attribute fault to each liable party so that you know who to hold accountable for your truck accident damages.
Can Victims Share Liability for New Jersey Truck Accidents?
New Jersey’s comparative fault laws can be difficult for truck accident victims to overcome. If a negligent party claims you are partially at fault for your injuries, you may have difficulty recovering the compensatory damages you deserve.
According to N.J.S.A. § 2A:15-5.1, victims that are partially liable for their truck accident injuries can see their awarded damages reduced in proportion to their level of fault. This can be discouraging to victims who require substantial compensation for their medical bills and lost wages after a truck accident in New Jersey.
Unfortunately, many victims may be unaware of how New Jersey’s modified comparative fault laws can impact them. This can cause victims to misspeak during negotiations with an insurance company or throughout a lawsuit, resulting in reduced damages.
This is why hiring an attorney is so important. Your experienced New Jersey truck accident lawyer will be familiar with comparative fault laws and advise you on how to proceed so that you recover sufficient damages. When you have a skilled attorney by your side, negligent defendants will have difficulty claiming that you contributed to a truck accident they truly caused.
How to Collect Evidence After Your New Jersey Truck Accident
Since truck accidents are often chaotic, it can be difficult to correctly identify who is at fault. That said, there are a few things New Jersey truck accident victims can do to make that process easier. For example, calling the police, taking photos, speaking to eyewitnesses, and seeking medical attention can ultimately help your New Jersey truck accident lawyer uncover the liable party in your crash.
Call the Police
After a truck accident in New Jersey, it is imperative that victims call the police. Once they arrive, New Jersey police officers will create a crash report detailing the events of your truck accident. Law enforcement officials will note each important detail, from all involved parties’ contact information to the accident’s likely cause. While it’s true that police reports are not considered evidence in a lawsuit, your New Jersey car accident lawyer can use the information within a report to uncover evidence that points to fault. Calling the police after a collision is the first step to determining the party that’s liable for your New Jersey truck accident.
Take Photos
New Jersey truck accidents are often extremely damaging to victims and their property. Regardless of whether fault appears clear after an accident, it’s crucial that victims take photos. If your injuries prevent you from taking pictures yourself, law enforcement officials can help you. Snapping photos of a truck accident scene is important, as photographic evidence can point to the liable party. Although taking pictures of property damage and injuries is of the utmost importance, don’t leave anything out. When in doubt, take photographs of the entire accident scene. Your New Jersey personal injury lawyer can then use those photos to piece together the events of your collision.
Speak to Eyewitnesses
Truck accidents often happen in a matter of seconds, leaving New Jersey victims unsure of what exactly occurred. If you did not see who caused your truck accident, it’s possible that someone else did. After a collision, speak to eyewitnesses. While New Jersey police officers will likely interview anyone who witnessed an accident, it benefits victims to get witnesses’ contact information. Your attorney can then contact an eyewitness whose memories may help you determine liability. Eyewitness testimony can be invaluable evidence against a liable party in a New Jersey truck accident lawsuit.
Seek Medical Attention
After a truck accident, go to the hospital. Seeking medical attention is crucial after any accident, but especially after a collision involving such a large and powerful vehicle. Going to the hospital is crucial so that doctors can assess your injuries and determine their likely cause. A skilled Elizabeth car accident lawyer can use your medical records along with other evidence to illustrate the damage a liable party caused.
Hire an Attorney
Determining the liable party truck accident can be challenging. These collisions are often complex, which is why it benefits New Jersey victims to hire an experienced lawyer. Your attorney can thoroughly investigate your accident and uncover additional evidence that strengthens your compensation claim against a liable party. For example, if there is security or traffic camera footage of your collision, an attorney can access that footage to determine the negligent party. A skilled lawyer with the necessary resources and experience can identify all responsible parties in a New Jersey truck accident and help you get the damages you deserve.
How to Hold Truckers and Trucking Companies Responsible After a New Jersey Truck Accident
After your attorney has identified those responsible for your New Jersey truck accident, it’s time that you hold them accountable. Generally, victims can file an insurance claim or a lawsuit to recover compensatory damages after a truck accident. That said, because of the serious injuries truck accident victims often sustain, it’s generally more fruitful for New Jersey victims to sue a liable party for compensation.
Filing an Insurance Claim
New Jersey’s no-fault insurance laws can make recovering compensation after a truck accident difficult. Generally, victims must turn to their own personal injury protection (PIP) coverage to recover damages after a crash, regardless of who is at fault. That said, responsible parties may have liability insurance that can compensate you. However, when dealing with New Jersey insurance companies, there is no guarantee that victims will recover sufficient compensation.
Once you accept a settlement offer from an insurance company, you can lose your right to pursue compensatory damages in other ways. Unfortunately, since many New Jersey truck accident victims require immediate payment, they may accept a settlement offer that’s far less than they deserve. An experienced Lakewood personal injury lawyer can help you navigate difficult conversations with insurance companies and identify subpar settlement offers.
Filing a Lawsuit
Filing a lawsuit can be the best way for victims to hold liable parties responsible after a truck accident in New Jersey. Civil litigation allows New Jersey victims to recover compensation against any responsible party, without involving stubborn insurance companies. Victims can also recover more substantial damages in a lawsuit, helping them to heal after sustaining devastating injuries in a truck accident.
If you plan on filing a truck accident lawsuit against a liable party in New Jersey, it’s important to act fast. New Jersey victims only have two years to sue negligent drivers or parent companies for a truck accident.
Damages in a New Jersey Truck Accident Settlement
New Jersey truck accidents can cause serious injuries to victims, resulting in expensive medical care. Other financial and emotional expenses often result from truck accidents as well. If you’ve recently sustained damages in a New Jersey truck accident, it’s important that you learn which of those expenses a liable party may be responsible for paying.
Generally speaking, any truck accident damages caused by a liable party should be compensated for by that liable party. Of course, it’s not always that simple. Depending on the available evidence and the circumstances of your New Jersey truck accident, you may be able to recover both economic and non-economic damages against a negligent driver or parent company.
Often, truck accident settlements compensate victims for all financial expenses related to a liable party’s negligence. That generally includes any medical bills associated with your injuries and property damage. If your injuries prevent you from working, your lost wages may also be compensated for in a New Jersey truck accident settlement.
Liable parties may also be responsible for paying for non-economic damages in a settlement. These damages attempt to compensate victims for any pain and suffering caused by a negligent party’s actions. Generally, non-economic damages are only available when a New Jersey victim files a lawsuit for compensation.
Just because a liable party can be made to pay for all damages related to your truck accident, doesn’t mean they will be. To ensure you receive a maximum settlement that thoroughly compensates you after a crash, you should reach out to a skilled Paterson car accident lawyer. An experienced attorney can help victims recover both economic and non-economic damages in a New Jersey lawsuit against a liable party.
Call Our Attorneys After Your New Jersey Truck Accident
If you’ve recently been injured in a truck accident in New Jersey, our attorneys are here to help. For a free case evaluation with the Jersey City personal injury lawyers at Legal Care, call today at (732) 838-9769.
