Trucks are incredibly large, heavy vehicles hauling heavy cargo over long distances. These vehicles are common on major highways, and accidents might cause devastating or fatal injuries.
Truck crashes often leave drivers, passengers, and even pedestrians with severe injuries that might require long-term treatment. These accidents often stem from driver negligence, like traffic violations, driver fatigue, and equipment malfunctions. Drivers and the companies that employ them can be held liable. When filing a lawsuit, we might have to first navigate your insurance claims. Depending on what kind of insurance you have, you might have to prove you have a serious injury to file a lawsuit. If you can sue, we can gather evidence, assess damages, and file the complaint to kick off proceedings.
Truck accidents can be catastrophic, and victims are often left with long-term or permanent injuries and disabilities. Our Trenton truck accident lawyers can help you get compensation for your grievous losses. For a free case review, call Legal Care New Jersey at (732) 838-9769.
Possible Causes of Trenton Truck Accidents
Accidents with trucks and semi-trailers are more common on major highways and interstates and might stem from numerous potential causes. Often, the truck driver‘s negligent behavior is the root of the accident, although their employer might also bear some responsibility. Our Trenton truck accident lawyers can help you determine what caused your crash so we can take appropriate legal action.
Truck drivers must abide by all the same traffic laws as any other driver on the road. If a violation occurs, the risks are even higher because trucks are much more capable of damage and destruction. For example, trucks have incredibly large blind spots, and truckers must always use their mirrors and turn signals to check if the path is clear before merging or turning. If they fail to do this, a bad accident might happen.
Another common cause of truck accidents is driver fatigue. Truckers are responsible for making very long trips on tight deadlines, and it is not unusual for drivers to go without sleep to meet their deadlines. As such, many tired truckers are on the road, and a tired trucker is dangerous. Sometimes, these truckers fall asleep behind the wheel or lose focus, causing a devastating accident.
Trucks are loaded with various pieces of equipment that help the trucker drive safely. Accidents are more likely when this equipment fails or is not properly utilized. For example, if the underride bar in trucks fails, a car might get wedged under the truck in an accident, and drivers would be gravely injured. Alternatively, if the trailer hitch that connects the trailer to the truck came undone, the trailer would disconnect from the truck and likely hurt someone.
Liability for a Truck Accident in Trenton
While the truck driver is often the first person suspected of causing an accident, numerous people might share the blame. Talk to our Trenton truck accident attorneys about how your case happened, and we might be able to help you determine who is liable.
As said, the truck driver is often the primary defendant in truck accident cases because their behavior often directly causes accidents. While it is very likely that we will end up naming the truck driver as a defendant in your lawsuit, more people might share liability and should also be included.
If the trucker’s negligence occurred within the scope of and in furtherance of their job duties, their employer, the trucking company, can be held vicariously liable. If instead the truck driver should have never been hired because they are too dangerous or incompetent, and the trucking company knew this and still hired them, the trucking company might be liable for negligent hiring.
Other drivers might also share liability if they contributed to the accident. In many accidents, other drivers and the trucker commit traffic violations or are driving recklessly, and their actions come together to cause the accident. If they can be identified, those other drivers might also be named in your lawsuit.
How to File a Lawsuit for a Truck Accident in Trenton
There are several ways to seek compensation for a truck accident in New Jersey. First, drivers can file insurance claims through their own no-fault insurance. Depending on what kind of insurance policy they carry, they might also be able to file a lawsuit. Our Trenton truck accident lawyers can help you determine the best course of legal action for your case.
Insurance Claims
New Jersey is a no-fault insurance state, and all drivers must carry personal injury protection (PIP) insurance. In the event of an accident, drivers would file insurance claims through their own insurance, not through the other driver’s insurance. On top of that, you would not need to prove anyone was at fault for the crash to get compensation.
Some insurance policies, including the most basic plan that meet minimum legal requirements, include a limited right to sue. When you have a limited right to sue, you can only file a lawsuit against another driver if you experienced a “serious injury.” These injuries include lost limbs, significant disfigurement or scarring, displaced fractures, loss of a fetus, death, and other permanent injuries. Since truck accidents are so severe, many plaintiffs do not have trouble meeting this legal threshold.
If you elect an unlimited right to sue with your insurance policy, you are not bound by the restrictions mentioned above and can file a lawsuit whenever you want. Remember, an unlimited right to sue is often part of more expensive insurance policies.
Filing a Lawsuit
If you have met the legal requirements to file a lawsuit, our Trenton truck accident attorneys can help you get started. We must assess your damages and determine what kind of compensation is necessary to remedy your losses. We must also gather evidence from the truck accident, including photos, videos, and witnesses. Many trucks must have a black ox device that records various data about the trucker’s driving. Such data is important in a truck accident lawsuit.
Once we have this information, we can draft and file a formal legal complaint to kick off legal proceedings. We must make sure that the complaint contains all the correct information with enough specificity so the court accepts the case. If the complaint lacks information or is filed in the wrong court, it will be rejected.
Call Our Trenton Truck Accident Lawyers for a Free Case Review
A truck accident can seriously derail a person’s entire life. The trucker and trucking company should not be permitted to get away with causing this level of harm. Our Trenton truck accident lawyers can help you hold them accountable. For a free case review, call Legal Care New Jersey at (732) 838-9769.
