Brandon Truck Accident Attorney
Although safety technology has undoubtedly improved traffic safety on our nation’s roads, truck accidents and fatal truck crashes have still been increasing. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, injury accidents involving trucks have increased every year since 2009, including an 8% increase between 2016 and 2018 to 121,000.
Unfortunately, these truck accidents can be very serious. A typical commercial truck weighs 25 times as much as a car and does not respond as quickly. Hence, when a truck collides with an automobile, serious, life-threatening injuries often occur.
If you or a family member has been injured in a truck accident, you may be entitled to collect compensation for your injuries, pain and suffering. To find out if you should pursue compensation with a claim against the at-fault party or parties, it’s important to talk with an experienced Brandon truck accident lawyer about your accident.
The Brandon truck accident attorneys at Dennis Hernandez & Associates, PA have helped hundreds of Florida accident victims get the compensation they deserve. We want to find out what happened to you and help you get compensated fairly for your injuries, pain and suffering.
What Causes Florida Truck Accidents?
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration lists ten factors involved in truck accidents: brake problems, roadway problems, prescription and over-the-counter drug use, fatigue, unfamiliarity with the road, traveling too fast for the conditions, traffic flow interruption, required to stop before crash, and inadequate surveillance.
Other sources note that the main causes of truck accidents are:
- Driving when sleepy
Federal laws set strict limits on the number of hours a person can drive a truck without taking a break, as well as rest requirements between days worked. Despite these laws, fatigue is a leading cause of truck accidents in the U.S. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 87 percent of truck accidents are due to driver fatigue. In addition, if a driver is on the road for more than eight hours, the risk of crashing doubles compared to drivers on the road for less than eight hours. - Distracted driving
Distracted driving is a common cause of motor vehicle accidents; however, it can be deadly when the distracted driver is a truck driver. A Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration study determined that to send or receive a text, a truck driver traveling at just 55 MPH will drive the equivalent of the full length of a football field without once looking at the road. That same study found that truck drivers are 8.9 times more likely to cause an accident when they use a dispatch device and seven times more likely to cause an accident when they look at a map. - Truck Maintenance
State and federal laws require pre-trip inspections of a large truck prior to each trip, and owners/operators must perform routine maintenance on the truck. However, if an inspection is rushed or neglected altogether, a catastrophic accident can occur. Neglected Inspection and maintenance issues that can result in collisions include brake problems, tire/wheel defects, and unsecured or overloaded trailers.
Who Is Responsible for Truck Accidents?
Unlike a collision involving two passenger vehicles, where the at-fault party can usually be determined after an initial investigation, identifying the responsible party in a truck accident can be a complex task. The negligent party (or parties) in a truck accident could be any of the following:
- The driver
- The trucking company
- The owner of the cargo
- The truck manufacturer
- The company responsible for maintenance/repairs
An experienced truck accident attorney will collect the evidence necessary to identify all possible negligent parties to ensure you are fully and fairly compensated for your injuries or loss.
Compensation for Injuries in a Florida Truck Accident Case
If you or a loved one has been injured in a truck accident, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries. Under Florida law, you can pursue a lawsuit to hold the negligent parties accountable and obtain compensation for the following damages:
- Direct medical expenses
- Rehabilitation and other care costs
- Lost income due to time off because of your accident injuries
- Loss of future earnings
- Physical pain and emotional suffering
- Disfigurement and permanent scarring
- Diminished qualify of life
In some cases, the family of a truck accident victim can pursue compensation for loss of consortium. Also, if a family member died because of truck accident injuries, you may be able to pursue compensation as the claimant in a wrongful death lawsuit.
Get Expert Advice and Help from an Experienced Brandon Truck Accident Attorney
If you or a family member has been injured in a truck accident, please contact the experienced Brandon truck accident attorneys at Dennis Hernandez & Associates, PA as soon as possible. We are committed to helping accident victims obtain justice and get compensated fully and fairly for their injuries.
Partnering with the attorneys at Dennis Hernandez & Associates, PA means you will receive expert advice and support throughout the whole process – from collecting evidence, through filing a lawsuit to going to trial, if necessary. We build a powerful case demonstrating your need for compensation for physical, emotional, and financial damages resulting from the truck accident.
We assure that we have all the evidence needed to prove negligence and have filed all forms in a timely manner, and we negotiate vigorously with insurance companies for a satisfactory settlement. If a satisfactory settlement cannot be achieved, we don’t back down. Many Florida personal injury lawyers try to avoid going to trial by settling early with insurance companies, but we won’t. We will put our trial experience and litigation skill to work fighting for the maximum compensation for you.
Call us at 855-LAW-DENNIS or fill in the FREE CASE EVALUATION form on our website to get started on your case.
Sources:
Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. (2018). Traffic crash facts.
https://www.flhsmv.gov/pdf/crashreports/crash_facts_2018.pdf
U.S. Department of Transportation. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. (2018). Large truck and bus crash facts 2018.
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/safety/data-and-statistics/large-truck-and-bus-crash-facts-2018#A1
U.S. Department of Transportation. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. (2020). Our roads our safety. Tips for truck and bus drivers.
https://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/ourroads/tips-truck-and-bus-drivers