When a personal injury lawyer refers to a trucking accident, they aren’t referring to personal pickup trucks. While those types of trucks can be heavier than personal vehicles, they are typically a fraction of the size and weight of a commercial truck. Even at low speeds, a crash involving a semi-truck or large commercial vehicle can result in severe or even deadly injuries.
If you or a loved one has been injured in an accident with a large truck or bus in Broward County, our legal team wants to help you with your recovery. Contact Long, Jean & Weschler, P.A. of Pompano Beach, FL, for a free case consultation. There’s no obligation, and because we work on a contingency basis, you will not have to pay out of pocket for our professional legal services.
Why Truck Accidents Are Different
By law, the maximum Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) of a semi-truck is 80,000 lbs. That means that the truck, trailer, and load combined cannot exceed 40 tons. Naturally, not all commercial trucks weigh that much, but even trucks that do not require a commercial driver’s license (CDL) can weigh up to 26,000 lbs.
By comparison, the average weight of a car is about 4,000 lbs or two tons. What does that mean if you’re in an accident? With all other things being equal — speed, angle, etc. — the truck would impart ten times the amount of energy as the car. So, even a low-speed accident with a semi-truck can be extremely dangerous.
Because the law recognizes that truckers are operating much more dangerous vehicles, the rules and regulations for professional truck drivers are much more stringent than they are for regular drivers. Truck drivers must obtain a commercial license, the legal alcohol limit for operating a commercial vehicle is half what it is for other drivers, and there are rules governing how long a truck driver can operate a truck without a break.
There are also enhanced regulations for the trucks themselves. The owners of the vehicles must adhere to rigid maintenance schedules. In other words, the legal landscape of a truck accident is much different than a crash involving only personal cars.
Why Are Truck Accidents Different Than Car Accidents?
Truck accidents are unique. The decisions you make immediately after a truck accident can impact your immediate safety, your long-term recovery, and the viability of your case. If you are hit by a truck, you’re likely to be frightened, disoriented, and injured. That’s why it’s best to have a contingency plan. These steps may save your life. However, it’s important to remember that no two accidents are alike, and you will be faced with a fluid situation.
1. Get to a Place of Safety
If you’re in a car accident — even a serious car accident — a place of safety may be only 20 or 30 yards from the point of impact. This may be the case in a semi-truck accident, but what if they’re transporting hazardous materials? You may have to move up to a mile or more away from the crash to be safe. If you see gas or liquid leaking from the truck, move upwind from the accident and put as much distance between you and the potentially hazardous material as you’re able to. In any event, watch for traffic if you have to get out of your car. If your vehicle is operable, drive to a safe position.
2. Call 911
It’s essential to get first responders en route to your accident scene. Here’s what the dispatcher will need to know:
- Your Geographic Location – If you aren’t sure, look for road markers or business names in the area. If you have access to your phone, you can use a mapping app.
- Vehicle Descriptions – Include make, model, color, license plate number, and visible damage.
- Injuries – Tell the dispatcher the number of injured parties and types of injuries.
- Hazmat Info – If you see potentially hazardous materials, report it to the dispatcher. Even if you don’t, the dispatcher will want to know what indicators may be on the truck.
Sample Image via Wikimedia
3. Talk to Witnesses
Assuming it’s safe to do so, talk to any witnesses or bystanders who may have stopped to check on injuries. If they insist on leaving, ask for their contact information. As a last resort, note their license plate number or take a photo of their tag.
4. Take Photos or Video
The accident scene will change quickly, so if you are able to, take pictures or a video of the scene. The more you can get, the better. Here are some things you should include:
- Geographic indicators or street signs
- Damage to vehicles
- Visible injuries
- Debris on the roadway
- Traffic control devices
- Hazardous material placards on the truck
- Commercial decals on the truck
- License plates
Even if it doesn’t seem important, take pictures or a video. Make sure to email them to yourself so you have a backup.
5. Allow Rescue Workers to Examine You
Even if you feel well, allow the EMTs to give you an examination on the scene. Follow their advice. If you develop symptoms in the day or two after the accident, which is common, follow up with your doctor. It’s important that you understand that seeking medical attention won’t adversely affect your case.
6. Contact a Truck Accident Lawyer
Things will move quickly, and it’s important to remember that the insurance lawyers and adjusters who represent truck companies are among the best in the business. It’s a common practice to dispatch an adjuster to the scene of the accident, and they may offer you a check right there. Do not accept that money without speaking to your own attorney. This is a common practice used by adjusters to keep their settlement payouts low, but it rarely works out well for the victim. We will review your case for free and can begin representing you immediately.
Legal Considerations in a Truck Accident Case
Our attorneys are happy to discuss these concepts with you and how they apply to your truck accident case, but you can use this section to familiarize yourself with some of the Florida civil laws that can impact you.
Four Elements of Liability
In order to have a viable truck accident case, all four of these elements must be present:
- Duty of Care – All drivers have a duty of care to the others in their vicinity. This essentially means that they have to do whatever is within their power not to cause physical harm or property damage.
- Breach of Duty – Your attorney has to demonstrate that the truck driver somehow breached their duty of care. Breaches of duty could include traffic law violations, drunk driving, driving on too little sleep, distracted driving, etc.
- Causation – In order to pursue compensation, your attorney will have to demonstrate that the truck driver was at least partially responsible for the accident. In the next section, we’ll discuss how you can collect damages, even if you’re partially at fault.
- Damages – Your attorney will have to show that your life has somehow been adversely impacted by the accident. Monetary damages are almost inevitable in truck accidents, and if you’ve been hurt, there will be damages.
Comparative Negligence
What happens when both parties are partially at fault for an accident? For example, a truck runs a red light and causes the accident, but you were speeding, making the accident worse. Florida’s modified comparative negligence law allows you to collect partial compensation as long as you are less than 50% responsible for the accident.
So, to continue with our example, if the parties agree (or a court decides) that the trucker’s failure to obey the traffic signal was 80% responsible for the damages, and your speed was 20% responsible, you could collect 80% of your damages. If your damages come to $100,000, you would receive $80,000 from the trucker’s insurance company.
Trucking Regulations
There are many federal and state regulations that affect the type of licensing that truckers must have to drive vehicles and transport certain types of materials, the way they can behave while operating trucks, how they document their trips, and more. Here are a few of the laws that could potentially impact your accident case:
- The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR) 49 CFR Part 395 requires truckers to log their hours in a book or use electric logging devices.
- CFR 396.17 requires annual inspection of commercial trucks.
- CFR 396.11 requires truckers to inspect their vehicles at the end of each day, document issues, and address them before returning to service.
As you can see, there are plenty of ways in which a trucker can be out of compliance. Our attorneys can subpoena these records to determine whether or not the trucker and truck who hit you are in compliance.
Statute of Limitations
Florida allows a generous period of four years from the date of an accident to bring forward a claim. However, in wrongful death claims, it’s two years from the date of death. While this may seem like plenty of time to file a claim, it’s important to give yourself every advantage. The sooner you act, the better the chance your attorney will be able to obtain physical evidence, locate witnesses, and discover video footage that may have captured the accident.
Damage Caps
“How much is my accident worth?” This may be one of the most common questions we hear at LJW. However, it’s impossible to answer without knowing the details of each accident. Here are the three categories of damages that accident victims can collect in Florida.
Economic Damages
These include the financial costs of the accident, like all medical bills, lost wages from missing work, property damage, and any other expenses that the accident causes. There are no caps on economic damages in Florida.
Noneconomic Damages
Civil law recognizes that receiving financial compensation for an accident is rarely enough to make the victim whole. What about physical pain or emotional trauma? What if your accident causes permanent injury? Noneconomic damages are also referred to as “pain and suffering.” They seek to compensate the victim or their survivors for the intangible costs of an accident. There are no caps on pain and suffering in Florida.
Punitive Damages
As the name implies, punitive damages are intended to add an additional penalty to the accident. These types of damages are only awarded when the defendant’s actions are reckless or intentional. If a truck driver transporting hazardous materials was drunk behind the wheel, the court may determine that punitive damages should be awarded. These damages are capped at either $500,000 or three times the amount of other damages, whichever is greater.
Commercial Vehicle Crash Statistics
The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) compiles FL truck crash statistics each year. These are the statistics for 2022:
- There were 34,045 crashes that did not result in injuries
- 1,046 had possible injuries.
- 449 had non-incapacitating injuries.
- 107 truck accidents resulted in incapacitating injuries.
- 29 resulted in the death of one or more parties.
How can LJW help you after a truck accident?
The personal injury lawyers at Long, Jean & Weschler, P.A. have extensive experience with commercial truck accidents. Among the services we offer on a contingency basis are:
- Calculating damages for a demand letter
- Subpoenaing and deposing witnesses
- Collecting documentation and evidence
- Reviewing discovery evidence
- Filing a claim with the insurer
- Reviewing and negotiating settlement offers
- Issuing letters of protection to doctors so they will perform services for future payment
- Representing our clients on a contingency basis
Do not try to take on a big insurance company by yourself. Contact LJW for immediate representation. You will never have to pay out of pocket for our legal services.
