Truck Accident Lawyer

Among motor vehicle accidents, truck accidents can often cause the most severe injuries and in many cases even death. Not only are tractor-trailer three times the size of most cars on the road, but most accidents involving heavy trucks happen on highways.

If you are injured in a truck accident, there are questions that have to be answered that are unique to truck accident injury lawsuits. At GSGB, our truck accident lawyers have the experience and know-how to find answers to these complicated questions.  If you were injured in a truck accident, call GSGB today and have a free and confidential case evaluation by an experienced personal injury lawyer.

How do You Prove Who is at Fault in a Truck Accident?

The place you want to investigate when trying to prove who was at fault in a truck accident is the scene. Often, personal injury attorneys do not get involved in a matter until after the accident which is why it is very important for you to do what you can at the scene of the accident, if you are able to. Be sure to take photographs of the vehicles involved in the accident, showing where they ended up on the road and where the points of impact were on the colliding vehicles. Next, be sure to call the police to the scene of the accident and give them a statement as to how you observed the accident take place. Do not speak with the other driver, but listen to what he or she has to say. The truck accident attorneys at Gold, Silverman, Goldenberg & Binder also know that a truck accident differs from a car accident, in that there may be a lot more evidence available when a truck or tractor trailer is involved.

Incident Reports

Often, truck drivers have to submit incident reports if they are involved in car accidents and an experienced truck accident lawyer will notify the trucking company right away to preserve the report.

Maintenance Logs

Often, truck accidents are the result of mechanical failures in the truck. In Pennsylvania, the primary factors in heavy truck crashes for 2015 were related to tires and wheels, brakes, power train failure and total steering system failures. While this may be a situation where bad luck played a part, state and federal laws require truck drivers and owners to constantly inspect their trucks and keep records of the inspections. These logs can go a long way in proving that the driver or owner of the truck should have known of the mechanical failure.

Cargo Logs

The cargo being shipped inside tractor trailers has to be properly secured and must comply with federal and state weight standards. The laws also require that logs are kept detailing what is being carried by the trucks and how. If a truck accident injury can be traced back to unsecured cargo, then there may be more than one party liable. An experienced truck accident attorney can use the cargo logs to trace back and identify the responsible parties.

Driver Hourly Logs

Truck drivers’ hours on the road are regulated at both the state and federal level. This is to prevent sleep deprivation on the road leading to dozing off and inattentive driving that can have dire and often fatal consequences. While a truck driver breaking the hourly driving law is not in itself proof that he was driving carelessly, it is evidence that can be used towards proving that the driver’s lack of sleep caused him to drive with less attention on the road then he needed to, causing the accident and the resulting injuries.

Highway Cameras

Many highways are equipped with surveillance technology that can capture the events leading up to your truck accident injury. At GSGB, we will reach out to the respective authorities to make sure, if there is footage of the accident, we do our best to preserve it and get a copy.

Witnesses

Often, good Samaritans stay behind at the scene of a truck accident to tell the police officer investigating the accident what they observed. These witnesses can make or break a truck accident case and it is important to contact them early on in the process of the case to find out what their point of view of the accident was.

What Can You Recover if You Have Been Injured in a Truck Accident?

When someone is injured and brings a personal injury lawsuit, they are entitled to be compensated for what the law calls their “damages.” Damages basically means compensation, in the form of money, that is awarded by a court to someone who has been injured through the wrongful conduct of another. Often, truck accident injuries are catastrophic and the individuals and their families are never the same. Though damages vary from case to case, some examples of what you can recover if you were injured in a truck accident include:

• Medical bills – Often, with truck accidents the injury is serious enough that the PIP coverage is exhausted, leaving you with co-pays and deductibles from your health insurance. The personal injury lawyers at Gold, Silverman, Goldenberg & Binder will collect those bills to the penny and demand payment from the responsible party as part of your case. However, in many cases, the truck accident injuries will require ongoing medical care, that lasts beyond the trial. Our truck accident attorneys will hire the best experts to evaluate the injuries and forecast the future medical costs so that they too can be demanded.

• Wage Loss– If you have missed work due to your truck accident injury, you are entitled to recover that lost pay. In many cases, if you have used vacation time, but the amount of vacation time you get is limited, then you are still entitled to recover your wages for the vacation days you missed. Again, with the injuries often being severe, many people are forced to change jobs to something less physically strenuous, or stop working altogether. An experienced truck accident lawyer will hire expert economists to review your work records and calculate what kind of money you stand to lose in the future because you cannot work like you could prior to the injury.

• Pain and Suffering – This is the most commonly referred to non-economic damage. Depending on your tort choice and the severity of your injuries, you are entitled by the law to be compensated with money for the pain and suffering you sustain. You are also entitled to be compensated for your loss of life’s pleasures, embarrassment and humiliation and scarring and disfigurement. Because our truck accident attorneys work with our clients directly, we come to truly understand the effect the injuries have had on our client’s and their families’ lives and when it is time to demand compensation, have a detailed understanding of the maximum amount of money you deserve.

If you are Injured in a Truck Accident, Call a Truck Accident Lawyer

At GSGB, our personal injury attorneys are available to confidentially review your case and help you understand your rights. Call today at (215) 563-6067.

Disclaimer: This website is for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice and nothing on this site should be taken as legal advice for any individual case or situation. GSGB has offices in Philadelphia, Wayne and Voorhees and serves clients throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey.