People who are hurt in a commercial truck accident may wonder who is responsible for paying for their injuries. By determining who is responsible for your accident, you can bring a civil claim against them and work to get compensation for your pain and suffering. Commercial vehicle accidents present a unique type of personal injury case because the negligent actions of multiple parties may have contributed to the crash.
What is negligence?
In a personal injury case, determining who is negligent is the first step in obtaining compensation. The basic definition of negligence is the failure of a party to act with the expected care that the circumstances demand. For example, if a commercial truck hit your vehicle because they merged too quickly off an on-ramp, that commercial driver acted in a negligent manner.
Contributory negligence means that if a person’s negligent actions contributed to their accident, then they may not be able to recover part or any compensation. Virginia and North Carolina each have their own version of contributory negligence laws. An attorney can review your case and give you a reasonable idea of who is negligent in your case and if you will be able to obtain compensation.
Who can be negligent in a commercial truck accident?
Accidents involving commercial vehicles are different from other motor vehicle accidents because other parties besides the truck driver may have contributed to the accident. For example, a trucking company may be partially responsible for an accident if it pushed the driver to work long hours which then caused the drowsy vehicle operator to get into an accident. Additionally, the trucking company may have failed to maintain a commercial truck which then caused a mechanical failure which lead to the accident.
There may also have been other parties that were involved in your commercial truck accident. If another person’s unsafe driving led to your accident, then that driver may be held responsible for the accident. Because of the many potential factors at play in your personal injury case, it is essential that you hire a skilled lawyer who can investigate all the details.
Why should hurt people hire a personal injury attorney?
After an accident, many people count on the other party and the insurance companies to do the right thing. Waiting for the insurance company to help you is, unfortunately, a mistake because insurance providers and other businesses often protect their interests instead of taking of care of hurt people. A personal injury lawyer can help you determine who is negligent in your accident and tell you what to expect from the process. Your skilled attorney will then fight to get you compensation for your lost income, pain, suffering, lost vehicle and other expenses.
