Truck drivers transport goods over long distances and drive over ten thousand miles per year, requiring them to uphold high standards of public safety measures when on the road. However, there are on average 13.5 fatal truck crashes for every million people, where 73% of fatal crashes and 84% of injury crashes on the highway involved large trucks. Unfortunately, truck drivers are frequently at fault for deadly crashes and can violate traffic law for several reasons. When you get into a frightening truck accident, you may be experiencing serious injuries that can culminate in medical debt and wage loss. If you believe the driver is at fault for your personal injury, you can seek the help of truck accident attorneys to obtain a settlement for you.
Injuries caused by a truck accident can be incredibly painful and often results in long-term disability because trucks can weigh from 5 to 26.4 tons. When you experience a truck accident, it is time to recruit the help of St. Petersburg, FL lawyers. They can provide you guidance on filing your settlement claim and obtaining compensation after suffering damages from a truck accident. Contact LCPA Law for a free consultation.
How Can Truckers Cause Accidents in St. Petersburg
After getting into a truck accident, it is possible you can hold the truck driver responsible for your personal injury. This can be for several reasons.
Drug Abuse
Unfortunately, many truck drivers have been found to have substances in their drug tests after being examined by their trucking companies. Between 2020 and 2021, there were a total of 69,100 drug violations. The most prevalent drugs included marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, and amphetamine. Less popular drugs included oxymorphone, oxycodone, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, morphine, and codeine. These drugs can reduce a truck driver’s ability to pay attention to the road and inhibit their aptitude to drive safely.
Neglectful Maintenance
Trucking companies require regular maintenance of the trucks; however, in some cases, the mechanics make mistakes. Mechanical issues are sometimes the cause of a truck accident. For example, brack failures, tire blowouts, transmission failures, broken headlights, trailer coupling issues, and steering failures often happen. Brake failure and tire blow-outs or the most common mechanical failures found in truck accidents.
Bad Weather
Truck drivers must transport goods in all conditions unless there is a natural disaster. They may be driving in heavy rain, making it difficult for them to see other drivers in the vast blind spots around the truck. Rain also makes it difficult for a truck driver to slow down. It requires a trucker 600 feet to slow down at 65 miles per hour, twice that of a car. Because of this, it is easier for a truck driver to cause significant damage during poor weather conditions.
Traffic Violations
Not all truck drivers follow traffic laws. Many of them speed, drive aggressively or travel in the wrong lanes. Even though many trucking companies receive citations because of this behavior, they continue to contribute to many fatal crashes on the highway.
Drowsiness
Truck drivers have to drive very long distances for their occupation, making it a very tiresome job. This is why their companies require them to take scheduled breaks and get the sleep they need. However, truck drivers don’t always follow company protocol and sometimes skip breaks. Because of this, they put the lives of those around them at risk when they become drowsy and fall asleep at the wheel. When exhausted, their reaction time to drivers around them is much slower.
How Do St. Petersburg, Fl Truck Accident Attorneys Help
When you choose to work with St. Petersburg truck accident lawyers, you are provided the greatest chance of obtaining the maximum settlement amount. They understand traffic laws in great detail and also trucking companies’ regulations. After your truck accident, they will file a claim on your behalf to deliver justice.
They Investigate Your Truck Accident
Your St. Petersburg truck accident attorney will dig into the evidence surrounding your personal injury. They will use the photographs of the scene you provided, contact witnesses on your behalf, and obtain a police report to understand how your truck accident happened. Your attorney asks the right questions and knows different ways to prove how a truck driver is at fault for your personal injury.
They Collect Useful Evidence
Truck accident attorneys use a variety of methods to prove that you are due compensation. They obtain traffic camera recordings that may have caught the accident on tape. Also, they can get black box data from the truck, where this electronic data records these speed, communications, and when the driver braked. Truck accident lawyers can also obtain an inspector’s report that defines the truck’s state after it crashed. Often, mechanical issues are detailed in the report before the truck is relocated to a mechanic. Your attorney will also get the driver’s delivery logs and warehouse check-in reports. All of this information may provide additional clues to what may have led up to the truck accident. This collection of data can be used as evidence to prove that the truck driver is at fault.
Lawyers Accurately Estimate Settlements
Your attorney will use industry methods to calculate your settlement realistically. This way, your compensation claim will be taken seriously. Your attorney will include economic and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
After your truck accident, you may be unable to work and struggling to make ends meet. You may be suffering from a temporary or permanent disability that reduces the amount of workload you can provide. Your wage loss can be included in your settlement amount. Additionally, you will likely have a large medical bill to cover all of the damages you experienced. Your attorney will add costs such as pharmaceuticals, x-ray scans, therapy, surgery, follow-up visits, and other ongoing treatments to your total settlement amount.
Non-Economic Damages
Your St. Petersburg truck accident lawyer will understand all the terrible things you are going through. Pain and suffering are also included in your settlement, where your emotional turmoil is considered part of your damages. Any feelings of depression, misery, anxiety, grief, shame, embarrassment, and any terrible emotions will be included in your settlement amount.
Your Case Will Be Represented
St. Petersburg truck accident lawyers will use the information they gathered and approach the other party to begin negotiating a settlement on your behalf. They use tried and tested methods to corner the other party into settling, where they cannot deny the proof that the truck driver is liable for your damages. When the party doesn’t agree to settle promptly, your lawyer will file a lawsuit on your behalf. They will also represent you in a St. Petersburg, Fl court before the judge and call upon witnesses to testify in your favor.
St. Petersburg Attorneys Keep You Organized
When you are struggling with your personal injury, it can be challenging to manage your medical bills, deal with no income, and manage your pain and suffering. Instead of doing everything alone, you can depend on an attorney to reach out to the other party to get compensation on your behalf. They will frequently update you on the status of your claim and the communication that comes from the other party. Additionally, based on the evidence, lawyers draft documents for you that outline all of your damages and how the driver is at fault. This information will help the other parties understand how they can be held liable and can be used to make sure that everyone is on the same footing. Excellent communicators, your lawyer is great at writing and speaking.
How to Work With a St. Petersburg Accident Lawyer
Don’t struggle on your own after a horrifying truck accident. You can get the help of St. Petersburg attorneys who can provide reliable help and guidance. They will file a claim and contact other parties and witnesses on your behalf. Also, they will collect the proper evidence which can be used in your settlement claim. Contact LCPA Law for a free consultation.
