Truck Accident Lawsuits

Truck accidents are more serious than regular car accidents, often causing catastrophic injury. The legal matters, such as a truck accident lawsuit or truck accident claim, can be more complicated. Hiring an experienced truck accident lawyer can help you get compensation for personal injury, pain, lost wages, and other economic damages.

Getting into a truck accident can be disastrous—both medically and financially. Many people die in truck accidents every year, and their families are left heartbroken and struggling. Those who live might have severe injuries, like a brain injury, or need substantial medical treatment—which can be costly.  

Truck accidents can happen for many reasons, like speeding or not paying attention while driving. An experienced truck accident attorney who is experienced in truck accident law can determine who caused the accident and help you get compensation for the medical bills and damage you incur.

Who is at Fault in a Trucking Accident? 

Deciding who is liable in a truck accident case is a big deal. You need to show that the truck driver or others involved acted in a careless manner. 

Trucking companies can often be blamed for their truck drivers’ mistakes. If a truck driver is operating their own business, though, they can be personally held responsible for a crash.

There are times when a trucking company might say that their truck driver is on their own to avoid a personal injury lawsuit. But there are strict rules about this, and if the trucking company is paying certain taxes, the truck driver is an employee, not an independent contractor. 

Additional people might also be blamed for a trucking accident. If a part of the truck was broken, the part manufacturer could be sued. If someone loaded the truck wrong, they might be to blame as well.

Truck accidents can happen because of:

• Speeding
• Reckless driving
• Being too fatigued to drive
• Being under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• Not paying attention to the road
• Not maintaining the truck
• Faulty truck parts
• Improper loading

One study demonstrated that 75% of trucks in accidents in North Carolina had something wrong with them. The study likewise noted that being too tired to drive played a large part in crashes. Drivers who had been on the road for 12 or more hours without quality sleep were almost 86% more likely to have a semi truck accident.

Trucking Accident Investigations

Analyzing the accident site is a large part of a truck accident case, and a good truck accident lawyer will do a thorough investigation. It’s important for your lawyer to get to the accident site quickly to talk to any witnesses, take pictures, and save important evidence.

Many trucks have something called “black boxes” that can provide information about what the truck driver did or didn’t do right before the crash. This can help people figure out how the truck accident happened.

Investigators look at a lot of factors to determine how a tractor trailer accident occurred, including which way the skid marks go, how long they are, where the vehicles hit each other, the angles they hit at, and how heavy they are. They might even do crash tests to recreate the accident so they can understand it better.

Comparative Negligence

You could still receive compensation if the truck accident was partly your fault.

In most states, there’s a rule called comparative negligence that is used in personal injury lawsuits. This means that if you are found to be 20% at fault for the truck accident, your compensation would be cut by 20%. 

So, if it is determined that the damages are $1 million, you would receive $800,000 instead. If you are 80% at fault, you’d only get $200,000.

Different states have different rules about this:

• 13 states use a “pure” rule where you can get some money no matter how much it was your fault.
• 33 states alter the rule depending on the percentage you’re found to be at fault.
• 12 states use the 50% rule, meaning if it’s determined that the accident was half your fault or more, you get nothing.
• 21 states use the 51% rule, so if the accident was more than half your fault, you get nothing.
• Only 4 states and Washington, D.C. use the contributory negligence rule, where if you’re found to be even 1% at fault, you get nothing.

How Much is a Trucking Accident Settlement Worth? 

It’s hard to say what the average truck accident settlement amount is because many of the details are kept private. But it’s not unheard of for settlements in truck accidents to be in the millions.

Here are some factors that can affect settlement amounts: 

• Medical bills: If your medical expenses are high and you need treatment for an extended period of time, your settlement amount will be more. 
• Lost income: If a truck accident victim has to miss a lot of work or can’t work anymore, the money they lose will be considered in the settlement.
• Car damage: 18-wheelers are huge, so they can cause significant damage to other vehicles. The insurance company might say your car is a total loss, or they might pay for repairs.
• Pain and suffering: This can be hard to put a number on, but things like physical pain, scars, or not being able to enjoy life like before can all mean more money in a settlement.
• Legal fees: Personal injury lawyers usually only get paid if you win, and they’ll take a portion of your settlement. Make sure you understand how much they’ll take before you sign any agreements. 

Most of the time, it’s the insurance companies that end up paying for truck accident settlements. Truck insurance usually has to cover more than regular car insurance. Truckers who are driving non-hazardous materials, for example, need at least $750,000 in insurance. One trucking industry magazine even suggests that a commercial truck driver should have at least $5 million in coverage.

Prominent Truck Accident Cases

In 2019, a trucking company was required to compensate a family $27 million after a tragic truck accident. A woman died in 2016 when a semi truck hit her head-on as she drove around a curve. The truck driver, James Decou, was driving in her lane trying to get past a camper trailer.

The local news reported that Decou and a few other truck drivers had been playing the dangerous game called “cat and mouse” that included racing and honking for over 90 miles before the accident happened.

The woman who died, Sara Allison from Idaho, was with her husband, who was taken to the hospital for surgery. They were driving home from a concert after celebrating his recovery from cancer. The truck driver pleaded guilty to causing her wrongful death, and was sentenced to more than six years in prison.

Additional truck accident cases with significant settlements include: 

$15 million

In May 2019, a Connecticut jury issued $15 million to a man from Pennsylvania who was hit from behind by an 80,000-lb semi truck in 2014. According to a local newspaper, the truck driver didn’t notice that traffic had stopped until it was too late. He tried to swerve to avoid an accident, but ended up crashing into 50-year-old Jorge Amparo’s car. Amparo’s car was completely destroyed, and they had to use the Jaws of Life to get him out of the vehicle. Now, he has post concussion syndrome, which can make you feel sick and dizzy without warning.

$53 million

In February 2018, a California jury gave $52.84 million to two brothers who were hit directly by a semi truck that veered over the center line of the road in 2014. The brothers had serious injuries from the truck accident, including damage to their brains (traumatic brain injury), as well as injuries to their backs and arms. They were also diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. The truck driver confessed that he was the one responsible for the accident.

$80 million

In 2019, a jury in Texas decided to give $75 million in punitive damages and $5 million in actual damages to a truck driver named Lauro Lozano. He said that the trucking company he drove for made him change his log and drive more hours than federal law allows in 2015. He claimed that Jorge Marin, who owned multiple trucking companies, told him to lie on driving logs so that he could drive longer than the legal limit for a trip that was 1,800 miles long. Lozano became so tired that he fell asleep while driving and crashed into another semi truck. He was severely injured, including a crushed pelvic bone and abdominal trauma. 

$101 million

In July 2018, a Texas jury issued a verdict that an oil services company had to pay $101 million because of a truck accident that happened in 2013. The company’s truck driver rear ended a pickup truck. The person driving the pickup didn’t think he was hurt at first, but later had to have surgery on his neck and can no longer work. The truck driver was tested and found to have used methamphetamine and marijuana after the crash. He even said in a legal statement that he had used these drugs several times a week.

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