If you are a truck driver, then you are most likely aware of all the working parts a truck contains. Due to long hours and a huge amount of responsibility, truck driving is one of the most challenging jobs in the country. However, if you were someone who was injured in a truck accident, there is a good chance you have suffered severe damages, both physically and financially. If you or someone you know was injured in a trucking accident in Florida, we are here to help. Contact a skilled Jacksonville personal injury lawyer from Ansbacher Law today.
What are the primary types of trucking accidents?
Some of the most common types of trucking accidents are as follows:
- Rollover crashes: If a trucker is going too fast, trips on a curb, or takes a turn too fast, there is a high rollover possibility. Rollover crashes may also occur if the trucking company fails to properly balance and secure the load before the truck’s departure.
- Head-on collisions: This is one of the most serious types of truck accidents, as it usually occurs when one party is driving in the wrong lane, resulting in a collision at a very high speed.
- Underride accidents: This is a form of rear-end collision, and they usually happen when a smaller vehicle hits the back of a truck that is roughly the same height as the top of the vehicle, causing the car to go underneath the rear trailer.
- Jackknife accidents: jackknife accidents generally occur when the trailer is swinging independently of the cab with both sections of the tractor-trailer moving in different directions. This often leads to massive sudden obstructions in the road that other motorists cannot avoid, resulting in serious injuries.
- Truck driver DUI: Nobody should ever get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle while they are under the influence, but truckers bear the additional responsibility of massive amounts of cargo and machinery. If you were injured because of a trucker who was under the influence, there is a very good chance you will be entitled to compensation.
How do I recover compensation if I was injured in a trucking accident?
In order to recover compensation, you must prove that the truck driver’s negligence was the cause of your injuries. Proving negligence when a commercial vehicle is involved, however, is usually more complicated than proving negligence against another regular motorist. This is because most trucking and insurance companies will hire a team of legal experts to deny you of your compensation. Additionally, though most trucks have an Event Data Recorder, which documents the truck’s speed at the time of the accident, truck companies will very often destroy such data before anyone else can access it. This is why it is so crucial you hire an experienced attorney who will write the trucking company a spoliation letter, demanding they preserve the data at all costs.
