When a commercial truck collides with a passenger vehicle, the outcome can be devastating. Due to their massive size (a standard commercial truck can weigh more than 25 times than a car), they pose a special threat to motorists everywhere.
After an accident, it is not uncommon for victims to sustain serious injuries that prevent them from returning to a normal life.
Trucking companies can be notoriously difficult to deal with, but with help from the right Swanton truck accident lawyer, you may be able to get the compensation you deserve as a victim. Learn more about truck accidents and your legal options with a trusted personal injury attorney.
Danger of Large Commercial Trucks
Despite the fact that truck drivers are required to undergo numerous hours of education and training, large trucks are involved in more fatal accidents than any other type of vehicle.
To make matters worse, trucks often transport highly flammable or dangerous materials and chemicals, which can cause fatalities. Drivers of large trucks must also be more careful than drivers of passenger vehicles due to their limited visibility and larger blind spots.
Truck drivers are also required to drive for long stretches of time, sometimes with no break. This is illegal, but often, truck drivers and trucking companies are on such a tight schedule that they are willing to risk the lives of others by forgoing breaks and rest.
Drivers have a legal and moral obligation to get an adequate amount of rest, but as history shows, fatigue is still a major factor in a great number of crashes.
How a Truck Accident Attorney Can Help You Get Compensation for Your Injury
A Swanton truck accident attorney’s job is to represent and advocate for your right to financial compensation against those who are responsible for causing you harm. Personal injury cases can be complex, with disputes about the facts of an accident or the applicable Michigan law that could influence its outcome. The attorneys at Charles Boyk Law use their experience and knowledge of truck accident cases to provide valuable insights and guidance at every stage.
Most truck accident cases begin with a preliminary investigation into the events and causes of the collision. This is necessary to determine potentially liable parties and prepare a complaint that outlines the legal claims against them. After filing a lawsuit, the case proceeds to additional discovery and pre-trial matters, which may require court appearances and other filings that our attorneys will manage on the clients’ behalf.
Settling a truck accident case is another area where our attorneys help. We offer counsel on the potential value of their damages, the risks of going to trial, and the overall merits of settling. The decision to accept a settlement payment is always a personal one that requires a detailed look at your financial situation, care needs going forward, and other factors. Another critical consideration in evaluating a settlement offer is whether it will be paid as a lump-sum settlement or as an annuity with several installment payments over time. The general trade-off between these two settlement structures is that a lump sum will provide instant payment but at a lower overall value, while an annuity may provide more money overall but takes more time to receive.
Understanding these issues with the help of our truck accident lawyers can provide assurance and peace of mind that a settlement makes sense. Not every personal injury case following a truck accident will end in settlement. Sometimes, a trial is necessary to pursue a claim for damages through a jury verdict. Our skilled litigators have the resources to advocate for your interests at trial, including questioning witnesses, submitting evidence, and making compelling arguments to support your claims in front of the jury.
Possible Damages to Claim After Suffering an Injury in a Truck Accident
If you’ve been injured in an accident with a commercial vehicle, you have a right to compensation for the various types of damages you incur. Several types of damages could be available but may not exist in certain cases, depending on the nature of the injury. The first category is economic damages, which includes measurable losses such as medical expenses, property repair or replacement costs, and lost wages. The second category is non-economic damages, representing intangible losses like pain and suffering and other negative effects from the collision. Whether an injury from a truck accident results in temporary or permanent disability is often a primary factor in calculating the potential damages, in addition to a plaintiff’s age and occupation.
In cases involving wrongful death, additional compensation may be available to surviving family members under M.C.L. 600.2922. This can include funeral expenses, loss of companionship, and the loss of financial support.
In some instances, plaintiffs in Swanton truck accident cases may also have an attorney help them seek punitive or exemplary damages. These damages are awarded at the discretion of a court and jury in cases involving reckless, malicious, or intentional misconduct. Examples where punitive damages may apply include cases of intoxicated driving or a truck driver exceeding their allowed hours on the road, resulting in an accident from fatigued driving.
Establishing Liability
It is easy to blame the truck driver for an accident, but in reality, you may be able to hold multiple parties responsible for your injuries. After meeting with your Swanton truck accident attorney, you may find that you are able to hold the following individuals and entities responsible:
- Trucking Company
- Owner of the truck
- Manufacturer of the truck (if a part’s malfunction was the cause of the accident)
- Inspector of the truck
- Cargo Loader
Before a truck can take to the roadways, it is the responsibility of several different parties to ensure that it is properly maintained and safe to operate. If these parties fail to take this responsibility seriously, the chances of the driver causing a serious accident will increase.
How a Commercial Truck Driver Could Be At-Fault in an Accident
A truck driver could be at fault for a collision in various ways through their wrongful acts or omissions. For example, a truck driver could be engaging in any of the following violations of the Michigan Vehicle Code at the time of an accident:
- Speeding,
- Using a cell phone or other forms of distracted driving,
- Tailgating,
- Taking wide turns,
- Fatigued driving, or
- Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
In some cases, the misconduct of a truck driver will be apparent but could be less clear in others. A semi-truck’s black box may provide valuable data and evidence about the truck prior to, during, and after an accident. A Swanton truck accident attorney can help recover this information from the applicable party and use it to identify how a truck driver’s negligence contributed to a crash.
A Truck Owner or Employer’s Potential Liability for an Accident
Commercial truck drivers often work on behalf of a transportation company or another business when involved in an accident. As a result, the owner of the truck or employer of the truck driver could have liability for your injuries under Michigan’s vicarious liability laws. As a Swanton truck accident attorney can attest, an employer may be liable for damages from their employee’s negligence while they are acting within the scope and course of their employment. Additionally, M.C.L. 257.401 maintains a motor vehicle owner’s liability when negligence of the operator causes injury to others as long as the vehicle was being driven with their knowledge or consent.
Beyond the actions of a truck driver that result in an accident, an employer may also face liability through their negligent hiring of a truck driver who could foreseeably cause harm to others while performing their duties. For example, an employer may face liability for not conducting a proper background check of a truck driver’s record that would have shown a history of prior accidents or violations. Alternatively, a driver may demonstrate a more recent risk of injury to others through their actions. An employer’s failure to address these issues through discipline or suspension could establish their liability in a future accident.
Manufacturer Liability for a Defective Truck That Causes an Accident
A defect is a feature that makes a product unreasonably safe for its intended use and can establish liability to the manufacturer or seller when they cause harm to others. A defect with a commercial truck that could cause harm to others may include a faulty brake system, a locked steering wheel, or other problems that make it unsafe to operate. The truck manufacturer could be liable for injuries that occur under M.C.L. 600.2964. A successful product liability claim arising from a truck accident in Swanton generally requires evidence that the defect existed before it was transferred to the buyer. If a long time has passed since the purchase of the vehicle, the manufacturer may claim the defect was the result of the owner’s negligence by not keeping up with maintenance or making other modifications to the truck. In either case, a person injured by a truck’s malfunction could have a claim against the manufacturer or the owner for failing to address the defect that caused the accident.
Negligent Inspection or Loading of a Truck
In addition to a truck manufacturer or seller, another source of fault for a truck accident in Swanton could be other parties involved in the maintenance or loading of the vehicle. Semitrucks and other commercial trucks undergo heavy usage that often necessitates regular, routine inspection and maintenance. A failure to perform necessary inspections and repairs could contribute to an accident and place liability for injuries with the company responsible for this oversight. In some cases, this will be the owner of the truck, but liability could also fall to another business contracted to perform this role.
A truck driver’s job is to transport cargo from one location to another. However, an improperly loaded or overloaded truck could create an accident risk for the driver who is unable to control the vehicle as a result. Federal and state laws place requirements on the weight a truck can safely transport based on its size, design, and where it is driving. For example, M.C.L. 257.722 states the different maximum loads for driving a truck in the state, such as 20,000 pounds for single-axle trucks driving on the interstate highway. Aside from being overloaded, a truck could have poorly balanced cargo through the fault of the loading company. This could happen during the initial loading of cargo or, if the cargo was not properly secured, the cargo could become unbalanced during transit. In either case, unbalanced cargo or an overweight vehicle may lead to a rollover accident, reduce braking ability, or lead to other collisions.
Other Considerations in Truck Accidents
As mentioned above, trucks pose a special threat to motorists. Cases involving cars and commercial trucks frequently involve the following scenarios:
- Commercial trucks are harder to turn, and when they do, they often require the use of two lanes as opposed to one. When a truck veers into another lane without making sure that it is clear, disaster is almost certain to ensue. In many cases, courts have ruled that if an accident is caused by a two-lane turn, it is automatically the fault of the truck driver.
- Larger vehicles, in particular, commercial trucks, are prone to jackknifing. Jackknifing occurs when the driver of a big rig comes to a sudden stop and loses control. Slippery roadways are often responsible for jackknifing, so a Swanton truck accident attorney may have to work harder to prove that the trucker is responsible.
How Comparative Fault Could Reduce or Limit Available Damages
A jury could assign fault to multiple parties for a truck accident based on the facts and circumstances. The defendants in a case may allege that one of those at-fault parties is the injured person seeking compensation through a lawsuit. In these situations, Michigan’s comparative fault law under M.C.L. 600.2959 could apply and limit a plaintiff’s compensation if the jury finds the plaintiff at fault. The effect of the rule is simple—a negligent plaintiff has their damages reduced in proportion to their percentage of fault for their injury. For example, a plaintiff with 10 percent of fault for their injury can only recover 90 percent of their awarded damages in general.
Injured people who are at-fault for their injuries by 51 percent or more face greater limitations on their recoverable damages. The court reduces a plaintiff’s economic damages by their percentage of fault and wholly prohibits the recovery of an award for noneconomic damages. In other words, plaintiffs cannot obtain compensation for their pain and suffering and similar losses. Managing complex cases of comparative fault in a truck accident lawsuit is where a Swanton attorney’s experience can be a difference maker. They can properly evaluate this risk and propose solutions for overcoming it in trial or through settlement.
The Statute of Limitations for Truck Accident Claims in Michigan
Michigan has a three-year statute of limitations for personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits under M.C.L. 600.5805. This creates a filing deadline for plaintiffs to initiate a claim and failing to meet this requirement will generally result in a dismissal of the lawsuit, which may prevent you from obtaining compensation against a liable party. For victims of a Swanton truck accident, the three-year filing period will usually begin on the date of the collision.
Our No Fee Promise
Our team works on a contingency fee basis for injured clients. We do not receive payment for our work on your case until after we are able to collect compensation on your behalf through a settlement agreement or jury verdict. In other words, our No Fee Promise means that we do not get paid until you do. This allows victims of a Swanton truck accident, or another personal injury case can get the legal representation they need to pursue a claim in court without worrying about how they will pay for this service. Once you receive payment, our firm will collect an agreed-upon percentage of the compensation we obtained for you.
Contact a Swanton Truck Accident Attorney Today
If you or someone you care about has been injured in a truck accident, do not hesitate to contact a Swanton truck accident lawyer at our firm. We strive to represent you to the best of our ability, and we will not stop working for you. Get in touch with our firm today to learn more about our approach to truck accidents.
