It is always difficult dealing with the loss of a loved one, especially if the death was due to the negligence of someone else. If you had a loved one die due to the negligence of a truck driver, you may be able to seek compensation for your family’s loss. Seek the services of a Toledo truck accident wrongful death lawyer to see what legal options you may have. Call an experienced attorney today to schedule a consultation.
Common Situations Leading to Wrongful Death
Situations that frequently lead to wrongful death cases involving trucking accidents include:
- Speeding
- Bad weather conditions
- A previous accident
- Nighttime accidents where vision is an issue
Any of these violations by the truck driver can be used as vital evidence in the plaintiff’s claim.
Corporation Involvement in Trucking Accidents
Trucking accidents may involve corporations and individuals. Often, an operator is an individual driving a truck leased to a corporation. One of the complications in trucking accident cases is that it may have two or three corporations plus an individual involved as potential defendants in a lawsuit. This results in insurance coverage issues as far as who is primary, secondary, and pro rata and who are the correct parties to add in bringing the lawsuit.
Due to the corporate association of most trucks on the road, these cases are handled differently than other wrongful death cases in several ways. When a truck is involved in a case and the truck drives in interstate commerce, meaning it travels from state to state, a separate set of federal regulations apply to the driver and to the company, which makes for a stronger case than a typical case. There is a large number of specific regulations that truck drivers and trucking companies driving interstate commerce are subject to. Violating those statutes potentially may result in greater damages and even punitive damages, which drastically increase the value of the case.
Truck Driver’s Company Representation
Truck accidents may look different in situations where a truck driver is being represented by a trucking company versus situations in which a person has no affiliation with a truck company or is being represented by the company. The distinction is that there may be a conflict between the individual driver of the truck and the other parties, meaning the owner of the truck, the lease company, or the owner of the load. Often in serious wrongful death cases, by the time the lawsuit is filed the driver has been terminated by the trucking company. The individual truck driver perhaps not only has no allegiance to the trucking company, but also a personal grudge against the trucking company. This results in the driver potentially being a strong witness for the Toledo truck accident wrongful death attorney and the plaintiff.
Insurance Company’s Role
The role of an insurance company changes in these kinds of situations because a person is going to have higher levels of coverage. Since a death is involved, they are going to treat the case more seriously because the financial exposure is much greater. There is also no damage cap for a truck accident fatality in Toledo. The truck driver is going to have a lot more insurance coverage because of mandatory insurance required for trucks that drive in interstate commerce.
A Toledo truck accident wrongful death lawyer is going to be willing to spend more money and to fight them that much harder than in a typical personal injury case. This is why it is crucial to call an experienced lawyer as soon as possible so you are able to get the compensation you deserve.