Personal Injury Attorneys
Trucking Crashes
protecting your legal rights after a semi-truck crash
Inevitably, these types of crashes involve multiple vehicles, and involve multiple insurance companies (from the tractor to the trailer to insurance for other vehicles to your own insurance company).
You will likely need an attorney with expertise. Our skills and knowledge will navigate you through the various issues and protect your rights before you are damaged further. Crash reconstruction experts are typically necessary, as are interviews with the police and key witnesses. Trucking litigation will also typically involve helping you obtain valuable insurance benefits and pursuing other available legal rights to obtain compensation and reimbursement for:
- medical expenses
- lost earnings
- pain and suffering
- emotional suffering
- other damages
Truck crashes are different than other vehicle crashes because of the federal laws that govern the trucking industry. Federal regulations require that certain evidence must be maintained, but only for a limited amount of time.
For example, the semi-truck driver’s log may be destroyed after six months if a lawyer does not obtain a court order or take other immediate action. In addition, state laws are also involved in trucking crash litigation. There are so-called “black boxes” and crash data that can be retrieved, extracted, and analyzed to help prove what happened and why.
The insurance companies and adjusters retained to defend the trucking company or companies never wait nor should you.
Insurance Issues
Semi-trucks and trailers must also carry various levels of insurance coverage, depending on the nature of the materials in the truck. This can create a situation where a hauling and leasing company may argue for years about which insurance company is responsible for compensating the victim in a truck liability case.
Ringsmuth Wuori has handled many types of vehicular crashes over the years including semi-trucks, unhitched trailers, buses, farm equipment, and crashes on highways, rural roads and city streets. Sometimes the vehicles involved are government vehicles, which involve special rules applicable to governmental entities that are also critical to follow to preserve and pursue a legal claim.
Trucking Crash Verdicts & Settlements
Truck Driver Strikes Bicyclist From Behind Causing Brain Injury: $1.5+ Million Settlement During Trial
NORTH CAROLINA EXPLOSION CASE: Burn injuries to a tenant at a rental unit with claims against multiple entities, ranging from landlord-tenant claims, to claims against a propane company and others. Resolved in part with confidential terms but with overall resolutions of claims of over $5 million. Preventable crash. Final resolution of issues in 2011.
Explosion In Rental Home: $5+ Million Resolution
An experienced road cyclist was struck from behind by a commercial vehicle. He suffered significant brain and back injuries. The cyclist was obeying all rules. The truck driver was not initially ticketed.
After we became involved, a ticket was eventually issued for careless driving. We worked closely with the treating doctors to understand and explain the significance of the brain and back injuries. Our insurance expertise was critical to success in this case. We managed to obtain insurance settlements from the truck insurer, and the errors and omissions policy of the insurance agency that had allowed the company’s liability policy to lapse.
In addition to the settlement, all wage loss and medical benefits have been paid. After several days of trial, a settlement was reached with all of the insurance carriers.
