Florida Truck Accident Attorneys
Personal injury lawyers focusing on Truck accidents for injured victims throughout Florida including the greater Miami and Fort Lauderdale areas.
Every 16 minutes, another person in the United States is injured or killed in an accident involving a large truck. Eighteen-wheelers and other large freight carriers can be extremely dangerous when handled improperly on the road, and can turn deadly if improperly maintained. If you or someone you love was injured or killed after a collision with a large truck, you are most likely dealing with ongoing medical or burial expenses and emotional strain.
A fully loaded eighteen-wheeler can destroy any other vehicle on the road upon impact. Many passengers or drivers involved in truck accidents require a lifetime of care due to traumatic and severe spinal or head injuries.
The causes of most truck accidents tend to fall into two general categories: driver error and vehicle maintenance failure. The most common cause of driver error is fatigue, which can cause clouded judgment, drowsiness, and falling asleep at the wheel. Driver error can also be due to inexperience, improper driver training and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (whether prescription or illegal). Deregulation of the trucking industry has resulted in an increase in speed-limit violations among tractor-trailer drivers as well.
Truck accident lawsuits tend to be far more complex than other vehicle accidents for several reasons, so it is best to consult with a Chalik & Chalik truck accident attorney to discuss your case. The difficulty of these cases is largely due to the following factors:
- Trucking companies and insurance adjusters realize the potential for major lawsuits when a truck accident is involved, so immediately following an accident, they quickly gather evidence and experts so that they can immediately begin to prepare their case.
- Determining the defendant can be extremely difficult
and complex, as follows:
- Driver Fatigue - this would likely be the driver’s fault. Overloaded Freight – this would likely cause the company the driver works for to be involved in the lawsuit.
- Excessive Speed – this could cause the driver and the company to be listed as co-defendants, if strict and unreasonable deadlines were set on the driver.
- Equipment Malfunction – this could cause the manufacturers to be defendants.
- Defective Tires – this could also cause a tire manufacturer or distributor to be named as a defendant.
- Failure to Follow State and Federal Regulations – this would normally name the company and driver to be co-defendants.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) sponsored a study that concluded approximately twice as many car drivers would die in collisions with light trucks than in similar collisions involving cars of the same weight as the light truck. For the same reasons, occupants of passenger cars and light trucks have much higher fatality rates than occupants of large trucks and buses.
The after-effects of a collision with a truck include gravely serious injuries, including traumatic brain injury or other brain damage; open head wounds; paralysis; spinal cord injury; back injury; broken bones; loss of limbs and internal bleeding. In addition, there are lost wages, pain and suffering, and medical expenses. The attorneys of Chalik & Chalik want to help you take action, so you receive the fair compensation you deserve.
In the event that injury or death results from a large truck collision, you will need a skilled lawyer in your corner to prove the accident resulted from another’s negligence. Hiring an experienced Florida truck accident attorney can help you and your family meet mounting medical and other bills. The Chalik & Chalik team will work hard to show that the driver, trucking company, or maintenance worker failed to exercise a duty of reasonable care, which ultimately caused the accident and resulting injuries.
If you or someone you love suffered severe or fatal injuries after a collision with a large truck, hire the expert legal minds of Chalik & Chalik in Fort Lauderdale or Miami, Florida. Contact our Florida truck accident lawyers for your complimentary legal consultation.
For more information, please see our Truck Accident FAQs.
