The most serious and catastrophic accidents on the road often involve commercial trucks. These collisions can involve semi-trucks, delivery trucks, and construction vehicles, even the smallest of which are still much larger than a car. As a result, crashes between trucks and cars often cause cause severe damage to cars and their occupants.
A capable Norwich personal injury lawyer understands the full ramifications of these accidents on not just your body but your life as a whole. Truck crashes often result in physical injuries, emotional trauma, and financial harm. A Norwich truck accident lawyer could work to hold not just the truck drivers but also their parent companies responsible for your losses.
Why Do Truck Accidents Happen?
Driving a large commercial vehicle presents unique difficulties. As a trade-off for their carrying capacity, these vehicles are very heavy and slow to react. Any time that the driver of a truck must make a quick decision in a difficult situation, the odds of a collision occurring increase.
Even under the best circumstances, trucks present a danger on the road, but many drivers and the companies they work for contribute to these dangers by violating federal trucking laws. Specific rules govern how heavy a vehicle can be and how it must carry cargo. Overloading is a key reason for the frequency of truck collisions on Norwich’s roads, as this makes trucks more difficult to control and stop.
Truck drivers are just as susceptible, if not more, to poor driving as anyone else on the road. Many truckers drive for over a dozen hours a day to meet deadlines. Driving while sleep deprived may further decrease truck drivers’ reaction times and lead to reckless decisions on the road.
Whether the accident was caused by a truck being overweight, a violation of a traffic law, or careless driving, the injured plaintiff must prove that the defendant driver or the trucking company as a whole were negligent. A Norwich truck accident attorney could work to uncover the evidence needed to prove liability for a crash.
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Who is Responsible for Damages After a Truck Wreck?
Personal injury cases seeking compensation after a truck crash differ from other vehicle accidents in one major way. In a car accident case, the sole defendant is typically the person who was driving the other vehicle. In truck accident cases, there may be other parties that can be held liable.
If a trucker is an independently operating driver, then they are usually going to be the sole target of a lawsuit. However, many truck drivers are employees of a company that takes on liability for their actions. Therefore, the driver and the parent company may be joint defendants after crashes involving a commercial vehicle. In these cases, it is essential to work with an attorney who can identify the defendants that give injured parties the best chance to obtain maximum compensation.
Taking Prompt Legal Action
A Norwich truck wreck attorney also recognizes that it is vital to act quickly when taking legal action against a negligent defendant. Under Connecticut General Statute § 52-584, plaintiffs generally have two years to bring a case for injuries after a truck collision. Failing to file within this timeframe could leave an injured person unable to collect any compensation at all, so it is crucial to get in touch with a skilled lawyer as soon as possible after an accident to ensure that all necessary steps are taken.
Allow a Norwich Truck Accident Attorney to Help You
Collisions involving commercial vehicles are always serious matters that can forever change your life. You could be left with a totaled vehicle, serious injuries, and hefty medical bills that affect your quality of life.
A Norwich truck accident lawyer works with people who have been injured in these collisions to hold the responsible parties liable for their actions. Whether they are an independent trucker and their insurance company or a large construction firm, our legal team stands ready to take the lead in pursuing the compensation that you deserve. Schedule your free consultation today to get started.
