Truck accidents are often far more serious than everyday car accidents, given that trucks are massive. Their size makes it hard to drive around them, hard for truckers to see, and worse for drivers hit by commercial trucks.
Our lawyers seek to hold individual drivers and trucking companies liable for damages, often paid through their insurance companies. If insurance refuses to pay full damages, we will seek to fight the case in court and get damages from the correct parties to maximize your award.
Call The Martello Law Firm’s truck accident lawyers today at (914) 685-6950 for a free case assessment.
Suing Trucking Companies and Drivers for Crashes
Individual drivers often cannot afford to pay the damages they cause in serious truck accidents. However, their insurance and their employers often can.
First and foremost, you cannot sue someone who was not at fault for a crash. That means that if another driver actually caused the crash (and potentially caused the truck driver’s injuries, too), then you would sue them instead of the trucker.
However, there is an exception: trucking companies can be held liable when they did nothing wrong because of their role as the driver’s employer. Truckers drive as part of their job tasks, and when they injure people while doing so, their employer is responsible. Not every trucker works for a trucking company, as some are independent owner-operators. If they do have an employer, we can hold them liable “vicariously.”
Another way to reach the trucking company is to sue them for their own contributions to the crash. Trucking companies generally own their vehicles, so they are liable for dangerous vehicles, equipment issues, and negligent maintenance. Since they hire their drivers, they can also be responsible for negligent hiring or retention if they knew/should have known the driver was unsafe.
There are also many trucking regulations that apply to drivers and trucking companies. If either one violated rules, such as hours of service limits, weight limits, loading requirements, or equipment rules, they can be held liable.
Damages for Truck Accident Victims in Mount Kisco
Whether the trucker, the trucking company, or another driver is responsible for the crash, damages are typically paid through insurance. Even if you sue, it is still the insurance company paying the damages in many cases.
Your Insurance
The first insurance company to worry about getting damages from is your own. New York’s no-fault rules require you to have at least $50,000 of “personal injury protection” (PIP) coverage. This pays for medical care and a portion of lost earnings and expenses, up to policy limits. However, it does not pay for pain and suffering or vehicle damages, though additional coverages might cover these.
“Serious Injury Threshold”
If you want to seek additional compensation from other parties, you need “serious injuries.” Injuries qualify for an additional claim or lawsuit whenever they involve serious scarring/disfigurement, permanent injuries, amputation, or broken bones. Family members can also sue for a loved one’s death or a lost fetus.
Injuries that disable you for at least 90 out of the following 180 days are also “serious,” though you need medical proof to convince a court you can file a case with your injuries.
If you meet this threshold, you can sue the other parties and get pain and suffering and other un-covered damages. These parties might have policy limits, but you can also reach beyond their insurance for direct, out-of-pocket coverage when trucking companies are able to afford the damages.
Trucker’s Insurance
If you do meet these requirements, then you can sue the other driver or file an insurance claim. The trucker’s insurance must include a commercial driver policy that should cover far more than an everyday driver’s insurance would. That means that even if they are a solo driver, there should be sufficient coverage.
Trucking Company’s Insurance
If there are additional damages, the trucking company might have insurance to cover its operations as well. If they still cannot cover high-dollar cases with their insurance, you can sue the company directly.
In any case, there is typically enough money to cover even very serious injury cases.
Common Traffic Violations for Truck Accidents in Mount Kisco
Truck accidents are often caused by the trucker’s violations. Whether they broke a general traffic law or laws specifically targeting commercial truckers, we can use that violation as proof they were at fault.
Speeding
Trucks are incredibly hard to stop when they get to high speeds. Crashes involving speeding can crush other vehicles and even cause pileups if the truck cannot stop. Brake failure can also contribute to these crashes being even worse.
Drunk Driving
No one is allowed to drive drunk, but truckers have an even lower BAC threshold for drunk driving offenses. If the driver turned to illegal drugs or alcohol to try to entertain themselves or stay alert while driving, they can cause seriously dangerous accidents.
Tailgating
As mentioned, trucks are much harder to stop than cars. As such, they must give a longer following distance than most cars to stay safe. Truckers who tailgate can easily injure someone.
Running Red Lights and Stop Signs
Having a big truck that takes more time to stop and get back up to speed is no excuse for violating some of the most basic traffic laws. When truckers fail to stop at stop signs and red lights, quickly correcting the mistake is often impossible, and crashes are hard to avoid.
Distracted Driving
Whether texting, watching videos on their phone, or otherwise trying to fend off boredom, truck drivers face many distractions on the road. Distracted driving is nearly as dangerous as drunk driving and can lead to liability.
Equipment Violations
Truckers or trucking companies who allow vehicles to go out with dangerous, missing, or broken equipment often violate trucking regulations and put others at risk.
Hours of Service Violations
Trucking regulations put limits on how long a driver can drive or be on duty at one time, in a day, and in a workweek. Violations leave drivers exhausted and less alert, increasing the risk of crashes.
Weight Limits and Loading Violations
Drivers whose trucks are too heavy or whose cargo is loaded improperly increase the chances of an accident. This makes trucks harder to slow and turn, and improper loading can lead to fishtailing and trailer sway, which might even cause a jackknife accident.
Call Our Mount Kisco Truck Accident Attorneys Today
Call (914) 685-6950 for a free case review with The Martello Law Firm’s truck accident lawyers.
