If you were hurt in a truck accident in Antioch, the Cochran Firm – Nashville, can help you pursue money damages for your losses. Let us help you get the compensation that you deserve so that you can rebuild your life.
We handle truck accident injury claims on a contingent fee basis, which means that we get paid out of the settlement proceeds or your award at the end. You do not have to pay upfront legal fees. You can call us today at (615) 651-7451 for a free, no-obligation consultation.
How Truck Accidents Are Different
It can be a smart decision to work with an Antioch truck accident lawyer on your injury claim because these collisions are different from a typical car crash. For example:
- Heavier weight with or without cargo: Whether the tractor-trailer carried a payload at the time of the accident or not, these vehicles are heavier than passenger cars. Heavy objects hit with greater force than lighter-weight items.
- Take longer distance to stop: If you have to slam on the brakes to avoid a collision, the large truck behind you might not have enough feet to stop in time. Big rigs need a longer distance to come to a stop.
- More severe injuries: Because of their heavy weight and increased force, truck accidents can cause more devastating injuries and fatalities than in a standard car collision. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) reports that “in 2017, 4,889 large trucks and buses were involved in fatal crashes, a 9-percent increase from the year before.”
- Different types of injuries: Cars do not typically slide under each other when they collide, but a car can slide-under a tractor-trailer (as affirmed by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)), causing lethal head, neck, and chest injuries to people riding in the car. These injuries have a high rate of fatalities.
Another difference in these accidents is that you might have to deal with multiple insurance carriers. Both the truck driver and the trucking company may have liability insurance. These companies can blame each other for your injuries, making it complicated for you to recover money damages.
For a free legal consultation with a truck accidents lawyer serving Antioch, call 615-651-7451
How We Hold the At-Fault Driver Responsible for Your Injuries
The law does not allow us to collect compensation from every driver involved in the truck accident. We have to establish that the defendant caused the collision to hold that party responsible for your losses. We will have to prove all four of these elements to show liability of the defendant:
Duty of Care
The defendant must have owed you a duty of care. Truck drivers have a duty to drive with reasonable care. Trucking companies have a responsibility to maintain their tractor-trailers in safe, roadworthy condition.
Breach of Duty
When someone’s conduct does not measure up to a legal standard of duty, that party is negligent. If the trucking company failed to keep the brakes maintained so that they functioned properly, the company violated its duty.
Causation
The careless act must be the thing that caused the accident that hurt you. If you stopped your car on the highway because of road construction and a large truck behind you could not stop because its brakes were worn and poorly maintained. The trucking company’s negligent vehicle maintenance was the cause of the crash and your injuries.
Quantifiable Damages
Usually, a person must suffer measurable damages to qualify for money damages in an injury case. Physical injuries satisfy the quantifiable damages requirement. After we meet all four of these elements of liability, an Antioch truck accident lawyer can pursue compensation for your losses.
Another thing to know in these cases is that truck drivers and trucking companies have to follow federal laws that do not apply to people who drive passenger cars. Congress wrote these special regulations to protect members of the public from reckless conduct by people who drive big rigs. Violation of those laws can be negligence.
At The Cochran Firm – Nashville, we know which documents to look for to prove whether the parties broke the laws. We have to act fast, however, to prevent the guilty parties from destroying papers that could support your injury claim. Do not delay. Call us today at (615) 651-7451 for a free consultation.
Antioch Truck Accident Lawyer Near Me 615-651-7451
How Much Compensation You Can Get for an Antioch Truck Accident Injury Case
We cannot say how much money you might be able to pursue for your damages. The amount of compensation you can collect will depend on the facts of your claim. A person with severe injuries or long-term loss of function will likely be eligible for more compensation than a person with minor injuries that heal quickly and completely.
Here are some examples of the types of money damages we have won for our clients:
- Lost wages: If you lost time from work without pay because of your injuries, your loss could be compensable—whether you missed out on wages, salary, self-employment, or a different form of regular income.
- Diminished earning potential: If you cannot make as much money as before because of the injuries you suffered, you could add this item to your claim.
- Disability: Sometimes, severe injuries make it impossible for a person to support himself through gainful employment.
- Medical expenses: This category can include things like the ambulance, emergency room, doctors, hospital, lab tests, prescription drugs, surgery, and physical therapy.
- Future medical treatments: We might be able to pursue compensation to cover the cost of anticipated procedures you will need in the future for your injuries.
- Rehabilitation facility: Some injuries require care at a specialized treatment facility, like a burn center or spinal cord injury rehabilitation clinic.
- Long-term care: When devastating injuries leave a person unable to administer daily medical treatments or personal care without assistance, the individual might have to move into a nursing home or receive in-home health care.
- Equipment: This category encompasses items that a person might need because of injuries—like crutches, wheelchairs, or other mobility equipment. Adapted vehicles and home modifications—like wheelchair ramps—can also be part of an injury claim.
- Intangible losses: These things do not always come with a price tag that allows us to measure their value in dollars easily, but a person can deserve compensation for these losses, nonetheless.Things like pain and suffering, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), disfigurement, and the loss of enjoyment of life because of the accident and one’s injuries can be compensable.
These are but a few examples of the types of money damages that can be a part of an injury claim from a truck accident.
Click to contact our Antioch Personal Injury Lawyers today
Getting Help for Your Antioch Truck Accident Injury Claim
An Antioch truck accident lawyer can help you pursue compensation from the negligent party who caused you to get injured in a truck collision. At the Cochran Firm – Nashville, we want to help people who get hurt because of the carelessness of others. You can call us today at (615) 651-7451 to get started.
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