While any wreck carries the potential for a dangerous or deadly outcome, a side-impact collision involving a commercial truck and another motorist could maximize the likelihood of these tragic consequences. When a truck impacts the side of a car, the difference in weight and size between these vehicles could easily result in crushing the latter, catapulting it across the roadway, or sustaining other serious damage, which could threaten the life of the occupants inside it.
If you have been involved in one of the side-impact truck accidents in Inverness, you may be entitled to monetary damages. An experienced truck accident attorney could help you seek financial recovery from the liable parties and navigate the complexities of the case process on your behalf.
Contributing Factors to Side-Impact Collisions
A variety of factors could contribute to side-impact truck wrecks in Inverness. In some cases, outside elements such as bad weather could have created hazardous driving conditions. Poor roadway maintenance could have played a role in the accident, and a truck driver’s careless or reckless actions could also be reasons for a side-impact collision.
Additionally, other scenarios, including failing to stop or yield where designated, illegal turns, or unsafe lane changes, are all driving behaviors that could result in a terrible wreck. Truck drivers who are overworked, fatigued, insufficiently trained, speeding, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol could engage in these or other potentially dangerous maneuvers and t-bone another vehicle.
Common Injuries From Side-Impact Truck Accidents
Ddue to the mass and magnitude of a tractor-trailer, side-impact truck collision injuries could lead to the following grave personal injuries:
Any of these injuries could not only inflict tremendous physical and emotional harm on a person with injuries but could also leave a considerable financial impact on them. Besides the cost of upfront care at the hospital, such individuals could need ongoing or permanent care, including surgeries, physical therapy, or rehabilitation.
In addition to these financial damages, injured parties in a side-impact collision may be forced to miss work or grapple with a permanent loss of earning capacity. A well-practiced attorney in Inverness could help individuals injured in a side-impact truck crash seek the full value of their losses from the incident.
Filing a Lawsuit After a Side-Impact Truck Collision
Any person injured in a motor vehicle accident in Florida could typically turn to their personal injury protection (PIP) benefits from their insurance policy to cover certain costs from the accident. These benefits apply no matter who is at fault and will only go so far. Individuals who have sustained serious bodily injuries in a side-impact collision in Inverness may be entitled to go beyond this system and file a lawsuit to seek damages from the truck driver or any other responsible party.
An assessment of liability could depend upon the specifics of the accident. Parties liable for a side-impact crash could include the truck driver and the employer. If improper truck maintenance, poor cargo loading procedures, or a malfunctioning piece of equipment contributed to the accident, any entities responsible for these elements could bear a measure of legal culpability.
It is possible that the injured party could be found to have contributed to the accident but be entitled to collect damages for their injuries. Florida follows the modified comparative fault rule, which means that as long as the injured party is no more than 50% to blame for the accident, they could foreseeably collect compensation.
Any compensation the injured individual may be entitled to would be reduced in measure with the percentage of fault assigned to them. An attorney could provide further insight about launching a claim and potential sources of liability.
Get Help From an Inverness Side-Impact Truck Accident Attorney
Side-impact truck accidents in Inverness could leave you facing significant financial losses along with the harsh reality of severe injuries. If the truck driver or another party was negligent, which resulted in the collision, you may have grounds to file a lawsuit seeking monetary damages.
A proactive attorney could investigate and establish liability for the accident while collecting evidence to support a compelling case for your financial recovery. If you have questions about filing a side-impact truck accident claim, call our office today and ask to speak with a trusted legal professional.