Tractor-Trailer Accidents |

Tractor-trailer accidents are some of the worst on North Carolina’s roads. These commercial trucks are massive and weigh much more than other vehicles. When they are in a crash with a car or pickup truck, people in the passenger vehicle almost always suffer the most severe injuries.

Injuries can require weeks, months, or even years of recovery, and some truck accident victims never make a full recovery. These injuries are extremely costly to treat, and medical bills often pile up while the accident victim cannot work due to their injuries.

Truck accident victims have options for claiming compensation after a crash that was someone else’s fault. They can file an insurance claim or even file a lawsuit against the liable party.

Commercial trucks must carry at least $750,000 in liability insurance, with some carrying much more. Insurance companies don’t want to pay out on those big policies. The trucking company will have a team of lawyers, and they will try to shift blame to the victim.

A North Carolina truck accident lawyer can help those hurt fight back against these tactics to pursue the compensation they deserve. Find out how The Elmore and Smith Law Firm, PC can help you. Contact our Asheville firm today for a free consultation.

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Related Information

Truck Accidents Overview

Common Causes of Truck Accidents

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Commercial truck accidents often have many complications that aren’t present in car accident cases. This is why no one should ever try to handle a case without a lawyer’s help.

In truck accident cases, multiple parties are potentially liable. A trucking operation requires a team of people to get their trucks on the road.

Manufacturers must design and build a solid truck that is safe and roadworthy. Trucking companies must hire only competent drivers, and they must maintain their fleet of trucks and trailers.

Cargo companies must properly load and secure freight. Truck drivers must operate their vehicles safely.

Any time these parties or others are negligent, it could cause a truck accident. Determining who is responsible can be very complicated in a truck accident case.

Trucking companies are also unique and have complex operations. The trucking company may buy or lease the trucks and trailers, or the truck driver could own or lease their own equipment.

Insurance for the trucking company could cover everyone involved or just the company. Drivers and leasing companies often have separate insurance policies. Dealing with one insurance company often presents its own challenges after an accident. It becomes even more difficult when you have to deal with two or three.

Insurance policies for commercial trucks often have much higher limits. This means more money is on the line, particularly considering the severity of injuries caused by truck crashes. You can count on insurance companies to fight aggressively to avoid paying out.

Both the federal and state governments understand the risks associated with commercial trucking. For this reason, each has its own regulations that trucking companies and drivers must follow. These include driving a limited number of hours per day, keeping logs, meeting licensing requirements, taking mandatory breaks, and more.

After a crash, surveillance footage, electronic data, and logs books could indicate if these regulations were violated. Accident victims rarely know how to find and collect this evidence on their own, which is another way truck accidents are much more complicated than other crashes.

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The truck driver was likely responsible for the crash. After all, they were driving the truck. However, there are many parties potentially liable for a truck accident.

In many cases, the truck driver and the truck owner are two different people. When this is the case, leasing companies and truck owners are responsible for ensuring their trucks are properly maintained and safe.

If they fail to perform necessary service on the truck, which makes the truck unsafe and causes an accident, the truck owner could be held liable.

Just as truck owners are responsible for ensuring a truck is safe, so too are truck manufacturers. When designing and building a truck, manufacturers must ensure all the parts and equipment on a truck are safe and that there are no defective parts. When they fail to do so, they could be named in a lawsuit as one of the responsible parties for the accident.

In some instances, the truck driver might load and unload the truck. In other situations, this is done by other people who work for the trucking company or a cargo company. They are responsible for ensuring the cargo is secure and will not fall off the truck or shift its weight during transit.

When truck drivers are negligent and make mistakes, the effects are often catastrophic. Truck drivers who operate a truck while fatigued, distracted, or impaired are driving negligently, and those injured can hold them accountable. The company that employed the driver is typically liable for the trucker’s negligence.

Trucking companies can be held responsible for failing to train drivers properly. They may also have been negligent in hiring a driver with a dangerous driving history or retaining a driver who has proven to be unsafe.

In many cases, multiple parties share responsibility for a tractor-trailer crash, which makes a claim even more challenging. Your attorney can collect the necessary evidence and investigate the accident to establish fault and hold all responsible parties liable.

Evidence Our Firm May Use in a Truck Accident Claim

When accident victims file a claim against any liable party in a truck accident case, they have the burden of proof to show that the liable party was responsible for the accident.

To do this, they need to present evidence and facts that the at-fault party acted negligently. This evidence can take many forms.

One of the pieces of evidence our firm may review is the logbooks truck drivers are required to maintain. These logs indicate how long the driver had been on the road, how many miles they had traveled before the accident, and when the driver took their last break.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) places strict regulations on truck drivers regarding mandated rest periods. If the logbooks were not properly maintained, falsified, or show a violation of FMCSA regulations, an attorney could use them as evidence of negligence in the case.

Many trucks today also automatically store electronic data. This is done through a “black box” on the truck that records factors such as if the brakes were engaged before the crash and how fast the truck was traveling beforehand. If these records indicate the driver was breaking a law, such as speeding, this can also show the driver was negligent.

Many trucks today also have in-truck cameras. If these recordings show that the truck driver was driving while distracted or impaired, or simply not focusing on the road, these cameras can also provide evidence for the case. An outward-facing camera could also show that the truck ran a red light or crossed the centerline, for example.

Evidence in a truck accident case often includes expert testimony and witness statements. People who saw the crash can help everyone involved understand what happened, and they may even point to the negligence that caused the crash.

Expert testimony can help strengthen the accident victim’s claims of the nature and severity of their injuries. This testimony can include the type of medical treatment the accident victim will need in the future, the long-term effects of their injuries, whether they can go back to work, and if they can perform the same type of work they did before the accident.

Accident reconstruction experts can also help clarify how the crash happened and who was responsible.

Compensation in an Asheville Truck Accident Claim

In North Carolina, the compensation sought in an insurance claim or lawsuit is known as damages. The state has two main types regularly claimed in lawsuits: special damages and personal damages.

Special damages have a quantifiable amount and are easy to calculate. Some common types of special damages include:

Medical expenses
Lost income
Loss of earning capacity
Accommodations made to home, such as a wheelchair ramp

Replacement services, such as a housekeeper or meal service
Physical therapy costs
Any other out-of-pocket expenses

Personal damages don’t have a dollar value attached to them. Calculating these damages is a bit more difficult and often quite subjective. Some common types of personal damages include:

Pain and suffering
Emotional distress
Loss of consortium
Loss of enjoyment of life
Physical disfigurement

Common Causes of Truck Accidents in Asheville

Truck accidents happen in an instant, and the people involved don’t always know the cause of the accident right away.

While truck accidents can happen for many reasons, some causes are more common than others. Examples include:

Driver negligence, including driving recklessly, improper lane changes, tailgating, failure to yield right-of-way, and speeding
Driver fatigue
Impaired driving
Distracted driving

Improper maintenance of the truck
Cargo imbalance or unsecured cargo
Poor hiring practices, such as not conducting background checks or failing to train drivers properly
Truck defects such as defective brakes or worn tires

Truck accidents don’t happen without reason. When a crash occurs, an attorney can find the cause to establish who was at fault and work to hold them liable for paying fair compensation.

Catastrophic Injuries Caused by Truck Accidents

When a crash involves a tractor-trailer, the occupants of the passenger vehicles often sustain catastrophic injuries. Many of these injuries are extremely difficult to recover from, are very expensive to treat, and leave the accident victim in an immense amount of pain.

Some of the most common injuries after a truck accident are:

Spinal cord injuries, including nerve damage and paralysis
Traumatic brain injuries
Severe back injuries
Severe neck injuries
Amputations, whether they are accidental and occur at the scene or are necessary due to the severity of injury to a limb

Severe burns from fires and explosions
Rib and torso injuries, such as broken ribs or a punctured lung
Internal injuries
Seat belt injuries
Multiple broken bones
Death

How Our Asheville Truck Accident Lawyers Can Help You

If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, our personal injury lawyers in Asheville want to help. At The Elmore and Smith Law Firm, PC, we are prepared to fully investigate the cause of your crash, collect evidence to back up your claim, and pursue all the compensation you may deserve to help with your injuries.

Tractor-trailer accidents are some of the most complex accident cases, so don’t try to go it alone. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you through this very difficult time. The initial consultation is free.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Tractor-Trailer Accidents

Will a settlement after a truck accident be higher than after a car accident?

Truckers in North Carolina must carry at least $750,000 in liability insurance. Settlements following a truck accident are frequently higher than after a car accident, but not necessarily because the trucker or trucking company has more insurance.

Sadly, truck accidents, particularly those involving 18-wheelers, often have catastrophic outcomes, including spinal cord damage and traumatic brain injuries. Plus, truck accident victims typically face longer healing times and incur substantial medical bills.

Is the other driver ever at fault in a truck accident?

Though many trucking companies and their drivers adhere to safe driving and trucking industry regulations, others disregard the rules and knowingly operate their trucks negligently. In many cases, the truck driver is at fault for a crash.

A crucial element in determining fault in a truck accident is whether the truck driver was negligent or failed to exercise what’s called “duty of care.” Sometimes the responsibility for a truck accident is shared between multiple parties, making a compensation claim more challenging.

What should I do after a truck accident?

Just like when you’re involved in a car accident, you should first seek medical attention and file a police report after a truck accident.

If you or a loved one has suffered injuries in a truck accident, you can benefit from consulting a personal injury lawyer who will thoroughly investigate the cause of your crash, collect evidence, and pursue the compensation you might be entitled to. They’ll also advise you of all your legal rights under North Carolina law.

Have more questions about accidents involving tractor-trailers? Contact a personal injury attorney.

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