Truck Accident Lawyer | Montlick

How Do I Know If I Have A Case?

Truck accidents can result in life-changing injuries. If you or a loved one has suffered due to the actions of a negligent party, you may be entitled to financial compensation for your medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering and more. Generally speaking, you can pursue a personal injury claim if you were injured due to the negligent actions of someone else. If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, negligent parties could include the truck driver/s, other driver/s, the trucking company, vehicle or truck manufacturing companies or other third parties.

Contact a Montlick truck accident lawyer for a free consultation today.

Why Montlick Is The Right Choice For You

We Work To Protect and Leverage Evidence
Timing is everything after an accident involving a big rig. Trucking companies are never eager to pay out to injured victims and have a reputation for sending their investigators to crash scenes while the crash is still in progress in an attempt to start building a case against the victim. Often, critical evidence goes missing during this process (sometimes accidentally, sometimes intentionally). After the trauma of an accident, the last injustice you need is to receive less money than you deserve because the trucking company responsible for your injuries did a lousy job preserving evidence.

Evidence We Examine
Commercial trucking companies must follow strict rules and regulations while maintaining accurate records. Following your collision, a Birmingham trucking accident lawyer will carefully examine these records for potential violations. We may investigate the following records among others:

• Truck Driver Hours of Service Logs: The hours tanker truck drivers have been on duty, detailing driving and rest periods to ensure compliance with mandatory rest breaks and driving limits.
• Driver Pre-Trip Inspection Report: Documentation of pre-trip inspections carried out by the driver to identify and address potential safety issues before commencing a journey.
• Inspection and Maintenance Records: Records of routine inspections and maintenance performed on the truck to ensure it is in proper working condition and safe for the road.
• Truck Data Record Logs and Black Box data: Information logs capturing data related to the truck’s performance, including speed, braking, and engine diagnostics.
• Trucker Employment, Certifications, and Driving Records: Comprehensive records of the truck driver’s employment history, certifications, and driving qualifications.
• Cargo and Freight Manifest: Detailed documentation of the hazardous materials or cargo transported, including quantities and special handling requirements.
• Drug and Alcohol Testing After an Accident: Results of drug and alcohol testing conducted on the driver after the accident to assess impairment.
• Cell Phone Usage Data: Records indicating cell phone usage by the driver during the time leading up to the accident to determine if distracted driving played a role.
• Post-Accident Inspection Report: An inspection report conducted immediately after the accident to assess damages and potential contributing factors.

We Protect Our Clients from Powerful Insurance Companies

A primary goal of insurance companies is to minimize, delay, and even deny your claim. Insurance companies are known for taking advantage of the emotional and financial stresses that you’ll face following an injury, all to try and get you to settle for less. We deal directly with the insurance companies, so you don’t have to, and we know all their tricks and traps. Insurance and trucking companies may attempt to manipulate logbooks, hide vehicle damage, dodge responsibility, and shift the blame onto you.
Why do they do this? Simple. Insurance companies know that an injured person hiring legal representation is bad for their bottom line. Having experienced legal counsel by your side will likely increase your chances of success and the ultimate dollar value of your case.
When you contact a Montlick truck accident lawyer after your accident, we will do everything possible to ensure the evidence you need to win is preserved, safeguarded, and leveraged.

We Promise to Thoroughly Investigate
The legal team here at Montlick will work tirelessly to:

• Thoroughly investigate potential avenues in your case
• Identify your accident-related losses
• Identify potential avenues of compensation
• Determine who is responsible
• Obtain proof of your losses
• File your claim on your behalf
• Negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf
• Deal with attorneys for defendants in your case
• Gather evidence
• Interview witnesses
• Negotiate a settlement
• File a lawsuit and proceed to trial if necessary

How You Can Strengthen Your Case
Following the accident, there are a few things that you can do that will help your attorney strengthen your case. If physically able, take pictures of the accident scene, gather witnesses’ contact information, file a police report, and get medical attention. Even if you feel alright initially, injuries that are invisible to the naked eye may present later, so immediate medical assessment is essential. In the days after the incident, call us for your free consultation, save all bills and documents related to your case, and attend a follow-up appointment with your doctor.

Remember that the other party’s attorney and insurance company, as well as your own insurance company might try to speak with you after your accident. Never talk to them without your attorney present. They’ll likely attempt to talk you into a lowball settlement and can use whatever you say in these conversations to their advantage and potentially in a court setting later in your case. If unavoidable, be polite, keep it short, don’t share any information, and refer them to your lawyer’s office.

Causes of Birmingham Trucking Accidents

Trucking accidents often result from errors on the part of the truck drivers, and can be due to any of the following unsafe driving practices:

• Distracted Driving: Distracted driving involves activities like texting, talking on the phone, eating, drinking, or adjusting navigation systems. Even momentary distractions can lead to catastrophic consequences.
• Truck Driver Inexperience: Driver’s may not have the necessary skills to safely operate the large commercial vehicles, especially in challenging driving conditions. They may also be unfamiliar with federal safety guidelines.
• Fatigue: Long hours without sleep and breaks can easily cause fatigue for truck drivers. The National Traffic Safety Administration reports that approximately 30 percent of commercial truck accidents are caused by driver fatigue.
• Speeding: Given a large trucks massive size and weight, driving them at rapid speeds can quickly become a disaster. Speeding decreases a driver’s ability to react quickly to unforeseen circumstances, resulting in catastrophic consequences..
• Driving Under the Influence: Mixing alcohol or drugs with driving trucks poses grave dangers, especially when carrying potentially dangerous cargo. Because of this, the federal blood alcohol level for commercial truck drivers is lower than that for other motorists.

Who Can Be Found Liable?

Truck accident cases may have multiple parties that could be found at least partially responsible, and as such, they can quickly get overwhelming. Let a Birmingham truck accident lawyer from Montlick fight on your behalf. Parties that could possibly be liable include:

• The truck driver who has disregarded traffic regulations or operates their vehicle while under the influence may be held liable for their negligence.
• The trucking company may be under investigation if they have failed to maintain their vehicle, used negligent hiring practices, failed to supervise drivers, failed to train their drivers or did not adhere to state and federal regulations.
• The loading company could be at fault if the truck was not loaded properly, causing it to be unbalanced, their employees were not trained properly, the cargo wasn’t secured properly, or they did not conduct leakage tests.
• The truck manufacturers that produced a defective design provided inadequate safety warnings, failed to recall a defective product, breached a warranty, or were negligent in testing.

Establishing Liability
To hold a trucking company liable in a truck accident, your attorney will establish:

• Control over the Driver: It must be demonstrated that the trucking company was responsible for the actions and behavior of the truck driver, either through direct employment or contractor arrangements.
• Employment Relationship: It must be proven that the driver worked for the trucking company during the accident.
• Work-Related Duties: It must be established that the truck driver was directly performing job-related duties at the time of the accident and that those actions within the scope of employment led to it.

How Might Vicarious Liability Apply to a Truck Accident Case?
Vicarious liability means that employers can be held accountable for the actions of their employees if those actions occur within the scope of their employment. For a truck accident, this means that the driver must have caused the wreck while performing their job duties. The employer or trucking company can then be held liable for the resulting damages, even if they were not directly involved.
Liability can also extend to other parties involved in the truck’s supply chain, such as suppliers of components, distributors, or dealerships, depending on the case’s specific circumstances. Your Montlick Birmingham truck accident lawyer will consider all potentially liable parties in your personal injury case.

Potential Injuries From A Trucking Accident

The force of impact in a truck accident can cause severe injury or permanent disability. Although some can eventually heal, traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), spinal cord injuries, and others may result in long-term cognitive and physical impairments. Injury types that we handle include:

• Joint injuries of the shoulder or knee
• Whiplash
• Head and neck injuries
• Disfigurement
• Internal organ damage
• Decapitation
• Amputation
• Spinal cord injuries (paraplegia or quadriplegia)
• Brain damage impacting cognitive functioning
• Dislocations and hyper-extensions
• Wrongful death

Compensation for Trucking Accident Victims in Birmingham

Trucking accident-related injuries can be life-changing. They can leave you out of work for months at a time, if not permanently, and may even result in serious injury or death. Compensation you may be entitled to following a trucking accident includes:

Medical Damages
This will generally consist of past, current, and estimated future expenses related to the accident. Your truck accident claim expenses can include ambulance bills, hospital stays, medical equipment costs, home accommodations, co-pay costs, prescription medications, medical treatment, reconstructive or cosmetic surgery, ongoing medical treatment, mental health counseling, and occupational or physical therapies. Disabling injuries may come with lifelong medical costs. Our team will seek coverage for your current and future healthcare expenses.

Lost Wages
Depending on the severity of your injuries, you could be out of work for an extended period, and you may have the right to be repaid for lost earnings. This could include your regular paycheck, employer’s 401(k) or retirement savings contributions, holiday pay, paid time off, bonuses, salary increases, vacation time, and health insurance costs.

Pain and Suffering Damages
Pain and suffering include non-economic damages that describe the emotional and physical price of the accident. Damages can include diminished quality of life, disfiguring skin scars, emotional distress, inconvenience and embarrassment, personal and professional reputational damages, anxiety, a loss of sleep, traumatic thoughts, shame and fear, shock and anticipation, physical pain, and more.

Mental Health Treatment
If you require counseling, medications, and other therapies due to your accident– the cost of these treatments should not be on you. Your truck accident lawyer in Birmingham will work to ensure you receive all you deserve.

Property Damage
A truck may have caused extensive, if not irreparable, damage to your vehicle. Liable parties may cover repairs to or replacement of your vehicle.

Punitive Damages
If a driver was found to have acted recklessly or with gross negligence in causing an accident, victims may be able to pursue punitive damages to punish the at-fault party.

Wrongful Death Damages
In cases where a victim dies due to the negligence or recklessness of another party, their family members may be able to seek wrongful death damages. This includes funeral costs, loss of financial support, medical costs, and other expenses associated with their death.

Loss of Consortium Claims
If the victim’s spouse is unable to provide love and companionship due to injury or death caused by a trucking accident, the spouse may claim loss of consortium against the at-fault party. Nothing can undo the loss of a loved one. However, we can seek financial accountability for your loss. Your Birmingham truck accident lawyer will always work in your best interest.

Montlick: Legal Representation You Can’t Afford to Go Without.

We believe comprehensive legal representation is a right, not a privilege. That’s why we provide our services on a contingency fee basis. You only pay when we win; and winning is what we do best. The initial consultation is always free, and we never forget who we’re fighting for: you. We never represent insurance companies, government organizations, or corporations.

Call Montlick nationwide 24/7 at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) to arrange a free consultation.

The next chapter in your life starts today.