Orlando Truck Accident Lawyer

Do You Need An Orlando Truck Accident Lawyer?

What Damages Are You Entitled To After a Truck Accident?

Understanding Liability and Proving Fault in Truck Accidents

Establishing liability after a truck accident in Central Florida involves a complex legal process, requiring the expertise of experienced attorneys. It is crucial to understand the importance of taking immediate action and gathering evidence to support your truck accident claim.

Determining Responsibility After a Truck Accident

To prove that a truck driver or associated party was at fault, it must be demonstrated that they owed a duty of care, breached this duty through negligent actions, and caused the accident leading to your injuries and losses. This includes considering the roles of not just the truck driver but potentially other parties such as the trucking company, manufacturers, and even other drivers involved in the accident.

Vicarious Liability in Truck Accident Claims

The concept of vicarious liability extends responsibility for the accident beyond the driver to include the trucking company. Proving vicarious liability involves demonstrating that the driver was acting within the scope of their employment and that the accident was foreseeable. This highlights the importance of comprehensive investigations and collecting evidence that supports the claim.

The Role of Expert Witnesses in Truck Accident Claims

Expert witnesses play a pivotal role in truck accident claims, offering specialized knowledge that can help clarify the circumstances of the accident, the extent of injuries, and the technical aspects of truck operations. The types of expert witnesses can range from accident reconstructionists and medical experts to mechanical experts and safety investigators, each providing critical insights that can bolster your claim.

What Are the Most Common Types of Truck Accidents in Central Florida?

Truck accidents can occur for a wide variety of reasons, including careless truck drivers, improper vehicle maintenance, and the failure of passenger cars to maneuver around bigger vehicles. Here are a few of the most common types of accidents you may encounter:

• Jackknife : Semi-trucks and tractor-trailers have two parts: the cab and the trailer. A hitch, which sits below the forward area of a trailer and connects with the cab, is a movable joint that pivots whenever a truck makes a turn. A jackknife accident occurs when a truck folds in on itself at the point of separation.
• Wide turn collisions : When a driver first steers or “swings” left to make a right turn, it’s known as a wide turn. If the driver isn’t aware of rear traffic or the right-side surroundings, it can trap vehicles and injure passengers or pedestrians.
• Truck rollovers : When a truck driver travels around a curve, swerves into another lane, or enters or exits a highway ramp too fast, centrifugal force can cause the truck to roll over. Truck rollover accidents are sometimes preventable and are most often caused by speeding, driver distraction or inattention, overly aggressive or reckless steering, overturning, and unsafe loading of the tractor-trailer.
• T-bone accidents : “T-bone” is a nickname for a broadside collision, which occurs when the front of one vehicle collides into the side of another, forming the shape of a T. T-bones are common at intersections but can happen throughout other areas of road, including highways.
• Tire blowout : While the tires of any vehicle can blow out, large commercial trucks are especially vulnerable to tire failure. In fact, it’s not uncommon to see the remains of tire blowouts—shreds of back rubber on the shoulder or in the middle of the lane—across major roadways throughout the United States.
• Underride accidents : If a truck stops too quickly, smaller vehicles behind it can get lodged under the trailer. These types of truck crashes are among the most fatal accidents on the road.
• Rear-end crashes : Rear-end collisions are relatively common among all types of vehicles, including trucks. Often, these accidents result in fender benders. Yet, when a heavy truck is involved, the crash can sometimes result in catastrophic injuries and even death.

Truck accidents can be the result of a variety of factors, including bad weather, road conditions, untrained or inexperienced drivers, overloaded cargo, poor maintenance, and negligent driving. If you’ve been in an accident involving a truck, it’s crucial that you hire an experienced Orlando truck accident attorney who can help you secure the compensation you need to pay for medical bills, property damage, lost wages, psychological trauma, and any other damages associated with the crash.

Common Personal Injury Claims in Truck Accidents

Truck accidents often result in severe injuries due to the massive size and weight of commercial vehicles. These injuries not only require immediate medical attention but often entail long-term medical treatment and rehabilitation.

The most common injuries sustained in these accidents include:

• Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI): Resulting from the head being violently shaken or striking an object, TBIs can range from mild concussions to severe brain damage.
• Spinal Cord Injuries: These can lead to partial or complete paralysis, significantly impacting a victim’s quality of life.
• Broken Bones and Fractures: The force of a truck collision can easily break bones, sometimes requiring surgery and leading to long-term disability.
• Internal Injuries: Damage to internal organs and internal bleeding are common in high-impact crashes and can be life-threatening.
• Cuts and Lacerations: Glass, metal, and other debris can cause serious cuts that might require surgical intervention to heal properly.
• Whiplash and Other Soft Tissue Injuries: These injuries, while sometimes less visible, can cause chronic pain and mobility issues.

Steps to Take after an Orlando Truck Accident

If you’ve been involved in a truck accident in Orlando, it’s crucial that you understand what to do following the crash. Promptly dealing with the insurance company is essential, as they play a significant role in handling claims and can present challenges. While there’s no concrete playbook of procedures that apply to every situation, there are a few more general guidelines that you may want to consider. These include the following:

Remain at the Scene and Calling the Police Immediately

Just after the crash, you may be confused and frazzled. However, it’s important to quickly regain your senses and call 911. Let the dispatcher know that you’ve been in an accident and inform them of any injuries you sustained or any other information that seems pertinent to the accident. The dispatcher will then route your call to the local law enforcement agency and emergency responders. Once the police arrive, they’ll not only be able to help divert traffic and clear the wreckage, but they’ll be able to write a police report, which is one of the most important elements in an ensuing personal injury investigation and insurance lawsuit.

Seek Medical Attention from Emergency Responders

Even if you don’t think you’re hurt, get a medical evaluation for yourself and your passengers. It’s possible that you may have suffered injuries that don’t show immediate symptoms. If you don’t receive treatment at the crash scene or aren’t immediately transported to the hospital, visit your doctor as soon as possible after the accident to determine if you need any care. An official medical report can help uncover and document any immediate or late-onset injuries associated with the accident, which will be instrumental during the subsequent lawsuit.

Collect Information and Gather Evidence

It’s important to exchange information with the other parties while at the crash scene because once they leave, it can be hard to track them down. Likewise, try to take pictures of the collision scene while you’re still on-site, which can help your lawyer put the pieces together during the investigation. In addition to documenting damage to your vehicle, remember to also take pictures of any other vehicles involved in the accident, road signs, skid marks, visible bodily injuries, or anything else that might be useful. Likewise, it may also help to take notes as the events of the crash are easy to forget in the weeks and months that follow.

Track Down Witnesses

Witnesses may be called upon to testify in your case. It’s vital, with this in mind, that you always check for witnesses at the scene of the accident. This may involve collecting a witness statement yourself or asking for their contact information if additional details about the accident are needed. Note that you can also check the accident report to see if the responding officer interviewed any witnesses.

Avoid Common Mistakes

Post-accident actions are crucial in preserving the integrity of your claim. Common mistakes such as admitting fault, failing to seek immediate medical attention, or inadequately gathering evidence at the scene can severely impact your ability to secure fair compensation. It’s essential to approach these situations with caution, ideally under the guidance of a qualified attorney.

Contact a Truck Accident Lawyer

Perhaps most importantly, it’s crucial that you get in touch with an experienced group of truck accident attorneys like those at Wooten, Kimbrough, Damaso & Dennis, P.A. We may be able to help you execute these steps, including determining fault, calculating damages, and filing a claim. After we meet with you one-on-one, we’ll proceed with an investigation that looks at the facts of your case and the circumstances that led up to the crash. Our ultimate goal is to get you the compensation you deserve for any medical bills, lost wages, property damage, and psychological trauma associated with the accident.

Five Important Questions to Ask a Commercial Truck Accident Lawyer

If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, you may be entitled to compensation for the damages you suffered. However, pursuing compensation by yourself is a lot to ask, particularly when you’re in pain and trying to recover from your injuries. Fortunately, you may be able to hire a truck accident attorney to manage the aspects of your claim and take actions that are in your best interest. When going about choosing a lawyer, it’s essential to ask the following questions:

1. Where Are You Licensed to Practice Law?

It’s vital to hire an attorney who’s licensed in the state you live in or the state where the accident occurred. To practice law, your attorney must be licensed by the state’s bar association.

2. What Are Your Legal Fees?

It’s important to hire an attorney that works with your budget and expectations. Attorneys can charge a flat fee, an hourly rate, or a contingency fee they don’t collect unless they win your case.

3. What’s Your Experience in Handling Truck Accident Cases?

Commercial truck or semi-truck accident cases are complex and involve multiple parties. Trucking companies have unlimited legal resources at their disposal and will use almost any means necessary to diminish driver liability. The sooner you hire an experienced commercial truck accident attorney in Orlando to defend your rights, the stronger your truck accident case will be.

4. What Investigative Work Will Your Team Be Doing on My Case?

An experienced Orlando truck accident attorney will likely work to obtain the following:

• Evidence from the accident scene such as skid marks, debris, and any obstructions
• Statements from witnesses and emergency personnel
• The trucking company’s documents, which can include the driver’s qualification documents or credentials, vehicle inspection and maintenance forms, hours of service logbooks, truck driver deadlines, and more
• Evidence that looks at circumstances such as the state of the road at the time of the crash, the weather conditions, whether driver fatigue was a factor in causing the accident, or whether the truck was improperly loaded or overweight

5. What Documents Should I Bring to My Initial Consultation?

It’s important that you bring any medical records, witness contact information, pictures of damage, and any accident reports given to you at the scene of the crash. At this point, an experienced lawyer, like those at Wooten, Kimbrough, Damaso & Dennis, can help you determine the next steps.

Frequently Asked Questions About Truck Accident Claims in Orlando FL

How is fault determined in a truck accident case?

There are many factors in determining who is at fault in a trucking accident, but there are some situations where the fault is clear. For example, when there is a rear-end collision, most of the time, the driver that struck the other vehicle from behind is at fault. Another example that would tend to show a driver is at-fault would be that he or she violated some traffic law that led to the crash. In a more obvious scenario, fault can be determined when a driver admits that he or she is at fault.

What is the statute of limitation for a truck accident in Orlando?

Where a person is claiming personal injury for a trucking accident, that person has two (2) years from the date of the accident to bring a claim against the other party. If a claim is not brought before the two (2) year limitation period, then the claim is permanently barred. However, where a person has died as a result of a trucking accident, the estate for the deceased must bring an action on behalf of the estate and its survivors within two (2) years of the date of the accident.

How long do truck accident claims take to settle in Orlando?

Every case is different, and the duration of a case can depend upon several factors. For example, if the trucking accident involves several other vehicles, multiple witnesses, or novel or complex issues, the case may take longer to resolve. On average, however, personal injury cases take up to two (2) years to resolve, sometimes longer. But, again, the length of time for any given case varies on its unique facts and circumstances.

Contact the Experienced Truck Accident Lawyers in Orlando, FL at Wooten, Kimbrough, Damaso & Dennis