Being involved in a wreck with a big rig can drastically change your life. You might need medical care for the rest of your life. Traumatic brain or other injuries may stop you from working. More than 5,000 times each year, someone dies as a result of truck accidents. If you or someone you love has been involved in an accident with a big rig, you may have the option of filing a personal injury claim. In this article, we’ll explore some stats of an actual trucking company and then explain the concepts of personal injury.
What You Need to Know About Personal Injury Claims
Personal injury is a section of law that falls under civil law. The goal is to compensate people who are injured and restore them to their lives as they were before the accident. Of course, it also compensates for people who will undergo future medical expenses or who will experience a drastic change in their life. Often, punitive (punishment) damages are awarded in an effort to punish the party that was at fault for the accident.
There are four elements for successful personal injury claims.
- There is a duty owed by one party to the other party. For instance, drivers have a duty assigned by the Department of Transportation to not drive more than 11 hours each day.
- The duty must be breached. When something is breached, it is broken. So, if the driver put in 12 or more hours on the road (which isn’t uncommon for drivers despite the law), that would be a breach of duty. This is part of what makes up fault.
- The breach of duty must cause an injury. If there’s not an actual injury caused by a breach of the duty, there’s no personal injury case. If the driver had been on the road for more than 11 hours, and missed a merge or a stop sign and was involved in a wreck, that would be an injury. The court would take the breach of duty into consideration.
- The "but-for" test must be met. This determines causation which is a main component of filing a claim. But for the driver continuing after the 11-hour maximum, he or she would not have run the light and hit another car.
This is why you need the help of an experienced personal injury attorney if you are involved in a wreck with a big rig. Don’t leave it to chance or up to the insurance company. Get the compensation that you deserve.
*The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be construed as legal advice. If you file a claim against Quality Distribution, or any other party, you may not be entitled to any compensation.
