Personal injury cases are bad enough, but when a tractor-trailer is involved, it can be even worse. Tractor-trailer accidents can cause devastating life changes. You could have permanent or serious injuries, and could even become disabled. It could cause you to rack up thousands of dollars in expenses.
If you or someone you love experienced the heartbreaking changes associated with a big rig accident, you may be eligible to file a personal injury claim. In this article, you’ll learn more about personal injury, fault, and what you can do if you’ve been involved in a wreck. To help you understand the basics, we will use a trucking company profile.
Fault in Personal Injury Cases
The essence of a personal injury claim is fault. Without someone being at fault for causing an accident (in this instance), there is no claim that can be filed. Personal injury has four elements, but all of them point to fault.
There must be a duty. For instance, a truck may be required to adhere to a slower speed limit on certain highways. There must be a breach of that duty. So, if the driver of the truck was driving 70 mph in an area where the speed limit for trucks is 55 mph, that is a breach of that duty.
Next, there must be a loss that is caused because of that breach of duty. So, if the speeding truck driver could not see over a hill and then could not stop in time to avoid a collision, that would be a loss caused by the breach of duty to obey the speed limit.
Finally, a claim must meet the “but-for” test. In plain English, it could be said as, “If it weren’t for the fact that the driver was speeding, the injuries in the wreck wouldn’t have been as severe.”
Now, fault in many jurisdictions isn’t that clear-cut. In many jurisdictions, comparative fault or contributory fault is the standard. That means that the court looks at every party involved in the wreck and determines how much fault their actions had for causing the wreck. So, if the driver of the passenger vehicle was texting and driving, that could be used as partial fault for a wreck. In many places, if someone who is injured is deemed 50% or more liable, they cannot make a monetary recovery.
Protect Your Legal Rights
Truck accidents are serious. If you or someone you love is involved in an accident with a tractor-trailer and is injured or killed, you need to speak with a personal injury attorney who has truck accident experience. Protect your legal rights. Contact a personal injury attorney.
*The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be construed as legal advice. If you file a claim against Werner Enterprises, or any other party, you may not be entitled to any compensation.
