Baton Rouge Truck Accident Lawyer

Baton Rouge, LA Truck Accident Attorney

Car accidents are terrible. But collisions with 80-ton big-rig semi-trucks can be devastating and deadly. These accidents are much more likely to cause severe and long-term disability and injury if those involved survive. This can cause a permanent loss of income and other costs. When a truck driver, another driver, or a third party is responsible for the accident, a Baton Rouge truck accident lawyer can help hold that party financially and legally accountable.

When your body and property have been severely damaged or destroyed, or someone in your family has died because of an accident with a big rig, you need legal representation from a Baton Rouge truck accident lawyer, and you need it fast. There are strict deadlines on insurance claims and civil claims, and you need the coverage from these claims as quickly as possible.

You need someone who knows how to handle a trucking accident (they are not easy cases to negotiate or litigate). You need someone who knows how to deal with the insurance companies. You need someone who can effectively negotiate your case or take it all the way to trial if that’s what it takes to get you the money you need to pay for hospital bills, therapy, property damage, and other out-of-pocket expenses caused by the accident. You will find the Baton Rouge truck accident attorney you need at Day Law Group.

Filing a Truck Accident Claim in Louisiana With Day Law Group

By enlisting the expertise of a skilled Louisiana truck accident attorney, you will have a team to help you through investigating the accident, compiling important and helpful documents, and working hard to ensure that all important deadlines are met. Working with an attorney has many benefits and can, at its core, allow you to focus on recovery while we focus on getting you the compensation you deserve. With a qualified attorney at your side, you are more likely to have a successful claim and receive full compensation.

The Baton Rouge 18-wheeler accident attorneys at Day Law Group are experienced and tenacious personal injury attorneys. with more than 25 years of combined experience. They concentrate their legal skills on representing people who have been injured by commercial trucks or truckers. These accidents can have lifelong devastating consequences, and the personal and financial losses deserve to be compensated.

Day Law Group is a small, family-oriented firm serving all of Louisiana. At our firm, you are a person who needs our help, not a legal case. That’s why our attorneys are responsive and give you the personal attention, guidance, advice, and support you need – both in and out of the courtroom. We learn what you need from a claim and work to obtain your compensation according to your interests. Our trucking accident attorneys are dedicated to serving and protecting our clients and getting them the compensation they need and deserve.

INFORMATION ABOUT TRUCKING ACCIDENT CASES

Here in Louisiana, over 78% of our communities rely on trucks to transport their goods. As of April 2015, there were 5,460 trucking companies located in Louisiana. These trucks and their drivers provide an essential and important service to communities, but there are also greater risks. With that many trucks on the road and the difficult conditions truck drivers face (including fatigue, loss of control from cargo shifts, and more), it’s no wonder that large truck accidents are so common.

Truck accidents are also more deadly than other types of motor vehicle accidents due to the sheer size and weight of large commercial vehicles. In fact, statistics state that large trucks are involved in 8% of all fatal crashes each year in Louisiana. Big rigs are more likely to be involved in fatal multiple-vehicle crashes— as opposed to single-vehicle crashes— than are passenger cars. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA), 72% of fatalities in truck accidents were occupants of other vehicles.

When a truck accident is not fatal, the injuries are often catastrophic. These include traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, paralysis, and amputations. The severe injuries from commercial vehicle accidents mean that the settlement value must be much more significant. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to obtain a fair amount for injuries and damages when you are filing against a trucking company and its insurance provider.

The Commercial Trucking Company vs. You

The involvement of a trucking company in truck accident claims makes these cases even more complicated. Big trucking companies have significant financial and other resources, making them hard to file a claim against. These companies use their resources to work with aggressive insurance companies, legal representation, and investigators.

Because commercial trucking companies (and their insurance companies) face enormous costs if they are held liable for injuries or deaths caused by trucking accidents, most trucking companies will send investigators, lawyers, and other personnel to the accident scene. These people are working for the trucking company. It is their job to minimize the trucking company’s exposure to liability. Even when you have a good-faith claim, it is their job to reduce or eliminate the amount that you receive from the trucking company’s insurance.

If you are in an accident with a commercial truck or if you have lost a loved one in a commercial trucking accident, you must keep in mind that the trucking company and its insurance company are NOT on your side. Any admission of fault will be used against you, even if it seems harmless. If their representatives claim that you were at fault, you may be in for a much longer claims process.

No matter how nice these personnel may seem to be, they do not have your best interests at heart, which is why you should hire experienced and capable trucking accident “counsel” to represent you. An experienced attorney is essential to protecting your rights against these companies, as they can conduct an investigation of their own.

Determining Fault in a Trucking Accident

One or multiple parties can be at fault in a truck accident, and this is an additional complicating factor in these claims. In other motor vehicle accidents, the at-fault party is most often the other driver, while occasionally, a faulty car component or a bad road is to blame. In a commercial trucking accident, however, many different parties could be liable.

An attorney with experience in these cases has the resources and knowledge to investigate the accident and determine the at-fault party or parties. Depending on the unique case, the at-fault parties could include:

• The truck driver. They may have acted negligently or illegally while driving, and their failure to take proper care on the road resulted in the accident.
• Others on the road. In a truck accident, the collision is not always the fault of the truck driver. Other drivers on the road can also fail to take appropriate care, causing the collision.
• Governmental or private entities. If the accident was caused by faulty road design, unclear or missing signs, or badly maintained roads, the agency responsible for the upkeep of the road and its design may be liable.
• The trucking company. The company may be liable for many different reasons. Depending on how the truck driver was hired, the company may be vicariously liable for the actions of their employee or for failing to do proper background checks and training for their employees. The trucking company can also be at fault for incentivizing employees to not take federally required breaks to meet unrealistic schedules. A trucking company may also be liable if they failed to get maintenance completed on their trucks or cleared unsafe trucks for use on the roads.
• The truck driver’s employer. Sometimes, the trucking company did not directly hire the driver. If so, the driver’s employer is liable for the driver’s actions or for failing to ensure that the driver can safely operate the vehicle.
• Third-party companies. If the truck company works with third-party maintenance crews, shipping companies, or other companies, these parties may be liable for negligence. Trailers may have been overloaded or improperly loaded, leading to the accident. Trucks may not have received the maintenance they needed or were improperly maintained. The owner of the truck’s trailer or cab may have known that the truck needed maintenance when loaning or leasing it to the trucking company.
• Manufacturers or distributors. If the accident was caused by a defective truck, car, or vehicle component, the seller or manufacturer of the vehicle or component may be liable.

Depending on the cause of the accident, you may have to prove that another party was negligent or otherwise broke their duty of care to you to act reasonably. For cases involving product liability, the creators and sellers of the product are strictly liable for damages, as they have a responsibility to the safety of consumers who purchase their products.

Trucking claims can become complicated very quickly, and it’s important to have an attorney by your side to:

• Determine the cause of the accident.
• Discover the at-fault party.
• Find evidence.
• Answer your questions.
• Determine the ideal way to maximize your benefits.

Big Rigs, Big Damage

Due to the sheer tonnage of an 18-wheeler or semi-truck, commercial trucking accidents frequently cause catastrophic injuries and death. The enormous financial burden this places on accident victims is why the truck accident attorneys at Day Law Group aggressively pursue compensation to the extent allowed by law for things like:

• Medical expenses (past, present, and future). These include overnight hospital stays, prescription medications, surgeries, doctor’s visits, medical devices, mobility aids, physical therapy, and the costs of any expected complications of your injury.
• Lost wages or earning capacity. After a trucking accident, you may be unable to return to work for several months, or you may be unable to ever return to work again. A claim could cover your lost wages as you recover. It can also recover the income you would have earned throughout your lifetime or the difference between the income you would have earned and any reduced income you are now earning.
• Property damage. The costs to repair or replace your vehicle, and any other valuable personal property that was damaged or lost in the accident, are compensable.
• Funeral expenses. If a loved one is killed in a truck accident, a wrongful death claim can cover funeral and burial expenses.
• Loss of support. In a wrongful death claim, surviving family members may also be able to reclaim damages for the loss of the financial support their loved one provided for the family.
• Loss of consortium. This is the loss of intimacy between spouses due to extreme disability or death. This is a form of noneconomic damage that compensates for an intangible loss.
• Pain and suffering. These are additional types of noneconomic damages, and they account for emotional and physical pain and suffering.
• And other economic and non-economic relief. Anything else that you lost as a result of the accident that is legally recognized damages could be compensated.

An attorney is an exceptional ally in determining the extent of your true damages. They can maximize the amount you earn while ensuring that it fairly reflects the harm you suffered.

Causes of Truck Accidents

Each truck accident is unique, and any driver could make a mistake or a bad decision. It takes a thorough investigation to determine what the cause of your accident was. Any number of factors

that could cause a trucking accident, but some of the more common ones are:

• Driver fatigue. Driving tired is nearly as dangerous as driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and it happens more frequently. Fatigue lowers reaction speeds, makes it harder for drivers to make decisions, and can result in drivers falling asleep at the wheel. Federal regulations require truck drivers to take breaks at specific times after different shift lengths. Unfortunately, companies may not ensure that drivers comply, or they may even encourage drivers to skip these breaks to meet deadlines more quickly.
• Negligent truck safety. Commercial vehicles see significant wear and tear on the road, so they must be cared for and maintained. If this doesn’t happen, or if unsafe trucks are cleared to be on the road, they can break down and cause a severe accident.
• Speeding. Speeding increases the damages of a collision and lowers the time that a driver has to react to any road changes.
• Driving under the influence. In Louisiana, the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level is 0.08% for most drivers and 0.04% for commercially licensed drivers.
• Distracted drivers. Driving distracted is unfortunately common, and it occurs when drivers take their minds or their eyes from the road for any reason, including handling a GPS system, eating, drinking, talking, or texting.
• Company failure to train or enforce safety rules. Trucking companies and employers have a responsibility to ensure that their employees know and uphold state and federal regulations and guidelines.
• Loss of control from cargo shifts. If a vehicle’s trailer is not properly loaded, it can shift during travel and cause the truck to jackknife or roll over. An overloaded trailer can also cause truck systems, like tires or brakes, to fail.
• All of the behaviors above can constitute negligence or intentional misconduct, which means you can hold the at-fault drivers and shipping companies accountable. We can help you determine liability and pursue justice – no matter what negligent behavior caused your accident.

Litigating Commercial Trucking Accidents Is a Complex Procedure

Laws, Laws, and More Laws

Commercial trucking accident settlement and litigation is not something that a non-lawyer should undertake alone. Why? Because the laws and regulations governing commercial trucks and truck drivers are many and complicated. Fortunately, our approachable attorneys have spent years studying and applying these laws, and we are here to help you!

In addition to state traffic laws, federal laws regulate the trucking industry to an enormous extent. The laws and regulations governing the commercial trucking industry are called the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). These laws and regulations span all aspects of trucking including:

• Truck driver licensing requirements
• Required documentation
• Driver’s work hour limitations
• Weight, size, and route limitations
• Trucking insurance minimums
• And more

That’s a lot of law to know and understand. When a trucking accident occurs, it is often because the trucking company failed to comply or enforce one or more of these laws. When companies purposefully cut corners or are negligent in their compliance, and this leads to people being hurt, these companies must be held accountable for their failures.

Knowing what rules govern commercial trucking companies and truck drivers is critical to both investigating the cause of the accident and recovering for your injuries. That’s why you need to have experienced and knowledgeable Louisiana truck accident attorneys represent you. We are not here to intimidate you with our education and experience, but rather to put it to work on your side!

Trucking accidents often include a number of responsible parties (truck driver, commercial trucking company, trucking owner, and others), and conducting a proper investigation to preserve the evidence is critical.

We can help you understand the rules and conduct this investigation, both of which are essential to developing the evidence in your case and successfully fighting the trucking company and the insurance company’s attorneys. Our lawyers have extensive experience building and handling truck accident cases.

Your Needs Put First. Always.

Our legal team at Day Law Group can go to the scene and gather evidence that benefits you. We are not afraid to stand up to big companies if it means securing your rights and your future.

Whether you have suffered a serious injury or lost a loved one in a trucking accident, you are entitled to, and deserve, legal representation from a law firm committed to your most favorable outcome. Day Law Group is here for you. If you or a loved one has been injured in a truck accident, contact our team today to see how we can give you legal support.

The lawyers at Day Law Group have extensive experience litigating catastrophic personal injury and wrongful death actions arising out of commercial trucking accidents. Let us use our experience to benefit you and your family after this traumatic and exhausting event. We can help you move toward stabilizing your life.