Monmouth County Truck Accident Lawyer

An accident with a semi-truck is not like an accident between two cars or even an SUV or Jeep. The most important differences involve the three Cs of commercial trucking accidents: the cargo on the truck, the carrier which owns the truck, and the companies that provide insurance or own the cargo. Each of these aspects could mean unique injuries to you and your family, as well as unique difficulties in getting fair compensation for your care. If you or a loved one has been harmed in a truck accident due to no fault of your own, simply contact a dedicated truck accident lawyer from Falcon Law Firm for help today.

Truck Accident Lawyer | Here for Clients in NJ & PA

The complicated nature of truck accidents is why having an experienced Monmouth County auto accident lawyer is so important. The attorneys at Falcon Law Firm are proven in handling the vital details involved in commercial rig collisions. If you need help pursuing your rightful compensation, look no further than our dedicated legal team.

What Are the Three Cs of Commercial Trucking Accidents?

While car accidents between two average motorists can be incredibly dangerous and difficult on their own, truck accidents are a whole different animal. The three largest differences fall under the areas of: Cargo, Carrier, and Companies.

Cargo

Commercial trucks often transport dangerous materials, including:

• Lumber which may splinter, split, or slide during a crash
• Explosives far more volatile than the gasoline in most automobile tanks
• Chemicals that may be toxic, corrosive, or carcinogenic (cancer-causing)
• Biological cargo from live animals to foodstuffs, all of which may carry infectious substances
• Equipment for construction or farming that add new dangers (industrial concrete or sharp metal claws meant for digging)

Real damage can be done by any loose item during a high-speed vehicle crash, like a flying cell phone or briefcase that hits your head. However, the injuries that may compound occur when irregular cargo is involved can be far more complicated and life-threatening. Open wounds are serious, but open wounds contaminated with chemicals or organic matter in a commercial vehicle crash involve greater danger and may require longer, specialized medical care.

Another cargo concern is the weight and distribution of the freight. Heavily loaded cargo leads to tipping dangers, potential “jackknifing” if a truck driver needs to stop suddenly, and the added force of the impact from a fully stocked commercial vehicle.

An experienced truck accident injury lawyer will know to account for these irregular injuries, and the increased cost of their care, when building your case.

Carrier

Carriers are the companies or freight firms that own the trucks and/or employ the drivers. Here is why this element complicates your ability to reach a swift truck accident settlement:

• Mechanical failures may need to be traced back to the auto maintenance procedures of the carrier
• Defective vehicles may need to be traced back even further, to the truck manufacturer instead of the truck’s owner
• Negligent hiring like employing unlicensed/unqualified drivers, or drivers with a known poor driving record, is also a common issue
• Safety protocols from management may be insufficient, or those tasked with the safety procedures may be negligent, or both
• Disputes over the cause of the accident may include the carrier blaming the weather or road condition, not their vehicle or driver

All of these aspects could impact the amount of compensation available to you. A skilled semi-truck accident lawyer will provide two key assets: they will know how to examine every angle of the accident, and also how to gather the evidence required to prove liability in court.

We at Falcon Law are focused on accessing every single recovery resource available to you. This is one way we help make sure any “caps” or limits on pay-out amounts can be supplemented by other sources of compensation from all negligent parties.

Companies

The carrier company is not the only business interest in commercial truck accidents. Other potential players include the company which owns the cargo, and the insurance companies behind all of them.

• The owners of cargo that is unsafe/unregulated may try to shift blame onto the carrier company for injuries specifically caused by their products
• Alternatively, the cargo company may be another injured party in the case, which means they may be suing the carrier for damaged property while you are seeking damages for your injuries
• The corporate insurance companies that secure all of these businesses will be working to negotiate the smallest possible payouts to protect their bottom lines
• Your own insurance company may not act in your best interests either, low-balling the cost of your losses or negotiating in bad faith with the other insurance companies to limit the cost to all the companies involved
• Joint ownership of the carrier vehicles and the cargo may frustrate your right to full compensation by limiting the number of entities to be sued

These inter-company concerns are for your truck accident attorney to figure out on your behalf, not yours. Your only concerns are to recover as best you can, both physically and mentally, and to hire a trusted truck crash lawyer as soon as possible.

What Causes Commercial Truck Accidents?

The most common causes of large truck accidents are the same as the causes of most motor vehicle accidents, including instances of:

• Speeding
• Distracted driving
• Driving under the influence
• Reckless or aggressive driving
• Driver negligence or error
• Inclement weather

Truck accidents may also have unique causes like driver fatigue/drowsiness during long hauls, or unstable/overweight cargo carriages.

How Are Truck Accident Investigations Performed?

Your truck accident lawyer will begin by obtaining the driver qualification file (DQF) from their employment company. Your attorney will also review any electronic information logged on the vehicle itself, examine the police report, and can visit the accident site personally for more information.

Along with any eye-witness testimony or surveillance evidence available, your lawyer will follow each thread until they’ve unraveled the incident, and built the strongest possible case.

What Does a Successful Truck Accident Settlement Cover?

A dedicated truck accident injury lawyer will do everything in their power to detail your costs and injuries to the court. That could result in a settlement or verdict which covers:

• Medical bills for both emergency and long-term rehab or care
• Lost wages, missed employment opportunities, and other job-related benefits like used time off or decreased insurance coverage
• Property costs to your vehicle and the possessions inside
• Pain and suffering for the physical and emotional anguish you’ve experienced, like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Wrongful death expenses in cases where your loved one lost their life due to a truck accident

A settlement may be reached before going to trial, but trial verdicts sometimes contain extra “punitive damages” charged to punish any wrongdoers in the case. These funds may then be awarded to you and your family.

See Falcon Law’s previous case results for our proven accomplishments in courtrooms and legal negotiations, including a $3.3 million settlement secured for a woman who was rear-ended by a commercial truck.

Statute of Limitations

Filing deadlines can occur as soon as one year after a person’s accident and injuries. These limitations are put in place to make sure cases are brought when evidence is fresh, but it also means the injured party must act quickly.

Falcon Law Firm is located in New Jersey, where the statute of limitations is two years from the date of the accident.

Contact a Dedicated Truck Accident Lawyer Today

While no lawyer can change the past, selecting the right attorney today could dramatically improve your future. A strong settlement could mean better health outcomes and improved financial prospects for your whole family for years to come. By exploring the three Cs of commercial trucking accidents—Cargo, Carrier, and Companies—a skilled attorney will find and pursue every resource available to you.

We at Falcon Law Firm take our profession very seriously, with a profound appreciation for how important what we do can be for our clients. For our neighbors in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, we do everything in our power to change lives for the better.