Overloaded/Overweight Truck Accidents in Temple
Trucking is the engine of commerce, but trucks pose a hazard to other drivers and their passengers. Huge tractor-trailers can cause catastrophic injuries when they collide with smaller vehicles. The danger is heightened when the truck is overweight or overloaded. An overweight truck risks mechanical failure, and an overloaded truck might handle erratically.
If you have been hurt in an accident involving overweight or overloaded trucks in Temple, a local personal injury lawyer could help you hold the negligent parties accountable. They could be liable to pay you damages to cover your medical expenses, lost income, and more.
Poor Loading and Excess Weight Increase the Hazard
Sharing the road with trucks is dangerous for drivers of other vehicles because trucks significantly outweigh cars and SUVs, which means that the other vehicle is likely to suffer severe damage in a collision. In addition, trucks are unwieldy, prone to overturn, they have blind spots on all four sides, and they are slow to stop and accelerate.
Overweight loads, or improperly distributed or secured loads, exacerbate the challenges of handling a big rig:
- Excess weight could lead to a broken axle, tire blowouts, distorted steering, and difficulty braking
- Shifting loads could cause a trailer to fishtail
- Improper loading could raise the rig’s center of gravity, increasing the chance of rollovers
- Overloading could impair the truck’s ability to ascend hills, creating a hazard for other drivers at highway speed
Truckers are responsible for ensuring they can haul their loads safely. The firms that load the trailers and the trucking company that owns the vehicle also must conduct their business in a way that ensures the truck will not endanger others. When an injury lawyer investigates a wreck and finds that anyone involved in transporting a load failed in this duty, they could pursue a negligence claim.
Negligent Parties Liable to Pay Damages
When an attorney proves that someone’s negligence created the situation that injured the client, the negligent party is responsible for paying the injured person’s damages. Damages could cover all the losses someone suffered because of an injury.
An award of damages could include lost income and payments for money the injured person cannot earn in the future because of their injury. The value of fringe benefits, past and future, also might be part of a damages award.
A damages award could include all costs related to medical treatment and ongoing care. Damages might cover unreimbursed medical expenses, travel costs, incidental expenses, home renovations necessary to accommodate an injury, rehabilitation and therapy, and mental health treatment to help the victim deal with the trauma of the accident and adjust to their injury.
Negligent parties also are responsible for paying for the injured person’s inconvenience, suffering, and diminished quality of life. The injured person could seek damages for their physical pain, emotional anguish, disfigurement, physical impairment, and the victim’s family could claim for loss of their loved one’s support, affection, and companionship.
Timely Action Preserves Rights
Statutes of limitations are laws that define the amount of time someone has to bring a lawsuit. According to the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §16.003, a person has two years to file suit claiming damages for personal injuries.
This is a short time for a diligent attorney to build a strong case in a truck crash, and injured people generally benefit from engaging an attorney soon after their accident.
Securing evidence in truck accident cases often involves subpoenaing the records of several different businesses and deposing multiple witnesses. It could be necessary to get expert opinions about certain aspects of the crash. Even though most claims settle before the parties go to court, an injured person whose legal representative is compiling persuasive evidence is in a stronger negotiating position and could secure a more favorable settlement.
Work with a Seasoned Attorney After an Overweight Truck Crash
Truck accident cases are complex because the trucking industry works hard to limit its liability when someone is injured. It takes a competent and confident professional to get a good result for an injured client.
If you have suffered injuries in an overloaded or overweight truck accident in Temple, an experienced local attorney could help. Call today to get started.
