Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney Talks About Trucking Accidents Involving Hazardous Materials

A tanker truck recently rolled over and ruptured, spilling diesel fuel into a creek in Alton. The truck went off of the Homer Adams Parkway Extension as it attempted to navigate a curve in the road, and it rolled down an embankment to the edge of the creek. As the tanker rolled, rocks punctured it in multiple locations, and the top hatch of the tank came loose. Fortunately, the truck driver was not hurt. Traffic was diverted from the area for hours after the wreck to allow cleanup efforts to take place.

 Trucking accidents involving hazardous materials like diesel fuel require an immediate and comprehensive response from more than the usual police, fire, and emergency rescue workers. Special teams of workers who are trained to manage releases of hazardous materials must be summoned to the accident scene as soon as possible. The type of personnel and materials required to respond to a hazardous materials trucking accident depends upon the type of hazardous materials released in the accident. Sometimes, people must be evacuated from the area surrounding a hazardous materials trucking wreck. It does not appear as though evacuation occurred after this tanker wreck.

After the aforementioned wreck, the Madison County Hazardous Materials Team rushed to the crash scene. A nearby fuel refinery sent a foam truck and several of its firefighters to aid in containment and cleanup efforts. As happens with many hazardous materials trucking accidents, multiple teams worked together to contain the diesel fuel and clean up the area. Heritage Environmental Services sent a group of workers to the accident scene to help with the task of cleaning up the spilled fuel.

Depending upon the size of the vehicle involved in the crash, a hazardous materials trucking accident can release any amount of hazardous material into the environment. The accident mentioned above did not cause a small release – over three thousand gallons of spilled diesel fuel were reportedly recovered from the crash site, and that number was not the final count. There are multiple ways that firefighters and hazardous materials response teams can remove hazardous materials from the environment. In the situation described above, firefighters used absorbent materials to remove some of the spilled fuel from the area. A vacuum truck also helped remove the spilled fuel. A tanker truck removed the fuel that remained inside of the wrecked tanker. Emergency workers kept track of where the spilled fuel was going as it headed down the creek. They placed an absorbent boom in the creek ahead of where the fuel had traveled and prevented it from going farther down the creek.

Trucks haul many kinds of things over American roads every day. Some of those things, like diesel fuel, can cause severe environmental damage and personal injury if they are released into the environment through a truck wreck. Hazardous materials truck wrecks are dangerous, and they are sometimes deadly. If you were hurt in a hazardous materials trucking accident, call the knowledgeable Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney at Barrett Law PLLC, at 1 (800) 707-9577 today.

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Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney Discusses Log Truck Accidents

No one was hurt in a recent Pike County accident involving a log truck and a passenger vehicle. Drivers in the area experienced minor inconveniences when authorities closed the road to allow for removal of the wrecked log truck and its load of logs, which spilled out when the truck went off of the road.

Log trucks do the vital work of moving logs out of the forests where they are harvested to the wood products companies that turn those logs into lumber, paper, and many other useful items we use every day. Drivers of log trucks have a tough job, and since they are professional drivers, they must undergo professional training and licensing before they start hauling logs. Some of the rules for log truck driver qualifications are less stringent than the criteria required for other types of trucking jobs, and a lack of training or skill can sometimes lead to a dangerous or deadly log truck wreck.

Log truck accidents are less common now than they were before the early 1990s when the random, roadside inspection of trucks by trained law enforcement officers came into practice. Trucking companies and private owners of log trucks and other trucks started to pay more attention to keeping their vehicles properly maintained and in good repair because the fines and penalties for failing roadside inspections would negatively impact their businesses.

Unfortunately, some truckers continue to roll the dice and skimp on maintenance and repairs. Sometimes a failure to maintain a truck in a safe condition causes an accident, whether it be with a log truck or some other type of commercial vehicle. Some of the worst log truck accidents involve minimally qualified drivers driving older log trucks that are in poor condition. However, experienced log truck drivers driving newer, well-maintained log trucks do occasionally wreck their vehicles.

Most log truck accidents involve at least one other vehicle. Sometimes, the vehicle collides with the log truck, and at other times, the log truck is forced off of the road to avoid a collision with the other vehicle. In twenty-five percent of fatal log truck accidents, the log truck rolled over during the wreck. Over eighty percent of log truck accidents happen on dry roads during the daytime. Pictures of the aforementioned log truck accident show a daytime crash scene with dry roads.

Some log truck accidents occur when a log truck is overloaded. In some of those situations, the driver of the truck does not load it and is unaware that it’s too heavy until they drive it and experience trouble with braking, steering, or handling. Some drivers load their trucks, and some load them too heavy, again, deciding to take a chance if they do not feel as though they’ll be driving through an area where a roadside inspection is likely. Unfortunately, even a load of logs that do not exceed a log truck’s capacity can shift during transport and cause the driver of the truck to lose control of it.

Many things can cause log truck accidents, and log truck accident claims can be complicated. If you were hurt in a log truck accident, call the knowledgeable Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney at Barrett Law PLLC, at 1 (800) 707-9577 today.

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Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney Discusses Winter Truck Accidents

January is on its way, and with it comes the possibility of snow, ice, slippery roads, and truck accidents. Winter driving in Mississippi is challenging, and icy road conditions increase your risk of being involved in a wreck with a truck. Last January, a snowstorm created slick road conditions on I-55 in Tate County. During the storm, a tractor-trailer jack-knifed, requiring the Mississippi Highway Patrol to shut the northbound side of the road down for half an hour to clear the crash scene. Fortunately, the driver of the tractor-trailer was not hurt in the wreck. Travelers had been encountering difficulty in navigating the slippery roads throughout the state even before the accident, with icy travel conditions reported throughout the region.

In addition to the ice, snow, and water on the road this winter, look out for other drivers, as their behavior could cause an accident. This is especially critical if you’re traveling in heavy traffic, where there are vehicles all around you. Even those vehicles that are driven by professionals, such as tractor-trailers, can slip and slide on icy, snowy, or wet roads, creating a danger that they will be involved in a crash and possibly ensnare other vehicles in the wreckage.

Each type of vehicle has a unique set of vulnerabilities in the winter. For example, the large size of tractor-trailers can cause them to have limited visibility, especially in their blind spots. All vehicles can encounter difficulties with traction and braking when roads are wet, icy, or snowy. Another factor that affects winter accident risk is driver experience. Not all drivers have the same amount of experience with winter driving conditions, and experience can bring with it the much-needed skills that help drivers avoid accidents on slippery roads.

The following tips can help you navigate winter driving conditions more successfully, reducing the risk that you will get into an accident with a truck or some other vehicle. The best way to cut down your accident risk is to slow down when roads are wet and snowy. Reducing your speed can help you avoid sudden braking, which can lead to slipping and sliding on wet or icy roads. Check the forecast, so you can anticipate what the road conditions are likely to be when you head out, and when you plan to return. As difficult as it can be to make changes to our plans when you discover a forecast that will make travel dangerous, it is better to postpone or cancel a trip somewhere than to drive when there is a heightened risk of an accident. Use your seatbelt every time you drive and ask others traveling with you to do the same. If there’s any snow or ice on your vehicle, clear it off before you drive.

Truck accidents can happen at any time during the winter, just as at any other time of year. If you’re involved in a truck wreck this winter, call for help immediately. After you have received any necessary medical care, contact a Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorney. You might be able to pursue a claim for damages in connection with your crash. Learn more about your options following a Mississippi road rage truck crash by calling the knowledgeable Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney at Barrett Law PLLC, at 1 (800) 707-9577 today.

 

 

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Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorneys Discuss Road Rage Truck Accidents

A November wreck involving an overturned cargo truck was allegedly the result of road rage. Fortunately, the driver of the overturned truck was not hurt. The Mississippi Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. A co-worker of the driver of the overturned vehicle claims another truck driver cut his co-worker off, causing the crash. The wreck happened just south of Terry, on Interstate 55.

Road rage accidents can be dangerous and even deadly, especially when one or more of the vehicles involved is a large truck. Truck drivers are trained professionals. They are responsible for operating their large vehicles safely in all kinds of road and weather conditions, as well as in traffic. When a truck driver loses their ability to continue driving safely even while they are experiencing anger or other negative emotions, there is a danger to the public as well as to the truck driver.

In 2016, a woman died in a trucking accident that has been attributed to road rage. The facts that describe the scenario that led up to the fatal wreck are shocking because many people are unaware that such things occur on America’s highways. Three trucks belonging to one company were traveling between Salt Lake City, Utah, and Eugene, Oregon. As they traveled, they encountered an RV. The RV is owned by another transportation company and was driven by a professional driver who holds a CDL license. Before the fatal crash, the three truck drivers and the driver of the RV had engaged in a perilous cat-and-mouse game on a two-lane highway. All four drivers were cutting each other off, driving aggressively, braking sharply, and passing each other, even in areas where passing was prohibited. In fact, in the seconds before the collision, one of the truck drivers attempted to pass the RV in a no-passing zone. When the truck driver realized there was a car approaching, he tried to return to the lane where he had been traveling. The driver of the RV maneuvered his vehicle in a way that prohibited the truck driver from moving back into the lane. The truck driver struck the car head-on, killing a woman and severely injuring her husband.

The two trucking companies whose vehicles were involved in the wreck and their drivers faced severe penalties as the result of the deadly crash. A judge recently upheld the jury’s award to the woman’s family, which exceeds twenty-six million dollars, and one of the truck drivers involved in the fatal collision pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter.

Truck drivers, like all drivers, must follow the rules of the road and operate their vehicles safely. If you were injured in a road rage trucking accident or a family member lost their life, you might be able to file a claim for the damages that you and your family have experienced in connection with the accident. Learn more about your options following a Mississippi road rage truck crash by calling the knowledgeable Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorneys at Barrett Law PLLC, at 1 (800) 707-9577 today.

 

 

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Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney Talks About Accidents on Rural Roads

This past summer, an early morning head-on collision between a box truck and a van turned into a catastrophic wreck that claimed the lives of eight people. The eight people who lost their lives in the crash were in the van, riding to work. The van is owned by a Mississippi forestry company, and the workers were on their way to a job site in Alabama to cut trees. The passengers in the van were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the collision. The truck was owned by an Alabama company whose ninety-one commercial drivers operate a fleet of eighty-five trucks. Nine crashes involving trucks owned by that same company were reported during the past two years. The van driver received a ticket for not having a driver’s license. At the time of the writing of this article, no other charges were filed in connection with the accident.

The driver of the van survived, as did the driver of the truck. The van driver claims that although he swerved to avoid the box truck, it hit his van. An official investigation into the accident validated the van driver’s claim with a finding that the box truck crossed the center line before colliding with the van on June 3, near Scooba. The truck came to rest on the van, which it had pushed backwards into a guardrail.

Rescue workers who responded to the wreck say that the road where it happened is in a rural area and that drivers must use caution when driving on country roads late at night or in the early morning. The roads in much of rural Mississippi are very dark, and they are two-lane highways with one lane traveling in each direction, separated in most places only by a center line. That’s not the only danger present on Mississippi’s rural roads, where higher speeds can lead to more forceful collisions than occur in areas where there is more traffic and lower speed limits.

Accident investigation data from across the nation shows that rural roadways like the one where this crash happened are four times as deadly as city streets. Mississippi often tops lists of the most dangerous places to drive, and the amount of rural roads in the state is a major contributing factor. Law enforcement agencies do what they can to keep the road safe, but the number of officers is small, considering the number of miles of roadway that they are responsible for policing. When motor vehicle wrecks occur on Mississippi’s rural roads, there may be a significant delay between the time of the crash and the time someone sees it and reports it, if the driver or passengers cannot report the accident themselves. It may also take rescue workers a while to get from where they are to the site of the wreck, which could be miles and miles away from where they are when they get the call. The crash scene could also be many miles from a hospital, which could mean the difference between life and death in some cases.

To learn about how you can file a claim for damages that you suffered in a Mississippi truck crash, call the knowledgeable Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney at Barrett Law PLLC, at 1 (800) 707-9577 today.

 

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Experienced Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney Explains How Courts Determine Who is at Fault in a Trucking Accident

Loaded long haul trucks can weigh ten times more than an average passenger car. As a result, that weight differential results in trucking accidents being catastrophic for the vehicles and people involved. You might think that if your vehicle is struck by a large truck, the trucking company will pay for your injuries and damage to your vehicle.  But it is not that simple, and the trucking company usually tries to claim that it and the driver are not at fault.  I wrote the following blog post to help people understand how courts determine who is at fault after a trucking accident.

If you or a loved one was injured or killed as a result of a trucking accident, you will need to have experienced trucking accident counsel help you attain your fair share of compensation for your injury, recovery, and loss of work. Barrett Law has the experience to help you—contact us now at (800) 707-9577.

How Courts Determine Fault After a Trucking Accident

Under Mississippi law, being injured in a trucking accident is not sufficient to attain compensation for those injuries. Instead, you must prove that the party that injured you was  “negligent,” which means that they had a duty to act reasonably to prevent harming you and that they failed in that duty.  Accordingly, if you are driving down a highway and a herd of wild horses runs into the road, causing a truck to slam on its breaks and swerve into your lane, injuring you, you may not have a solid case. That is because the truck driver acted reasonably under extreme circumstances.  However, if one cow walks into the road and an intoxicated truck driver swerves wildly well in advance of the cow, striking and injuring you, you have may have a strong case.  That is because the second truck driver acted unreasonably by being intoxicated and you were injured as a result.

Those are somewhat far-fetched examples that I have used to illustrate a point, but these are much more common ways that truckers fail to act reasonably towards other drivers, such as: Not getting sufficient sleep; Being under the influence of drugs or alcohol; Speeding; Hauling an unbalanced load; and Failing to maintain the truck or secure the truck’s cargo. To prove that a trucking company failed to reasonably meet a duty to protect you and other drivers from harm, you will need to collect evidence of one of these failures.

An experienced trucking attorney can gather relevant evidence, such a driver’s sleep and driving log.  Police reports usually indicate whether a driver with a commercial driver’s license or CDL was under the influence of any intoxicants at the time of the crash, and a truck’s “black box” indicates real drive time when driver logs might be faked. Finally, a trucking accident attorney knows how to subpoena maintenance and driving records from trucking companies.

What Should You Do If You or a Loved One Has Been Injured in an Accident?

If you or a loved one was injured in a trucking accident, you should seek medical attention immediately and contact a Mississippi attorney experienced in taking on trucking companies.  You need to focus on healing from your injuries and getting back to work. Let experienced counsel take care of preserving medical records, attaining expert opinions regarding the cause of the accident, and dealing with the trucking company’s attorneys. These are complex tasks that only a trucking accident attorney can handle for you.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered an injury as the result of a trucking accident. Contact us now at (800) 707-9577.

 

 

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Experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Explains What to Do if A Truck’s Loose Cargo Strikes You

Today I saw a truck pulled over on the side of the road, and a construction crew was picking up loose lumber that had spilled out all over the road.  That was an unfortunate incident for that crew, but it could have been a tragic accident if even one of those boards had struck an oncoming vehicle. If you drive Mississippi’s roads, you have likely seen other improperly secured cargo in the back of a truck or big rig and thought, “that guy is going to injure someone.” There are responsible long haul truckers who have with carefully strapped down loads and other trucks with their cargo unsecured and blowing out of the back of the truck behind them. Accidents stemming from loose cargo can be catastrophic, even deadly.

If you or a loved one were injured by loose truck cargo, you must find experienced counsel to help you attain your fair share of compensation for your loss of income and injury. The trucking company will have their aggressive attorneys, and you should have experienced counsel on your side as well. Barrett Law has the experience to help you if you have been injured.  Contact us now at (800) 707-9577.

The Complexity of Loose Cargo Accidents

Loose cargo accidents are never straightforward and require the expert help of an experienced personal injury lawyer to prevent all of the parties involved from shirking their responsibility. The complexity lies in the potential number of parties that could be responsible for the object that fell off the truck and injured you or a loved one.  The most common accident type is when a truck carries a load that is insufficiently attached to the truck’s bed.  The load’s attachment may be sufficient when the truck is at rest or moving straight down a highway, but it may give way when the truck swerves abruptly to avoid an accident or some other obstacle.

A related, but different type of accident occurs when truck cargo breaks loose and blocks some part of the roadway, resulting in other cars swerving to avoid it. While this type of accident may not result in vehicles colliding with the truck’s cargo, the cargo was the proximate cause of the crash, meaning it triggered it.

In either of the above two accidents, it may seem obvious to you that the trucking company that was hauling the loads that broke loose is responsible for compensating you for your injuries and other damages. That may or may not be true.  Most trucking companies now hire independent contractors to drive their trucks. They hire other independent contractors to load their trucks.  Yet another group of contractors maintains the trucks. Trucking companies use these contractors to limit their liability, and they will likely blame them for any injuries caused by a breakaway load.  That creates two problems.  First, that means that you will need to sue the trucking company, the driver, the loading company, and every other contractor individually, which multiplies the expense and complexity of your lawsuit.  Second, the subcontracting companies usually have very little in the way of assets and will go bankrupt rather than pay out a claim.  So you will need an experienced personal injury lawyer on your side who knows how to attach liability to the trucking company itself successfully.  If you have less experienced counsel who hasn’t handled this sort of case many times, you may find yourself injured and uncompensated.

What Should You Do If You or a Loved One Has Been Injured in an Accident?

If you or a family member were injured by loose truck cargo, you deserve your fair share of compensation for the time you have been out of work, the costs of your treatment and rehabilitation, your pain and suffering, and other damages. You’ll need experienced personal injury counsel to take care of organizing your bills, attaining statements from expert witnesses, and dealing with the trucking company’s attorneys. These are critical, complex tasks that a personal injury attorney will handle for you while you concentrate on healing and getting back on your feet again.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered an injury due to a trucking accident. Contact us now at (800) 707-9577.

 

 

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Experienced Mississippi Personal Injury Attorney Explains What To Do After a Truck Accident

We all share Mississippi’s highways with big rigs, tractor-trailers, interstate trucks, eighteen-wheelers—they go by many different names, but we all know how it feels when one of these monsters rumbles by you.

If you or a loved one was injured as a result of an accident with an eighteen-wheeler, one thing is critical to know—you will need to have experienced counsel help you attain your fair share of compensation for your loss of income and injury. Barrett Law has the experience to help you if you have been injured.  Contact us now at (800) 707-9577.

An Overview of Trucking Accidents

There are over 500,000 eighteen-wheeler accidents each year in the United States.  Sadly, because of these vehicles’ tremendous mass, their accidents trend toward catastrophic, especially when the accident involves a passenger vehicle.  Even the largest passenger car does not stand a chance when it is hit by an eighteen-wheeler, regardless of speed or the weight of the load in question.

Who Do Sue in a Trucking Accident Case?

One of the significant issues that separates a trucking case from a typical automobile accident case is the complexity involving the number of possible defendants. In a negligence case, it is essential to sue everyone who bears some responsibility for your injuries, and if you fail to include a party, the other named parties may evade or partially evade responsibility by claiming that the unnamed party was actually at fault. In a car accident, you usually just have to name the other driver in your suit.  However, in a trucking accident case, you will often want to sue the driver, the trucking company that hired the driver, the company that maintains the truck, and even the truck’s manufacturer. Each of these parties will then have their own attorney. Accordingly, you will need representation of an attorney that has an office set up to take on a substantial opponent.

Why Covers My Medical Costs and Loss of Wages While the Case Progresses?

Usually, your insurer will cover your medical costs and loss of wages when you are injured in an automobile accident.  However, that is not the case if you are involved in a collision with an eighteen-wheeler or any large vehicle over 6,500 lbs. In these cases, your insurer will usually seek compensation directly from the trucking company for payment while the case is pending.

What Sort of Insurance Coverage to Trucking Companies Carry?

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration requires truckers to carry much more insurance than they would usually be needed to carry in Mississippi, depending upon the type of cargo they carry.  For example, an eighteen-wheeler carrying soccer balls is only mandated to have $750,000 in insurance. Compare that to a truck carrying a load of hazardous petrochemicals—it has to possess somewhere between $1 and $5 million in coverage, depending on the nature of the dangerous substance.

What Should You Do If You or a Loved One Has Been Injured in a Trucking Accident?

If you or a loved one was injured or killed as a result of a trucking accident, you are due compensation for your injuries, property damage, emotional trauma, and loss of work. Let experienced counsel take care of preserving medical records, attaining expert diagnoses, and dealing with the trucking company’s attorneys. These are essential tasks that a personal injury attorney can handle for you and that you cannot handle alone.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered a trucking related injury. Contact us now at (800) 707-9577.

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Experienced Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney Explains Common Tactics Companies Use to Avoid Liability

As a trucking accident and personal injury attorney, I have seen every imaginable attempt by trucking companies to shift blame away from their drivers, trucks, and companies. This is particularly saddening because of the serious injuries to motorists that result from these crashes. Believe me, if a car is hit by a semi-truck or 18-wheeler, their massive weight mass results in a far greater impact and, sadly, more significant injuries. One thing is critical to state up front—you will need to have experienced trucking accident counsel help you attain any settlement from a trucking company. Barrett Law has the experience to help you through this process.  Contact us now at (800) 707-9577.

Below are four common tactics employed by trucking companies to shield themselves from liability. They illustrate why you need an experienced trucking accident attorney by your side to take on the company’s legal team.

Dismantle the Truck—Often, trucking companies will declare the truck that injured you as a “total loss” or “totaled” and dismantle it for scrap. While that may sound innocuous, it is actually an attempt to destroy evidence crucial to proving your case. The company may be negligent if the truck was not maintained to a reasonable standard or was lacked required safety technology. Immediately dismantling the truck prevents you from attaining this sort of evidence and proving negligence. As experienced trucking accident counsel, I have the experience to attain a motion immediately to prevent this sort of action.

“Repair” the Truck—When destroying or “totaling” a truck cannot be justified, a trucking company will often “repair” it. While repairs may seem innocuous or reasonable after an accident, they may be an attempt to upgrade the truck so that it has safety features that it should have had at the time of the accident.  Similarly, safety features that were not working at the time of the accident may be fixed to appear that they were.  Again, as experienced trucking accident counsel, I have the experience to attain an emergency order prohibiting this sort of tampering.

Interfere with the Crash Scene—Trucking companies have teams standing by to rush to a scene of an accident. Once there, they often try to bias investigators by talking with police officers, gather up pieces of a crash so that they cannot be photographed accurately, and influence witnesses.

Destroy Records—As discussed above, there is evidence at the scene of the crash, but also in the company’s own records. Often after an incident, important records regarding safety inspections, driver complaints, and other evidence are destroyed.  As experienced trucking accident counsel, I have the experience to attain a motion immediately to prevent this sort of action.

What Should You Do If You Were Injured in a Truck Accident?

If you were injured as the result of impact with a large truck, contact an experienced personal injury attorney so that you can focus on yourself and on your healing process. You may be offered a quick settlement after an accident in exchange for your agreement not to pursue a legal challenge.  Do not accept these “low-ball” offers, as while they may be tempting when you are out of work and in pain, you are due much more.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered an injury as a result of a collision with a tractor trailer or 18-wheeler.

Barrett Law has the experience to take on defense attorneys and trucking companies that are focused on denying your compensation for your injuries.  Contact our seasoned Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney now at (800) 707-9577.

 

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Experienced Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney Explains: Trucking Accident Liability

As a Mississippi trucking accident and personal injury attorney, clients often meet with me to inquire about an accident with a “big rig.” Because of the size of the truck compared to the car that my clients were in, the injuries are often catastrophic and are usually far worse than what would expect from a traditional car-on-car accident. The truck’s greater mass results in a greater impact and, sadly, more significant injuries. This is even true in slow accidents that would just be a “fender bender” if the other vehicle were a car.  Simply put, big rig accidents are serious, and you will need to have experienced personal injury counsel help you attain any settlement from a trucking company. Barrett Law has the experience to help you through this process.  Contact us now at (800) 707-9577.

If you have been injured by a collision with a big rig or other large truck, how will you receive compensation? You may receive some compensation for your losses and injuries from insurance. But what if your injuries and losses far exceed what an insurance policy will pay, such as when you are confined to a wheelchair or can never return to work? In that situation, you will need the help of an attorney to file a “negligence” claim.

What is Negligence?

Believe it or not, accidents do happen. There is a difference between something accidentally or unavoidably occurring and negligence. You cannot recover damages based simply on an unfortunate, unavoidable occurrence involving a big rig, but you may be able to recover a tremendous settlement once negligence is established. But how is negligence different from an accident? Negligence means that the truck driver or truck company failed to act as a reasonable person would under the circumstances. This “reasonable person test” can be applied to several different aspects of the incident that injured you.

Driver Negligence

You can prove negligence if a driver fails to meet the “reasonable person test” and, as a result, injures you. The reasonable person test is highly subjective, but looking at a phone while driving, being under the influence of alcohol or drugs while driving, or failing to get enough sleep all qualify as common examples of negligent behavior.

Vicarious Liability

One question that arises is whether the driver has the resources—insurance, money—to compensate you even if you are able to prove that he or she was negligent. This is where the concept of “vicarious liability” becomes important. That means that the trucking company itself is liable for its driver’s bad acts so long as the acts were committed within the “scope and duty” of the driver’s employment. That means that the trucking company is liable for any negligent behavior occurring while their employee is doing work for them. Accordingly, your attorney will have to both prove that the employee truck driver was negligent and that the he or she was working for the trucking company at the time of the negligence occurred. More and more companies use independent contractors instead of employees in an effort to sever liability; vicarious liability is based on the degree of control the company had over the employee, so it is not always a successful strategy.

Negligent Hire

A trucking company can be negligent itself if it hires truck drivers negligently, such as hiring a driver without a valid CDL.  The trucking company’s negligence can also be established by showing that it failed to do a background check that would have caught a record of reckless driving or driving under the influence. Similarly, it may also be possible to prove negligence if a trucking company hires a driver with a long record of accidents, as these records are more accessible and better kept for commercial drivers.

Negligent Training

Big rigs are increasingly complex, and new drivers must be trained to operate them safely. A trucking company can be negligent if it puts a driver behind the wheel with insufficient training or without keeping its drivers up to date on the truck’s technology.

What Should You Do If You Were Injured in a Truck Accident?

If you were injured as the result of impact with a large truck, contact an experienced personal injury attorney so that you can focus on yourself and on your healing process. Contact an experienced personal injury attorney immediately. Let experienced personal injury counsel take care of preserving medical records, dealing with aggressive opposing counsel, attaining expert diagnoses, and dealing with the trucking company’s insurance company. These are important tasks that an only a highly experienced personal injury attorney can handle for you.

Call Barrett Law now, an experienced Mississippi personal injury law firm, to represent you if you have suffered an injury as a result of a collision with a tractor trailer or 18-wheeler.

The seasoned Mississippi Trucking Accident Attorney at Barrett Law has the experience to take on defense attorneys and insurance companies that are focused on denying your compensation for your injuries.  Contact us now at (800) 707-9577.

 

 

 

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