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.
