Need Justice After A Truck Accident?
Contact Peter Diiorio
According to the 2019 Louisiana Traffic Records Data Report, large semi-trucks were responsible for 3.3 percent of all traffic fatalities. Yet commercial trucks are vital to the American economy, carrying billions of tons of freight across the United States each year. Unfortunately, when things go wrong with large trucks, they can go catastrophically wrong. The sheer size of a large commercial truck—80,000 pounds, when loaded—dictate that when a truck hits a much smaller passenger vehicle the injuries can be catastrophic or fatal. If you or a loved one have been involved in an accident with a large semi-truck, a New Orleans, LA truck accident attorney can work with you toward the most positive outcome possible.
At New Orleans Legal, LLC, clients are everything to us. We work tirelessly to ensure our clients receive the compensation they are owed following a truck accident. Since the injuries resulting from a truck accident can be catastrophic, medical expenses can mount quickly. If those injuries keep the victim from working, then even normal monthly bills may not be getting paid. Peter Diiorio believes in you, your family, and your future. Because of this, we will help you find medical treatment and advocate aggressively for you to receive a fair settlement following your truck accident.
What Are Causes of Most Semi-Truck Accidents?
What is Truck Driver Negligence?
There are many ways a truck driver can exhibit negligence and that negligence can result in a serious truck accident. Like any driver, truck drivers can become distracted when they are behind the wheel. Unfortunately, when a truck driver is distracted, the consequences can be much more severe. Any activity that takes the truck driver’s attention from the road constitutes distracted driving. These activities may include eating, texting, talking on a cellphone, using a GPS, using a CB radio to communicate with other truck drivers, or even changing radio stations.
Other forms of truck driver negligence include:
- Driving while impaired;
- Being overly fatigued when driving;
- Careless driving, including failure to check blind spots when changing lanes, and
- Reckless driving including speeding, tailgating, running stop signs or red lights, or failing to make sure there is sufficient time to safely turn across oncoming traffic.
The trucking company may have exhibited negligence by failing to perform a comprehensive background check or failing to ensure the driver is properly trained. Negligence could also be at hand if the loading company loaded the cargo carelessly, or the truck was not properly maintained.
Should You Call a New Orleans, LA Truck Accident Attorney Following Your Accident?
Following a truck driving accident, it is important to do certain things—to the extent you are able, depending on your injuries. The most important thing you can do is to ensure all those involved in the accident—including yourself—receive prompt medical care. Since the injuries may be severe, it is even more important that you allow the ambulance to take you and others involved in the accident to the ER.
If you are physically able, you will exchange information with the truck driver. Taking photos of the scene of the accident is also very important. The police and EMS should be called immediately. If there were witnesses to the accident and you are physically able, jot down contact information. When you are released from the hospital and are home, contact your insurance company and tell them the facts of the accident.
Jot down anything you can remember about the accident and keep every medical receipt in a folder. By doing these things, you are helping a New Orleans, LA truck accident attorney build a solid case on your behalf. Now it’s time to contact a highly experienced attorney from New Orleans Legal, LLC. We will help you get the medical treatment you need while fighting for your rights every step of the way.
What are the Most Common Types of Compensation Following a Truck Accident?
Following your truck accident, if the driver, trucking company, loading company, maintenance company, or the truck manufacturer are found liable, you will be entitled to compensation. You will receive medical expense reimbursement for your injuries related to the truck accident. This includes your past expenses, current expenses, and any reasonably foreseeable future expenses. Medical expenses include hospital and surgical costs, and expenses for doctor visits, prescription drugs, and rehabilitative services. You should also receive compensation for lost wages if your injuries prevent you from returning to your job or performing your normal daily activities.
If your injuries are so severe that you will not be able to return to work for months, years, or forever, the wages you would have made will be calculated into the total lost wages. Medical expenses and lost wages are known as special compensatory damages, as the amounts can actually be quantified. These damages are unique to the individual victim and can vary significantly. General damages will compensate you for damages that are not easily quantified, such as pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of companionship or consortium.
Pain and suffering is a broad term that covers pain, physical scarring, depression, limitations on your activities, and the potential shortening of your life. Punitive damages are only awarded when the behavior of the defendant was particularly reprehensible and, quite likely, willful and/or malicious. Punitive damages are not particularly common in truck accidents but are possible. It is important that you allow an experienced truck accident attorney to determine what the full extent of your damages really are.
How Can a Truck Accident Attorney from New Orleans Legal, LLC Help?
Your life can change in an instant when you are involved in a truck accident. If you are not the responsible party, it is important that you contact an experienced truck accident attorney. Due to the potential for more than one defendant as well as the likelihood of severe injuries, it is even more important that you have an experienced New Orleans truck accident attorney on your side from New Orleans Legal, LLC. Contact New Orleans Legal, LLC today for quality legal representation as well as compassion for your situation.
