Not-so-fun fact: Death by road accidents is the second most common cause of death in the United States.
Cars, bikes, and heavy vehicles like commercial trucks, trailers, or semi-trailer trucks are some of the most dangerous vehicles on a highway. The impact of a collision with a truck is much more profound than 4-wheeler accidents.
A semi-truck wreck scene is not something anyone wants to be a part of. But like all accidents, there’s hardly anything you can do to prepare in anticipation. The compensation process, however, is all in your hands. You need to keep in mind that the claim process is very different for trucks and cars, and hiring an expert truck accident attorney is your only saving in these cases.
Read on to find out the major legal differences and why truck injury claims are so complex.
Truck Injury vs. Car Injury
Well, the size of the vehicles is one of the reasons why the laws are different for both, but there are other factors like governing body, parties involved, proof of loss, claim coverage, etc., that add to the complexity. Here are the top 3 differences.
- Regulations
Unlike cars, two different governing bodies are involved, one at the state level and one at the federal level. Both have a different set of regulations that truck companies and drivers have to follow at all costs. A breach of any of these regulations or ‘Negligence’ that causes an accident is the basis for truck accident cases.
For example, as per the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation Act (FMCSA), a commercial truck or semi-truck driver should not drive more than the stipulated hours per day. It is your attorney’s job to find out and prove in court that there was a breach of this regulation in your case.
- Liability
In a typical car accident, the liability falls on either the driver or a co-passenger or on the person filing the lawsuit (in which case, there is no claim whatsoever). However, this is not true for truck accidents. Some of the parties who may share the liability are –
- The driver
- The truck company
- The owner
- The manufacturer, etc.
- Insurance Policies
Like it or not, no vehicle insurance company wants to pay when their clients are at fault. So, you will have to fight against them to win your claims. However, it gets even more complicated with truck accidents because several insurance companies are involved (one for the truck, one for the goods, one for the driver, so on and so forth).
Only the most experienced and qualified attorney can work around so many rebuttals to get you justice.
Summing Up
While car and motorbike accidents can be fatal on occasions, it is the heavy vehicle category, including trucks and other 18-wheelers that cause severe damage every single time. Due to the differences in the losses and parties involved, truck claims are way more complex than a car accident claim.
To help you swim through the legal proceedings, you must hire a qualified truck injury attorney.
Stay safe!