TThe experienced attorneys at Alvendia, Kelly & Demarest are dedicated to recovering fair compensation for victims injured in 18-wheeler accidents in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Slidell and throughout the State of Louisiana.
Individuals who are injured in accidents involving large trucks are likely to suffer serious injuries that require surgery, rehabilitative therapy, and in-home nursing care for weeks or even months after the accident. If you or someone you love were injured in a large truck accident, you deserve compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and property damage stemming from the accident.
Our New Orleans truck accident attorneys have years of experience representing clients who were seriously injured in accidents involving large trucks. Tractor trailers can weigh over 80,000 pounds when fully loaded, creating an extremely dangerous situation when truck accidents involve smaller passenger vehicles. Drivers and passengers of cars, pickup trucks, motorcycles, and other vehicles involved in large truck accidents often suffer catastrophic injuries, such as spinal cord injury, brain injury, and burn injuries, while the truck driver walks away from the accident virtually unscathed. When an accident is caused by the negligence of a truck driver or trucking company, they should be held responsible for your injuries and damages.
Truck accidents may be caused by a variety of factors, including:
- Driver fatigue
- Negligent truck maintenance
- Overloading or shifting loads
- Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol
- Failure to comply with safety regulations
- Debris or obstructions in the roadway
- Weather
When a new client comes to our office after suffering injuries in an 18-wheeler accident, they typically have a common set of questions:
I was hit by an 18-wheeler. Am I entitled to compensation?
18-wheeler truck accident claims are typically based on a theory of negligence. This means that you are entitled to recover damages you suffered as a result of the accident because the crash was caused due to the negligence of the truck driver.
As a plaintiff in an injury case, you have the burden of proving your case “by a preponderance of the evidence.” This is a lower standard than that which is required in criminal cases—”beyond a reasonable doubt.” You will need to prove 4 main elements to win a negligence claim and be entitled to compensation.
First, you must prove that the truck driver had a legal duty to drive as a reasonably prudent person under the circumstances. Typically, this is the easiest element of a motor vehicle accident claim to prove because all drivers have a legal obligation to drive as a reasonably prudent person under the circumstances. A truck driver is typically required to hold a commercial drivers’ license, so they will be held to the standard of a reasonable prudent truck driver.
The second element of your case, which you must prove by a preponderance of the evidence, is that the driver failed to drive as a reasonably prudent person under the circumstance, thereby breaching their legal duty. Proving this element requires a very fact-based analysis. There are countless ways in which a driver may drive negligently including using their cell phone while driving, failing to check their blind spot before switching lanes, driving while exhausted and veering into another lane, failing to use their turn signal, not turning on their lights at dusk, running a red light or stop sign, driving over the posted speed limit for trucks, and any other action or failure to act that deviates from what a reasonably prudent person would or would not do under the circumstances.
Once you have established that the truck driver was driving negligently, you must then prove that their negligence was the actual and proximate cause of the accident. In other words, although it may be negligent for a truck driver to drive while texting, if you rear ended the truck from behind, then the accident was not caused by the truck driver’s negligent texting. Similarly, even if the truck driver’s negligence was leading to an accident, if some intervening event was the proximate cause of the accident, it will likely eliminate or reduce the truck driver’s liability, depending on the facts.
Lastly, you will need to prove damages. In most 18-wheeler accidents, property damage and physical injuries are significant. After establishing that the truck driver’s negligence was the actual and proximate cause of the accident, you will need to show evidence of medical bills, medical records, vehicle repair estimates, documentation of lost wages, and any other evidence of the costs and damages you incurred as a result of the driver’s negligence.
How much is an 18-wheeler accident claim worth?
The value of your claim is based on many different factors, namely the nature and extent of your physical injuries, the total medical bills you incurred as a result of the accident, the total amount of wages you lost as a result of your injuries, and the cost of repairing your vehicle or the market value of your vehicle right before the accident, if your vehicle was totaled.
Nature & Extent of Injuries
It is very common in personal injury cases to obtain a medical opinion from a physician that details what type of injuries you have and how much each injury resulted in temporary or permanent disability—in other words, how bad your injuries were. This information will be used to determine how much compensation you are entitled to, based on the degree to which the defendant was responsible for causing your injuries.
Medical Bills
It is no surprise that medical bills can add up quickly, especially when an injury victim sustained significant physical injuries following an 18-wheeler accident, requiring intensive care and extensive treatment and rehabilitation. To the extent that the medical costs were incurred as a result of injuries caused by the defendant, they should be required to compensate you for those costs.
Lost Wages
If an 18-wheeler accident caused you to miss work due to periods of hospitalization or medical appointments, you may be entitled to compensation from the defendant to wages, sick leave, and/or vacation leave that you lost as a result of missing work. You will likely need to produce time sheets and corresponding documentation of medical appointments, or a physician’s note, to prove you missed work due to the accident.
Insurance Estimate
Hopefully, your insurance company handled the claim of damage to your vehicle but if not, you should also obtain an estimate of the damage to your vehicle and the cost to repair it. If your vehicle is totaled, you should prepare proof of the market value of your vehicle right before the accident occurred.
Can I sue the trucking company too?
Yes—possibly. When you are involved in an 18-wheeler accident, your claim against the driver of the tractor trailer will likely be based on negligence, as discussed above. You may also be able to sue and recover from the trucking company that employs the driver under a theory of vicarious liability.
The trucking company may be vicariously liable for the negligence of the driver if the truck driver was working under the control and instruction of the trucking company, the trucking company was in a position to control the actions of the driver, and the negligent acts of the truck driver occurred within the scope of his job duties.
It is not uncommon for a trucking company’s insurance coverage limits to be below the total damage caused by a catastrophic or fatal 18-wheeler accident. Unfortunately, when that is the case, an injury plaintiff or their loved ones must sue the trucking company to recover their remaining damages.
Can I afford a lawyer to represent me?
When you choose to work with Alvendia, Kelly & Demarest for your 18-wheeler accident claim, we will provide outstanding quality representation on a contingency fee basis. This means you do not need to pay any initial fees or a retainer, and if you do not win your case through settlement or at trial, you will owe nothing for our legal services. We only earn a percentage-based fee if we are successful in obtaining a favorable result in your case.
There are many benefits of a contingency fee arrangement. It enables you to hire a very knowledgeable and experienced attorney without having to worry about whether you can afford their fees. You can file your case with the confidence of knowing that you will not receive a bill in the mail of billable hours from your attorney, which you cannot afford to pay.
In a contingency fee arrangement, you also know that your attorney has an extra incentive to obtain the highest settlement or award possible in your case. While every attorney should work toward this goal regardless of their fee structure, it can build confidence to know that your lawyer has a stake in the outcome of your case as well.
If you or a loved one have been injured by the negligence of an 18-wheeler driver, you may be entitled to significant compensation. These cases can require extensive evidence and expert medical testimony. Our team of experienced and skilled personal injury attorneys have handled numerous truck accident claims in the New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Slidell and throughout the State of Louisiana.
Contact us today to set up a complimentary consultation. We would be happy to discuss your claim with you and develop a strategy to recover the compensation you are entitled to.