The complexity of filing a claim for the losses you have after a truck accident makes it incredibly challenging for anyone to seek the fair support they are owed. Liability in a commercial truck accident is a common area of concern since there could be multiple parties responsible for your injuries and other losses.
At H&P Law, our Las Vegas truck accident lawyer can help you determine liability and support your efforts to get maximum compensation in your case.
Parties that Could Be Liable in a Commercial Truck Accident
Commercial trucks may be driven by employees of a company, private owners of these trucks, or independent contractors in between. That is one of the reasons you need a skilled truck accident lawyer to help you determine liability. Here are some examples of who may be responsible for your accident:
- The truck owner: The truck owner may be responsible if they allowed an inexperienced or unlicensed person behind the wheel of their truck, who put you at risk, as well as in situations of poorly maintained equipment that caused your injuries.
- The truck driver: The driver could be responsible if their actions led to your losses, such as their speeding, distracted driving, or carelessness, as well as any violations of the standards set.
- The company that loaded the truck: If the truck accident happened because the truck was not loaded properly, that could mean that a third-party company that allowed this to happen is to blame for it.
- The manufacturer: There are many times when the truck manufacturer could be held liable if their defective design or construction of the truck directly caused the losses you suffered.
- The repair technician: If a wheel comes flying off the truck because the person repairing it did not tighten it, the repair technician or repair shop could be to blame.
With so many potential people responsible for the losses you have, it is a struggle, even in the best of situations, to know who to seek out for compensation. Our commercial truck accident lawyers can offer guidance here because we will go to work to gather all evidence in the case. This evidence typically will showcase responsibility and tell us where to go to help you get the compensation you are owed.
Gathering Evidence in a Truck Accident Cause to Determine Fault
The first step in determining if you have a case or how much your case is worth is seeking out evidence that provides clarity of what happened and why. While you may be able to guess what happened, to go to the insurance company for a claim or go to court in front of a judge to ask for compensation, you need proof. Our attorneys are skilled at finding that proof in multiple ways.
- Police reports: The police report is the foundation of evidence of what happened, who was involved, and what occurred at the scene based on what a police officer learned at the time of the accident.
- Medical records: While your medical records are important, we also may wish to seek out the toxicology reports of the truck driver to get more insight into what was wrong with them at the time of the accident.
- Witness statements: There are often people who see these accidents happen who can share just small tidbits of information that can provide insight to us on how to determine fault.
- Video and photo evidence: You may have taken photos or video of the scene that can be used to provide clarity, or there may be surveillance footage available.
- The driver’s dash cam: Many of today’s commercial trucks have a dash cam that may be helpful in determining what occurred just before the accident happened, and we may be able to subpoena the court to provide access to that information.
- Accident recreationists: In some situations, we can use data from accident recreationists who can shed light on what occurred by using the information at the scene to provide more insight.
- Truck black boxes: Many commercial trucks have a black box feature that collects data about what the driver was doing before the crash, which we will also seek out through a court order if possible.
- Experts in these vehicles: There are also instances in which we can use data from experts in the field to show that the truck was poorly built or that design flaws may have led to the losses you have.
- Your statements: We will help you to remember all details from the accident and gather insight from that information to prove what your case may be worth.
These are some of the many tools we have available to help you prove who was at fault for the losses you have. In every situation, our goal is to exhaust all information sources so that we can create a clear picture of what happened and why. This can then be used to determine what legal strategies may be best suited for your individual situation.
What If the Police Report Is Wrong?
One of the mistakes that can happen in a case like this is that the police report is often not accurate because the police officer did not have all of the information possible to make a decision. That is okay, and it can be changed in some situations by working with the police to prove fault. Our truck accident attorneys will work closely with you to gather that information and pursue updates as needed.
Schedule a Free Consultation to Discuss What Happened in Your Case
At H&P Law, we take pride in providing our clients with fair, complete, and honest information about what they can expect when filing a lawsuit or an insurance claim against a commercial trucking company. Meet with our commercial truck accident attorneys now to discuss your case during a free, no-obligation consultation to begin the process of evaluating its viability. We are ready to work with you to prove the losses you have were due to the other driver’s mistakes.
