Accidents between trucks and cars put motorists and their passengers in great peril. The unfortunate fact for drivers is that this risk is getting higher due to the sheer number of trucks on the road. More than three-and-a-half million truck drivers in the United States carry almost two-thirds of the nation’s freight. While society as a whole benefits from trucks, one of the drawbacks is the danger that they pose for everyone else on the road.
Many truck crashes are fatal, and the families of truck crash victims often have the right to hold truck drivers and companies liable for wrongful death. Do not delay in speaking with a truck accident attorney near you about a possible case.
Truck Accidents Statistics in the United States
In one recent year, 4,136 people died from an accident with a large truck. Two-thirds of the people who passed away in these crashes were drivers of cars or their passengers. In addition, roughly 15 percent of this total consisted of pedestrians and bicyclists. Nearly one in every ten deaths in car accidents stem from crashes involving large trucks. Most truck accident fatalities involve tractor-trailers as opposed to single box trucks.
The number of fatalities in truck accidents has skyrocketed in the past decade. It had steadily dropped from the 1970s through around 2008. However, an undeniable upward trend since then shows no sign of slowing down.
Truck accidents are much more dangerous than ordinary car accidents due to the heavy weight of the truck and because trucks take up so much space on the road. Drivers often struggle to contend with trucks. At the same time, truck drivers cannot see other vehicles while they are in the trucks’ considerable blind spots.
Why the Rate of Fatal Truck Accidents Is Increasing
These reasons account for the current rise in truck accident deaths in the United States:
- Online shopping and the demise of retail means that more trucks are needed to transport goods and keep the supply chain going.
- The overall condition of roads in the U.S. is deteriorating, increasing the unpredictability for both truck drivers and motorists.
- Truck driver rest rules might have a counterproductive effect in that they encourage truck drivers to speed to reach their destination before they have to take a mandatory break.
- Large trucks still do not have the safety systems that more passenger vehicles have.
- The increase in commercial trucking means that trucking companies are putting more drivers on the road who may not be as skilled and well-trained as the truck drivers in the past.
You can now understand why the road is a more dangerous place for motorists than it used to be, but the fact that an accident happened does not automatically mean that you will receive compensation for it. There is another large step in the process of receiving payment for your injuries from a truck accident that takes place when you consult with a truck accident attorney and begin the process of filing a claim.
Wrongful Death Lawsuits and Settlements After Truck Accidents
In the case of a fatal truck accident, you might file a wrongful death claim. Usually, the immediate family members will file a wrongful death case, and the specifics of who can file a wrongful death lawsuit will depend on your state.
An overwhelming amount of truck accident-related wrongful death claims and lawsuits will eventually settle, meaning that you will likely not have to go through the difficult experience of a truck accident trial in court, and you may not have to wait years for your payment.
In some cases, trucking companies do not want to face a jury any more than you want to go to trial, especially when the actions of a truck driver killed someone. They are afraid of being on the wrong end of a multimillion-dollar verdict and have more of an incentive to try to settle your case.
However, settlements are not always the best result. Sometimes, you can receive much more money in compensation if you wait and fight in court after you have received an inadequate settlement offer. The individual decision to settle or litigate your case can depend on your circumstances and the advice that you receive from your truck accident attorney.
The Truck Accident Wrongful Death Lawsuit Process
Your truck accident wrongful death lawsuit process begins the moment that you place a phone call to an attorney.
You should contact multiple attorneys before you settle on one, considering such factors as:
- The attorney’s specific experience
- Your rapport and relationship with the lawyer
- The attorney’s reputation
Know that you will not have to write a large check upfront to retain your truck accident attorney. In fact, you will not need to write any checks at all. Your lawyer will work on contingency, meaning that they will receive payment only if you are successful in recovering financially for the loss of your loved one. If you do receive any financial compensation, you do not owe legal fees to your attorney.
Choosing a Truck Accident Wrongful Death Attorney
As soon as you begin the attorney-client relationship, your lawyer may help you file a compensation claim with the proper insurance company. These carriers often try to settle wrongful death claims quickly. However, the insurance company may not make a viable settlement offer, or the damages that you seek could exceed the policy maximums. After all, a human being died because of another person’s actions. Often, the policy maximum will only cover part of your damages, and the trucking company might be liable over and above that policy maximum.
Filing a Truck Accident Wrongful Death Lawsuit
If you cannot settle your wrongful death claim with the insurance company, your attorney will get to work drafting the complaint that will begin the lawsuit. First, they will investigate the facts of your case, since your complaint will need to describe what happened and why you deserve compensation for the wrongful death. They will interview witnesses and review photo documentation because your claim will need to show why someone else was responsible for the death of your loved one.
The wrongful death trial process can take a long time. If your case has gone to trial, the trucking company will likely try to fight your case at least part of the way. They will file motions of their own to try to dismiss the case and keep evidence from being admissible in court. If the trial is proceeding, you can expect the trucking company to vigorously contest your claims since they are likely facing large liability. At some point in the process, the defendant may try to engage in settlement negotiations depending on how they feel the trial is going.
The Standard for Liability in a Wrongful Death Case
In the end, a wrongful death case concludes the same way as any other negligence case or truck accident claim, except that someone else files it for wrongful death damages on behalf of the deceased. The first thing to know is that, while you will need to prove that someone else was responsible for your loved one’s death, the standard of proof is lower than a criminal case. You would just need to show that it is more likely than not that the defendant’s actions caused your loved one’s death.
With that in mind, the same legal test that you find in other negligence cases is the standard by which a court will judge your truck fatality claim:
- Did the defendant owe a duty of care to the plaintiff?
- Did the defendant fail to act as a reasonable truck driver would in the circumstances surrounding the accident?
- Was there a resultant fatal injury sustained by another party?
- Would the fatal injury have happened if not for the actions of the defendant?
- Did the family incur damages from the fatality?
What Would Be Considered Negligence in a Truck Accident?
Truck drivers generally owe a duty of care to other drivers on the road and their motorists. In addition, the issue of injury would not be in dispute in a wrongful death case. Therefore, the main things that a jury would consider are whether the truck driver acted unreasonably in the events that led up to the accident and whether their actions caused the death of your loved one.
Some actions that would be considered “unreasonable” and could be the basis for a finding of negligence include:
- Violating federal trucking rules and driving past when the trucker would have needed to stop for a rest
- Making a wide turn that swings into another lane of traffic and strikes another car
- Speeding
- Improper operation of their truck due to poor or inadequate training
- Impaired or distracted driving
Damages in a Trucking Accident Wrongful Death Lawsuit
Damages in a wrongful death case are somewhat different from a standard negligence lawsuit. Wrongful death damages entail the deceased’s experiences from the time of the accident until their death and the damages that the relatives suffer after their loved one dies.
The damages that the deceased suffered between the accident and death could include:
- Medical bills
- Pain and suffering
- Lost wages from when they could not work
- Costs of the funeral and burial
This class of damages would result in a higher award when the deceased did not die instantly. For example, if they suffered severe injuries and underwent numerous surgeries over a period of weeks, it could result in a higher pain and suffering award.
The family also deserves wrongful death damages. The bulk of these damages supplants the money that the deceased would have earned and contributed to the family over time. However, some states also allow the family to receive money for the loss of the person themselves and what they meant to the family. This type of damage is known as loss of consortium.
Spouses, children, and parents are in the category of people who could receive wrongful death damages in a truck accident lawsuit. However, the family must file one lawsuit. Each person could not sue the truck driver and company on their own in a lawsuit.
Suing the Trucking Company in a Wrongful Death Lawsuit
One of the most important questions that any family about to file a wrongful death lawsuit after a truck accident asks is whether they can file that lawsuit against the trucking company that employed the driver. There are valid reasons for wanting to sue the company, the chief of which is that there is a defendant with a deeper pocket that can pay a larger judgment. They may also be carrying more insurance than an independent truck driver.
Normally, the truck driver is an agent of the company for which they are driving. By law, such an agency means that the company is responsible for the acts of its driver. The law makes a few exceptions to this rule, but for the most part, relatives of the deceased could sue the company. The challenge for plaintiffs is when the truck driver is an independent contractor. In such a case, you may file claims against both the driver and the trucking company that hired the driver as a contractor and/or owner of the truck.
Contact a truck accident attorney near you as soon as possible to explore your legal options. There is a deadline for filing a wrongful death lawsuit, and the clock begins to run on the day that your loved one passes away. The lawsuit process takes time, so it is vital to use as much of your time as possible to find an attorney you can work with and file the strongest possible legal complaint.
