Being involved in a truck accident is one of the more serious events you’ll likely face. It can leave you with severe injuries, a totaled vehicle, and a long road ahead of you. Truck accidents are often more complex than traditional car accidents, meaning the process to secure compensation may feel more arduous.
Explore a few distinctions between truck accident vs. car accident cases to help prepare for your compensation process.
More Serious Damage Than Typical Car Crashes
Because they are such massive vehicles, semi-trucks often produce more devastating damage than passenger cars. When a truck strikes you, it might immediately total your vehicle, push you into other lanes of traffic, or even send your vehicle catapulting off the road.
Because of this, truck accident cases are often worth more than car accident cases. You have the right to seek compensation for all of your damages, and the value of your case is likely higher in a truck accident vs. car accident case.
Multiple Potentially Liable Parties
In a standard car accident, there are often only two parties involved: the drivers who hit each other. But in a truck crash, many other parties may have at least partially contributed to the accident, such as:
- The truck company
- A maintenance professional
- The company responsible for loading the cargo
- A truck manufacturer or supplier
While truck driver negligence contributes to many of these accidents, malfunctions or lack of maintenance may have also been at play. Determining liability in truck accidents is often an involved process.
Interference of State and Federal Trucking Regulations
Truck drivers and companies must adhere to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations and statutes under the Texas Department of Safety. If the driver or the company violated any of these regulations, your lawyer may be able to use that violation to establish their negligence.
For example, maybe the driver violated hours of service (HOS) regulations, working unsafe hours that led them to drive drowsy. Or perhaps the truck company violated maintenance and inspection requirements, failing to ensure the truck’s proper functioning and leading to a malfunction.
These regulations also add to the complexity of truck accident vs. car accident cases.
Steeper Medical Bills and Ongoing Expenses
Semi-truck collision cases tend to lead to more serious injuries than passenger vehicle accidents. As the victim of this type of crash, you may be facing a long recovery. Your medical bills may be higher than they would otherwise be, and you may also incur long-term, ongoing medical expenses.
This means that you will need to seek a significant amount of compensation through an insurance claim or lawsuit to fully make up for the financial toll the accident has taken on you. Your compensation award should account for your past, current, and future medical expenses resulting from the commercial vehicle accident.
Truck accidents often give rise to non-economic damages like pain and suffering as well. If the accident upended your life, you may have the right to seek compensation for the pain you are experiencing.
Let Us Simplify Your Truck Accident Case
At McLaurin Law PLLC, we understand the devastation that often comes from truck accidents. We want to help you move forward from this tragic event by seeking the maximum compensation on your behalf.
Our attorneys have extensive experience representing truck accident victims, and we fully understand the complexity of truck accident vs. car accident cases. Let us put our knowledge and dedication to work for you while you focus on recovering.
Contact us today at 713-461-6500 to request a consultation with our personal injury lawyers.
