Truck Accidents Due to Distracted Driving
Truck drivers are constantly on the road. Whether they’re doing one long haul or several smaller routes, many of them work for different clients, carrying anything from peaches to oil. The longer a driver is on the job, the more likely they are to get into an accident. Distractions, whether in the form of a text message or sleeplessness, can cause serious collisions. If you want to understand distracted driving accidents, it helps to view the matter through a legal lens.
Truck Accidents in Florida
Florida is known as a no-fault state, meaning that if you sustain bodily injury in a standard accident, you can go through your own insurer — even if you did nothing to cause the accident. If your vehicle was damaged due to the accident, you can file a claim with the at-fault driver’s insurance. This is part of the reason why lawyers are helpful in the case of severe accidents — because they understand who to go after and how to prove what really happened.
However, to make matters more complicated, commercial truckers do not fall under the same category as standard drivers in private vehicles. Not only are they professionals, but they drive hefty vehicles and often carry hazardous materials. Should a driver collide with you when they’re on the clock, the rules change. Depending on the organization they work for, they may be subject to federal laws, which can shift the liability away from your insurance carrier in a personal injury case.
Distracted Driving
Unfortunately, people are more distracted than ever before. Thanks to constant pings and notifications, people are losing their ability to focus both on the road and off. If you’re wondering what counts as distracted driving, it’s defined as anything that takes away from your focus on the road.
Some of the most common activities include:
- Electronic devices: The more that truck drivers use electronic devices, the more at risk they are for an accident. This is particularly disturbing when you consider that truck drivers likely rely on handheld electronics to manage jobs, routes, and other pertinent details.
- Talking: Whether it’s with a passenger or with a client, talking can quickly put a driver’s concentration on other matters besides what’s taking place on the road. If there’s an unexpected event, such as a sudden route change, they may not see what’s going on right in front of them.
- Eating/drinking: Part of a driver’s performance is tied to how fast they can move and unload their hauls. Because of this, they may find themselves fueling up when they’re on the road. Plus, if a driver is particularly hungry, they may respond to the more immediate needs rather than keeping to the task at hand.
Drivers may find themselves recalibrating their radios, changing clothes, or reaching for items that fell on the floor. These kinds of distractions don’t just put themselves and their goods in peril; it can put everyone around them at risk too. From other drivers to pedestrians, distracted truck drivers pose a danger to everyone in their vicinity. If they’re carrying flammable items, that vicinity may stretch farther than they realize.
Hiring a Truck Accident Law Firm
Truck accidents are far more than damaged fenders and broken glass. From devastating bodily injury to emotional distress, a single accident’s ripple effects can last for years after a collision. Plus, many insurance adjusters are notorious for denying claims, offering a pittance of your requests, or attempting to bully you into taking their lowest offers. When this is applied to a trucking accident, where financial damages averages climb ever higher, you can imagine the pressure on everyone to avoid massive settlements.
When you hire the right firm, you ensure that you’re not steamrolled by a company that doesn’t want to pay what you’re owed. This is important because once you agree to the insurance company’s terms and conditions, you’re not allowed to ask for follow-up damages — which may include anything from chronic injuries to a full loss of earning potential. If you work with Florida truck accident attorneys, you won’t have to worry about whether you settled for less or were duped by the insurance company.
What You Can File for in a Truck Accident
If you’re in a truck accident due to distracted driving, you can file for the following types of damages:
- Medical expenses: Medical care is more than just the initial treatment you receive after the accident. From psychotherapy to physical therapy to prescription drugs, you can file for all costs related to the collision.
- Wages and earning potential: If you need to miss work for any reason or if you lose your earning capacity, you can file for all of it. Whether you missed one day or your entire career was derailed, a personal injury attorney in Florida can help you make all the necessary calculations.
- Pain and suffering: This is a separate issue from medical care, in that it goes beyond the costs of anti-anxiety medications or psychiatry appointments. Pain and suffering refer to emotional and mental distress, which can disrupt your routine and cause deep-seated disorders like depression or PTSD. Pain and suffering attempt to quantify the loss of enjoyment for a more well-rounded claim.
- Property damage: This refers to more than just the costs to repair or replace your vehicle. You can file for any property loss, whether it’s the clothes you were wearing or any equipment or devices you may have been carrying in your car.
- Punitive: Punitive damages are designed to punish the at-fault party as opposed to compensate you for direct losses. In Florida, these damages are only awarded in the case of gross negligence or ill intent, and they’re less likely to be awarded in all but the most extreme cases.
Proving Fault in a Distracted Driving Case
Proving fault in a distracted driving case in Florida is not always easy for even the most experienced of attorneys. For example, let’s say that a distracted truck driver was eating because his company threatened to fire him if he wasn’t able to stick to a very strict schedule. What share of the blame should the driver have next to the blame of his company?
Thanks to corporate greed, these situations are not uncommon, so it’s important to get to the bottom of these cases if you want the best chance of getting the best settlement. Thankfully, you can work with dedicated Florida personal injury lawyers who understand how to distribute and argue blame in distracted driving accidents.
Truck Accident Settlements
Most truck accident cases eventually settle, as opposed to going before a judge and a jury for a lengthy trial. This is partially because most legal professionals will do what they can to avoid putting victims through an unnecessary procedure. However, it also has to do with the size of most truck accident settlements. Because these settlements tend to be larger, insurance companies, parent companies, and truckers will try to avoid the financial and logistical challenges of a long and potentially deadlocked trial.
What to Expect from a Truck Accident Lawyer
A truck accident can be a tremendous event to recover from, even if you have the best help and support around you. Trying to work through the many things that come after an accident can be impossible on your own. Filling out the paperwork, gathering testimonies and witness statements, tracking down the costs of everything: you’re practically guaranteed to miss a step.
Should you make a single error, you can end up going back and forth with different organizations for far longer than you anticipated. With a truck accident lawyer, you get the expert help you need. More importantly, you get the counsel to move forward in your recovery process, so you’re on top of every step without having to shoulder it all on your own.
Contact the Lawyers at Shapiro Law Group, P.A.
If you’re looking for lawyers that specialize in truck accidents, contact the team at Shapiro Law Group, P.A. Whether the trucker wasn’t paying attention, chatting on the radio, or flat-out asleep, a single consultation can help you understand how the law is on your side. From economic damages to emotional distress, we can walk you through what your case is worth and support you during an undoubtedly trying time.
