Baton Rouge Truck Accident Lawyer

Baton Rouge Truck Accident Attorney

The consequences of an accident with a large truck can be worse than other types of vehicle accidents. Injuries are often larger, and damages are often greater, which usually impact one’s quality of life on a greater scale. Make sure you receive compensation for your injuries, especially if they were due to the truck driver or trucking company. Working with a Baton Rouge truck accident lawyer can help you maximize your damages.

Compassionate Legal Support

Although Dufour Law Firm is based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, we serve the surrounding parishes in the southeast Louisiana area. We have experience representing individuals in a variety of personal injury claims, including ones dealing with vehicle accidents, premise liability claims, product liability, and medical malpractice. Our goal is to reduce the stress and anxiety surrounding personal injury claims by offering approachable legal services.

Truck Accidents

Trucking accidents are one of the deadliest types of accidents on the roads in Louisiana. They often result in severe injuries and sometimes even fatalities. There are many things that can cause trucking accidents, including:

• Fatigue: Trucking companies often expect deliveries to be completed on a tight schedule, resulting in truckers pulling long hours to complete their jobs. There are federal and state requirements for rest breaks, but this does not account for the fatigue experienced on long and monotonous stretches of highways and straight roads for hours on end. Driver fatigue can also be impacted if they must drive at night.
• DUIs: Many vehicle accidents occur as a result of drivers being under the influence of drugs or alcohol while in the operation of a vehicle. There are regular tests for drugs and alcohol, but this does not completely eliminate the possibility of a truck driver operating their vehicle under the influence.
• Cargo: There are detailed requirements for individuals loading cargo onto trucks in order for the load to stay secured while the driver is moving at a high speed. This includes requirements for loading cargo in a balanced manner and securing cargo properly. If these rules are not followed, insecure cargo can lead to complications while a driver is on the road, potentially resulting in an accident with another vehicle.
• Blind Spots: Trucks are much larger than other vehicles and have more blind spots. If another vehicle is traveling in a truck’s blind spot, they might not see the vehicle while attempting to change lanes or stop, potentially resulting in an accident. Many trucks have large mirrors to accommodate blind spots, but this does not make truck drivers impervious to potential issues.

All of these issues make trucks more dangerous than other vehicles. They often cause more severe injuries as a result of their combined size and speed.

Why Do I Need an Attorney?

An attorney is one of the most important people in a personal injury claim. They can manage your case for you while you take time to heal from your injuries and navigate your new life after such a traumatic accident.

As an individual, it can be difficult to quantify how much you might be entitled to. Accidents often happen quickly, and the severity of injuries is sometimes unknown until weeks or months after the accident. A Baton Rouge personal injury attorney can help calculate the amount of damages you can request from an insurance company or trucking company so that you are properly compensated for your injuries.

They can also represent you when contacting an insurance company. These companies are notorious for offering low initial amounts for your claim in the hopes that you’ll accept it prematurely. After an attorney calculates your damages potential, they can fight on your behalf to receive that amount from an insurance company. They can also help gather and send additional documentation to prove injuries and negligence from the other party.

In the event that you are unable to negotiate with an insurance company or an employer, a personal injury lawyer can start the process of filing a claim with the court. They can then gather evidence for your claim in the form of medical records and professional testimony. It might even be possible to recreate the accident scene with available evidence to prove the other party’s liability and recover damages for you.

While many of these issues can be worked out individually, they are often solved faster and more effectively with legal help. Hiring an attorney can reduce the likelihood that you’ll make errors common in personal injury cases, which could result in having to refile or lose your case altogether.

What Might I Be Eligible For?

In most truck accident claims, individuals can recover money in the form of damages. There are many different types of damages depending on the details of the accident, but the most common ones include:

• Medical Damages: Trucking accidents can result in severe injuries like broken or fractured bones, damage to the spinal cord, or even traumatic brain injuries. These afflictions can take lots of money to resolve in the form of hospital visits, physical therapy, medication, and doctor visits. In a successful personal injury case, a victim of a trucking accident can receive compensation for these expenses.
• Wages and Earnings: If you are employed and are involved in a trucking accident, it is possible that you will be unable to return to work for an extended period of time due to your injuries. You might not even be able to perform your job effectively due to a permanent or temporary disability. Even if you are unemployed, if your injuries have affected your future ability to make a living, you could still recover lost wages.
• Property Damage: Trucking accidents often result in more property damage than other forms of vehicle accidents. In many cases, cars may be severely damaged or irreparable after a collision with a truck. Recovering damages for the destruction of property can help you repair your vehicle or buy a new one if your former vehicle is beyond saving.
• Pain and Suffering: This is a form of non-economic damage. While this form of damage can be difficult to quantify, it is important to be compensated for the mental and emotional stress that an accident has put you through, especially if it has led to a lower quality of life for you or your family.
• Wrongful Death: If your loved one was killed in a trucking accident, it is still possible to recover damages. You might be able to receive compensation for medical expenses, funeral costs, and damages in addition to pain and suffering that more directly relate to an individual’s loss. For example, if the late victim was a parent, then the children might receive damages for the loss of their parental figure and subsequent care and guidance.

FAQs

Q: Who Is Liable for My Truck Accident in Louisiana?

A: There are multiple parties that might be liable for your trucking accident, depending on the context of the situation. If the truck driver acted negligently, then they might be partly at fault. If the driver’s employer caused the driver to act in a negligent way, then they might be implicated in a personal injury claim. Other issues can occur with individuals loading and unloading the truck as well as the individuals who repair and maintain the trucks.

Q: When Should I Hire a Louisiana Truck Accident Attorney?

A: Truck accidents are often more complicated than standard car accidents because they involve more parties. The injuries from trucking accidents are also usually more serious because of the larger nature of most commercial trucks. Hiring an attorney as soon as possible after a trucking accident can help you negotiate with insurance companies, gather evidence for your claim, and help you file in time to comply with Louisiana’s statute of limitation requirements.

Q: What Types of Damages Can I Pursue for My Truck Accident?

A: If you were injured as a result of the accident, you might be able to recover damages for treatment and rehabilitation after your injury. This can include hospital visits, doctor appointments, and even physical therapy visits. If your injuries are serious enough, they might have also affected your ability to work or impact your earning potential. Both of these issues can be included in a final calculation of damages to receive compensation for your accident.

Q: What Do I Do After a Big Truck Wreck?

A: The first thing to do after an accident with a large truck is to move your vehicle to safety if possible. This can help prevent further accidents or injuries. After this, assess the injuries of yourself and the others in your party and call 911 if necessary. While they are on their way, gather as much evidence as possible about the accident. Take photos of the vehicles and the scene of the accident and gather the contact and insurance information of the truck driver.

Serving Individuals Throughout Baton Rouge

Our attorneys are no strangers to truck and vehicle accidents. We are comfortable negotiating with insurance companies, truck drivers, and large trucking companies on your behalf to recover damages for your recuperation. For more information on how the attorneys at Dufour Law Firm can help with your personal injury claim, schedule a consultation with us today. Louisiana has strict time limits on these types of claims, so take action before it is too late.