Some individuals have no problems driving on the highway. Others don’t care for it much. Inexperienced drivers, ones with poor vision, and those who don’t like faster speeds usually avoid highways whenever possible.
Oversized trucks usually use the highways, and that’s frequently why some drivers avoid them whenever they can. Risks of driving near oversized load trucks definitely exist, and if you’re near one of these vehicles, you should pay attention. You never know when one will change lanes or do something else that endangers you and your vehicle’s passengers.
If you have an oversize truck load accident, you should feel lucky if you walk away unscathed. Let’s talk about these crashes a little more.
Serious Injuries from These Accidents Often Occur
There’s one thing that’s undeniable regarding oversize truck load accidents. If you’re in one, it’s highly likely you’ll suffer serious injuries.
If you’re in a car wreck, and a normal-sized vehicle hits you, you might walk away unharmed or suffer minor injuries if you’re not traveling fast, and the other driver isn’t either. If you’re in a fender bender, for example, your seatbelt and other car safety systems may do their job, and you might have vehicle damage but no notable physical injuries.
That becomes less likely when an oversized truck carrying a load for commercial purposes hits you. It’s because they’re so enormous and heavy. It’s like a small building striking your car. Even a tiny bump can cause serious injuries or deaths in a way that smaller vehicles seldom do.
Trucking Companies Might Fight Your Lawsuit
Trucking companies don’t like paying out accident claims very much. Their insurance companies don’t, either. If they realize you have an open-and-shut case, they may pay you what you’re demanding without contesting the claim. However, if they see any wiggle room or believe their driver did nothing wrong, you can feel certain they will dig their heels in and try to avoid paying you.
Hiring a lawyer becomes necessary in these instances. You can bring legal action against a trucking company or their insurance company on your own, but you don’t know the law, so collecting money from them will likely prove difficult.
A trucking company or their insurance company will undoubtedly hire a lawyer to represent them in court. If you don’t have a skilled attorney, you might lose the case, even if you’re legally in the right. You don’t know the complex courtroom procedures that the insurance company’s attorneys do. They can speak legalese and file motions that will confuse and frustrate you.
Some Lawyers Target These Cases Specifically
However, you can take action if you feel a trucking company harmed you through a driver’s reckless mistake. You can always hire car wreck lawyers all over the country since they’re virtually everywhere. Some attorneys or firms have more specialized practices, though. They may handle exclusively or mostly commercial truck accident cases.
Such a lawyer or firm can help you a great deal. They can act as your confidant, and they can commiserate with you. Often, it can seem like you’re fighting a battle against a commercial trucking company and their lawyers on your own. Your family and friends can support you, but they can’t offer any meaningful legal advice.
Look for an attorney or firm that deals with these kinds of cases a lot. Ask them if they have won lawsuits like this before, and look at their online reviews as well.
Look at their website and see whether it’s professional and responsive. A website that looks bad or a negative first impression probably means you should find someone else who can represent you better. This decision matters. It could mean you collect the money you’re due, or it could mean you walk away with nothing if you make the wrong choice.
You Might Find Multiple Parties at Fault
You should also know that if an oversize truck load hits you and injures you, you might find multiple parties at fault. You can name the driver if you file a lawsuit, but you may also name the trucking company. You could even name the entity that services the trucks in some cases.
You and your lawyer can decide who you should name in the lawsuit based on the evidence that you collect. You can look at the police report and any other material evidence your attorney and their investigators feel can help you.
If the driver made a sudden move while behind the wheel that startled you and caused a wreck, you can certainly sue them. If you find out their company didn’t properly service the vehicle, though, and that played a part in the wreck, that information matters. It could mean you sue multiple entities, further complicating the case.
Oversize Loads Meet Certain Specific Criteria
You should also know that a commercial truck doesn’t always carry an oversized load. From a legal standpoint, oversize loads exceed 80,000 pounds. Several other criteria must come into play, and your lawyer will know all about those.
You might wonder why this matters. It matters because if a truck carries an oversized load, it must follow certain safety regulations that don’t apply if it’s carrying a smaller one. If your lawyer establishes that the driver, the trucking company, or the mechanics servicing the vehicles didn’t do everything by the book, you might use that information during your lawsuit. You may get a much larger settlement if all the individuals and entities involved cut any corners or neglected any safety regulations.
If you’re injured or your vehicle sustains damage when a truck carrying an oversized load hits you, it can change your life, and usually not for the better. Once you have a skilled lawyer backing you up, though, you should be able to figure out what to do next. You might face an uphill climb, but hopefully, you will eventually receive the money to rectify what occurred, at least in part.
