Our experienced fuel truck accident lawyers are ready to fight for your rights and justice you deserve if you were injured by a negligent trucker. No one should pay financially and physically for another’s mistakes. Let the Wilshire Law Firm help you through this difficult time. Contact us at (800) 501-3011 24/7 to schedule a free case review. We won over $1 billion for clients.
Wilshire Law Firm Has Your Back
The carriage underride accident lawyers at the Wilshire Law Firm protect your right to obtain justice and compensation for your accident injuries. The insurer does not want to spend money on your case. Because of this, it does everything it can to upend your claim. From denying proof of liability to turning the tables in their favor, they work hard to save as much as possible on your case for their own self-interest.
This maneuver does not help you. It adds a financial strain and emotional upheaval to your physical injuries. No one needs that. Our experienced lawyers use multiple techniques and their legal acumen to turn this around. We’ve done that numerous times for many accident victims and won over $1 billion in settlements for our clients. These life-changing awards help clients move on from a devastating situation.
What Types of Compensation Can You Win in a Truck Accident Claim
Victims need justice, compensation, and closure after a truck accident. Your carriage underride accident attorney can help you obtain the monetary cost of your losses. Some of those are listed below:
Medical expenses: This category can be costly, mainly if extended hospital stays occur. Your lawsuit could include all hospital expenses such as emergency room care, physician fees, medication, labs, and other diagnostic tests and surgery. After you leave the hospital, you may need rehab therapy, at-home nursing care, or home adaptation to heal. Your lawyer will speak to your physician about recovery time to help customize your costs.
Wage loss: After an accident, you may be unable to work at your job. This inability can cause a tremendous monetary loss for you and your family. A carriage underride accident can leave you with house or rental payments and an inability to pay household bills. A lawsuit could recover your wages until you can work again. If your loss of employment is permanent, you could recover the money you would have earned until retirement. In addition, if you can return to work only at a lower-paying job, you could recover the difference.
Future earning capacity: The inability to earn more as you advance in your job could be detrimental over the long run. Your lawyer may factor this into your claim.
Pain and suffering: After an accident, not everything resolves. Some people suffer continuing physical pain, emotional issues, and psychological problems. These are recoverable in a claim.
Loss of consortium: Your spouse can experience a loss of intimacy and emotional support due to your injuries. They may join your lawsuit and file for its monetary value to remedy this. The value of loss of consortium is different for everyone, and your underride truck accident attorney can help determine its financial worth.
Out-of-pocket expenses: A car rental might become part of the lawsuit if your vehicle loses functionality after the underride crash.
Loss of enjoyment: After the under-semi truck accident, you no longer may be able to enjoy hobbies or other activities. The value of the loss is reimbursable.
Punitive damages: Sometimes, the cause of the underride collision is extreme. Your underride truck accident lawyer may ask for punitive damages in such cases. Such damages can punish the wrongdoer, and the court or jury will choose their value.
What Is an Underride Accident?
An underride accident occurs when a truck passes over your vehicle, causing it to collide with the under portion of the semi-truck. Think of the opening scene in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, when Clark Griswald isn’t paying attention and drives right under an 18-wheel truck. Only in this case, it’s the truck driver’s fault, not a careless vacationer.
This unfortunate incident happens because the truck is much higher than the smaller car and frequently shears off the top of the car, exposing the occupants to horrendous injuries. Occasionally, the unsuspecting vehicle enters near the big rig’s axle, making it harder for the smaller vehicle to go far.
Underride Accident Statistics
The Government Accounting Office reports that around 219 fatalities in underride accidents occurred between 2008 and 2017. However, the GAO believes this number is incorrect due to underreporting.[1] Under consideration is the need for side guards on semis, which the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says was underestimated by the NHTSA. Fatalities to those in passenger vehicles in side underride collisions totaled 488 in 1921.[2]
Types of Underride Crashes
There are two types of carriage underride collisions. The first is when the passenger vehicle or motorcyclist enters the space under the truck from the rear. The second is when the smaller car enters from the side.
Why Do Side and Rear Carriage Underride Accidents Occur
Side-underride collisions frequently happen after sundown when the driver parks by the side of the road or makes a turn, including a U-turn. Backing up across traffic can also be problematic. The back and front of the vehicle are more identifiable as a truck due to the head and rear lights. The sides without lights or reflective tape can look like open spaces, especially at night.
Conspicuity is a significant factor in such accidents since the vehicle must stand out. For instance, a slower-moving truck is harder to see.
Rear-underride accidents are different in some ways. For instance, as the name suggests, the smaller vehicle enters the space under the truck’s rear. In this case, the common causes are a truck stopped or moving slowly. It can also occur when the truck slows to enter or exit the road.
Other causes of a carriage underride accident are:
- Speeding
- Brake failure on a passenger car
- Road conditions, including unannounced changes
- Lack of underride guards
- Old or defective underride guards
What Is So Important About Conspicuity
Seeing the road and its contents is an essential part of staying safe. However, visual tricks can distort things. There should be clean and functioning lights on either end of the truck. But what happens when the passenger car operator sees the side of the truck or the rear without lights? The possibility of a rear or side underride crash occurs.
Other ways to increase conspicuity include adding reflective tape to the sides and rear of the vehicle. The government mandated the use of retroreflective tape in 1993. [3] While using reflective tape is critical, it must be clean and in good condition.
Comparative Fault in a Carriage Underride Collision
California Law allows comparative fault in determining judgment amounts. [4] It considers the degree of culpability of everyone involved in the crash, from the trucker to defects and road conditions, including lighting.
An example occurs when someone in a passenger vehicle is speeding and distracted at night and does not see a large truck ahead due to dirty reflective tape or broken lights and hits the truck. The passenger car occupant will receive less because they were speeding and distracted. The jury or court decides the percentage amount.
Liability for a Carriage Underride Crash
The following people or entities can be liable for an underride collision
- The trucker or trucking company
- The manufacturer of auto parts or the truck if a defect is present
- Government agencies in charge of roads
- Reckless drivers
Underride Guards
These long metal bars hang from the back of a big rig. They prevent a passenger vehicle or motorcycle from passing under the truck. The rule, signed by the Administration, will be in the Federal Register in 2023. [5] Side underride bar requirements are still on the table as a future regulation.
Underride guards play an essential role in a truck accident. Many truckers or trucking companies chose not to use them. Others allow the guards to become old and useless without replacing them. Either way, they are setting the stage for a horrific accident.
Your carriage underride accident lawyer can examine the truck to see if guards are present and in good working order. If not, this can become part of the lawsuit against the defendant or at-fault party.
Deadline to File a Claim
If you suffer injuries due to an underride accident or lose a loved one in such a crash, you probably are considering filing a lawsuit. You have two years to do so unless the case is due to government agency negligence. In that case, you have six months to file the claim. If the city fails to answer your claim, you can file a lawsuit within two years from the collision date. On the other hand, if they reject the claim, you have six months to file a lawsuit. [6]
Truck Accident Injuries
Injuries in underride accidents can be brutal or fatal. Some of the most common are:
- Amputations
- Spinal cord injury
- Damage to the internal organs
- Dissociation of the aorta or main artery in the chest
- Fractures
- Traumatic brain injury
- Death
Wrongful Death
A wrongful death lawsuit can help the family monetarily, it can also bring closure and a sense of justice. Losing a loved one is never easy, but when it is due to another’s negligence, it can be even worse. Here are some of the aspects of a wrongful death lawsuit:
- Recovering funeral and burial expenses
- Collecting the wages and benefits the decedent could earn until retirement
- Recouping the cost of hiring someone to do the jobs the deceased did around the house
Filing a Lawsuit After a Trucking Accident
Carriage underride accidents can be complex and experience, doggedness and legal acumen are needed when you hire an attorney. The carriage underride accident attorneys at the Wilshire Law Firm can provide it.
The lawsuit requires evidence that proves negligence occurred. Our investigators carefully look at every aspect of the case and spend time at the accident scene. We will not stop until we can say whether the accident was due to another’s mistakes and recklessness. Once this happens, our lawyers can build a robust case for our client.
Wilshire Law Firm – Get the Help You Need After a Truck Accident – Call Us 24/7
You may be eligible for compensation if you or someone you love dies in a truck accident. The trucker or trucking company could cover your medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. The Wilshire Law Firm has the resources, experience, and knowledge needed to help you.
Wilshire Law Firm has collected over $1 billion in compensation for clients hurt by another’s negligence over the past 15 years. Following a horrific accident, their work helped injured people and their families move on. Our personal injury lawyers can help you sort it out during a free case review. Our team of professionals will answer your questions, examine your case, and help you decide. Please call us at (800) 301-5011 or message us online to schedule a free consultation. Remember, you pay no fees unless you win.
