Answers To Common Questions About Truck Accidents

Any serious auto accident can turn your world upside down and leave you with far more questions than answers. This is especially true with trucking accidents, which are often catastrophic and involve numerous liable parties.

Below, we’ve answered some of the most common questions our attorneys are asked by prospective clients. After reading, you can contact us with any additional questions you may have, which we would be happy to answer during a free initial consultation.

What are the common causes of trucking accidents?

There are certainly times when drivers of smaller vehicles are at fault for causing a wreck, but the blame often rests with truck drivers or trucking companies. Common causes of Lexington truck accidents include:

• Drowsy or fatigued driving (which could be linked to spending too many hours behind the wheel and not prioritizing adequate rest)
• Distracted or inattentive driving (either due to a truck driver’s bad choices or a trucking company’s requirement that drivers always be immediately reachable by radio or phone)
• Drunk or drugged driving
• Vehicle problems like worn-out brakes (which occur when truck drivers and their employers fail to conduct regular maintenance and repairs)
• Cargo loads that are too heavy, unbalanced or both
• Improperly secured cargo
• Truck drivers who lack adequate training and experience and are therefore unsafe behind the wheel

When our firm gets hired in a trucking accident case, we conduct a thorough and independent investigation, starting with the most common causes of crashes.

Who can be held liable after a trucking accident?

Assuming that either the truck driver or trucking company was at fault for the crash, there are likely to be numerous defendants in the lawsuit. They could include:

• The truck driver (for causing the crash)
• The trucking driver’s employer (for negligence in hiring and training the driver)
• The trucking company’s commercial insurer
• The business that hired the trucking company to haul its cargo
• Any mechanics who may have done faulty maintenance or repair work on the trucks

In truck accident litigation, it is common practice for truck accident attorneys to “cast a wide net” for potential defendants because there are so many factors that could have caused or contributed to the crash. Even if some defendants are later dismissed from the lawsuit, this approach is the most efficient way to hold all liable parties responsible.

What should I do after a truck accident?

Your first priority needs to be seeking medical attention for yourself and/or family members who were injured. Once everyone is stable, it is important to seek the help of an attorney as soon as reasonably possible. Trucking companies are backed by expensive commercial insurance policies, which means that both the company and its insurer will be acting quickly to take control of evidence and shape the narrative in a way that takes blame off of the truck driver and trucking company.

When you hire our firm, we immediately get to work investigating the accident, fighting to preserve evidence and building a case against the at-fault parties.

Why should I work with an attorney? And what if I can’t afford to hire one?

Any auto accident case would be hard to navigate by yourself, and that is especially true for trucking accident claims. Without an attorney, you are at the mercy of insurance companies whose primary goal is to deny your claim or settle for as little money as possible. Having your own attorney gives you much more power to negotiate and to seek justice in the courtroom.

Now to the question of affording an attorney. After a serious accident, most clients would be unable to afford an attorney because of all the costs associated with the accident. Thankfully, most personal injury attorneys in Kentucky, our firm included, take cases on a contingency basis. We don’t collect any money up front, and you are not responsible for any legal bills until and unless we help you recover money (at trial or in a settlement). Our fees are paid out of a predetermined percentage of however much money we help you obtain.

In short, you can definitely afford to hire an attorney!

Contact Us To Get Answers To Your Own Questions

Hicks & Funfsinn, PLLC, has offices in Lexington and Shelbyville, Kentucky, and we serve clients throughout the surrounding areas. To take advantage of a free initial consultation with one of our skilled attorneys, call us at 859-286-7840 or fill out our online contact form.