Baton Rouge Truck Accident Lawyer
Work with an experienced Baton Rouge truck accident lawyer to find out if you can get compensated for the injuries you suffered in a wreck with a semi-truck.
Collisions involving large commercial vehicles such as 18-wheelers and dump trucks nearly always mean catastrophic injuries and massive vehicle damage for the drivers of passenger vehicles and motorcycles. Recovering from these injuries requires a great deal of medical care, which is never inexpensive, leaving many accident victims wondering how they should proceed with putting their life back together.
If this is your situation, the answer depends on who was at fault for causing your semi-truck crash. If blame belongs with the big rig’s driver or an outside third party, you deserve a financial settlement that will pay for all of your damages and losses.
A Baton Rouge truck accident lawyer from Spencer Calahan Injury Lawyers can ensure that you don’t just get the bare minimum—we’ll make certain that your payout will cover all of your needs, both now and in the future.
Investigating the Cause of Your Baton Rouge Semi-Truck Crash
Determining whether you have grounds for a personal injury claim will require a full investigation into the truck wreck. Accidents with commercial trucks are especially complicated when it comes to determining fault because of the large number of individuals and entities involved with operating and maintaining the average semi.
Investigating a Baton Rouge truck wreck is exceedingly difficult. There could be countless reasons why a truck crashed and left you with serious injuries.
For instance, if a truck collided with you, was it because the trucker wasn’t paying attention to the road, or was it because there were uneven lanes that caused the truck driver to lose control of the semi? In this example, the government might be responsible for your injuries because the government is responsible for roadway maintenance.
Crashes aren’t always clear-cut, and if you’ve been seriously harmed, a detailed investigation will be the only way to prove your injuries and secure the compensation you deserve.
Your attorney will need to gather any and all available evidence to prove that you weren’t responsible for the crash. The evidence must also point to the cause of your crash—and therefore who would be liable. None of this is easy, and it will likely require experience, resources, and a great deal of effort.
When you’re still struggling with your injuries, it’s highly unlikely that you will be able to prove a claim like this on your own. See below a list of some of the types of evidence your truck crash attorney in Baton Rouge will gather to prove your case:
- Witness statements
- Accident scene reports, police reports, recall reports
- Medical history and all related medical evidence, including doctors’ statements
- Photos and video of the crash scene and other related evidence
- Proof of your injuries and records of how these injuries have affected you
- Proof of your damages, including missed time at work, medical expenses, and all other related costs
- Expert witness testimony
A successful investigation will uncover all of the parties who were at fault for causing your truck wreck. Listed below are just a few examples of potential causes that your Baton Rouge truck accident lawyer will know how to find evidence for:
- Drowsy Driving – Driver fatigue causes a disturbing number of collisions every year and generally indicates negligence on the part of either the driver or the trucking company. We’ll need to investigate the driver’s rest logs and whether the company was imposing an unreasonable deadline.
- Distracted Driving – Just like with drivers of cars, cell phone use and other distractions while behind the wheel can prove deadly.
- Unsecured Cargo – A load can be lost and crash into oncoming traffic when either the restraint system fails due to a defect or the cargo team is negligent in securing it.
- Dangerous Roads – If a dangerous road condition such as a missing guardrail or an improper shoulder drop-off caused your crash, the government agency that maintains the road could be at fault.
- Drunk Driving – Intoxicated driving is very dangerous and causes a great many accidents. If a truck driver was drinking while operating a commercial vehicle, you can and should hold him or her accountable for your injuries. In addition, the trucker could face criminal charges, and in some cases, the trucking company could also be held accountable for your injuries and losses.
- Faulty Parts – In some cases, the accident may not be the trucker’s fault at all. If a manufacturer designed subpar truck parts and those parts failed in some way and caused your accident, you could actually hold the manufacturer liable.
- Poor Mechanic Work – Mechanics service trucks every day. They are depended upon to keep commercial vehicles in good working order, but if they fail in that service, they could be liable. If they put on a tire incorrectly or otherwise performed poor service, it could result in a truck collision.
Injuries and 18-Wheeler Collisions
The injuries seen in Baton Rouge tractor-trailer crashes are often incredibly serious and can easily result in lifelong disabilities. The exact nature and extent of your injury is central to your personal injury claim, as the care you require and how your wounds will affect your quality of life will make up the majority of the basis for your claim.
You’ll need to work closely with both your doctors and your Baton Rouge truck accident lawyer so that the complete impact of your injury can be fully assessed. It’s also not uncommon for some injury types to be delayed, so don’t dismiss pain and other symptoms that manifest weeks later.
Listed below are some of the injury types that we commonly see in commercial vehicle wrecks:
- Traumatic Brain Injuries – Head injuries are among the most serious injuries you could sustain in a Baton Rouge tractor-trailer crash. A head injury can affect your cognition, balance and motor skills, memory, personality, and mood. If you sustained a head injury, you should be compensated for the way this injury will change the course of your life.
- Back and Neck Injuries – Back and neck injuries can seriously alter your life. Spinal damage could mean a total lack of mobility if the spinal cord is completely severed. You could be dealing with total or partial paralysis. Even if you’re not paralyzed, these injuries could keep you from living the life you wanted to live. You deserve to be compensated for serious back and neck injuries.
- Broken and Fractured Bones – Broken bones may seem minor, and sometimes they are, but they can also be extremely serious. In addition to the physical pain a broken bone will cause you, you could also be dealing with months or years of recovery. Your break may never fully heal, resulting in an altered life for you.
- Internal Bleeding and Organ Damage – Internal injuries can be devastating to your overall health and can require surgeries and possibly even organ transplants. In some cases, you may never return to the health you once had, meaning drastic life changes for you and your family. You deserve justice for how your truck crash injuries have affected you.
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Other Emotional Trauma – Although emotional trauma is not a physical injury, it can be worse than the pain of any physical bodily damage. Fear, anxiety, and PTSD can all play a role in an 18-wheeler wreck victim’s life. You may even require therapy to get back to normal, and some never go back to how they were before a serious accident.
- Wrongful Death – If you’ve lost a loved one because of a semi-truck crash, you already know the pain and grief of loss. If you know that the accident could have been prevented, this information may actually make your loss feel greater. You can hold those responsible for your loved one’s death accountable by filing an injury claim.
Seeking Compensation for a Commercial Truck Accident in Baton Rouge
In the end, all of the expenses and losses you experience because of the 18-wheeler crash should be accounted for in your final settlement amount. If it negatively impacted your life or finances in some way, it needs to be included.
A Baton Rouge truck accident lawyer from our firm can help you examine your experiences since the crash and identify everything that’s been affected. While some things, such as medical bills, will be obvious, other losses, such as the impact your injuries have on your marriage, are less so. The trucking company’s insurance is counting on you to only seek compensation for the obvious items.
Financial damages often include current and future medical expenses, lost wages and income, the cost of hiring caretakers and transportation, and modifications made to your home or vehicle to accommodate a new disability.
Non-economic damages, however, include all of the ways that your quality of life has been negatively affected. These cover pain and suffering, loss of consortium, lost sexual function, emotional distress, and lost enjoyment of life.
Negotiating a Settlement for a Big Rig Crash
Once fault has been established and your personal injury claim’s value has been fully assessed, your Baton Rouge truck accident lawyer will submit a formal demand for compensation to the at-fault party and their insurance. It’s important that you not handle this step on your own, as the insurer will do everything possible to pin blame for the accident on you.
They do this because the more of the fault that you are found responsible for, the less they’ll have to pay you. This means that anything you say to an insurance adjuster runs the risk of being used against you later, often out of context.
We’ll handle the negotiations on your behalf so you can focus on your recovery instead. Every Baton Rouge truck accident lawyer at Spencer Calahan Injury Lawyers knows how to deal with insurance companies and opposing attorneys on their own turf, so you’ll be in good hands. Even if the insurance won’t make a reasonable offer, we’ll represent you during court and seek a verdict that gets you the funds you need.
Get Help from a Baton Rouge Semi-Truck Accident Lawyer
The injuries suffered in a commercial truck accident can leave you buried in medical debt and unable to earn a living, which is why it’s so important to seek the compensation you are due. Don’t let an insurance company try to tell you what your claim is worth. Instead, work with Spencer Calahan Injury Lawyers and discover the true value of your case.
To arrange a time to meet with a Baton Rouge truck accident lawyer during a free, no-pressure consultation, simply give us a call at 225-387-2323 or submit your information through the contact form on this page.
Baton Rouge Truck Accident FAQ
Accidents with semi-trucks aren’t just traumatizing; they also lead to a great deal of uncertainty and stress over how to put your life back together. Below, we’ve provided answers to a few frequently asked questions. If you would like more information as it pertains to your specific situation, please contact us to speak with a Baton Rouge truck accident lawyer.
Can I recover financial damages if a semi-truck’s tire blew out and caused the accident?
If the cause of the tire blowout can be traced back to someone’s negligence, then you will have grounds for seeking compensation. Sometimes, commercial trucks are overloaded past their carrying capacity, which causes the blowout. In other cases, a pothole or tire defect might be the cause.
What can I do if I was hurt in a hit-and-run accident with an 18-wheeler in Baton Rouge?
Because their vehicles are so large, truckers sometimes don’t realize that they’ve been in an accident. Regardless, it may be possible to track the at-fault driver down through paint scrapes, vehicle damage, video, and witness testimony. It may also be possible to file a claim with your own insurance.
Will I be able to recover compensation if I was partially at fault for the truck crash?
As long as the party that you’re suing was more at fault than you, you can file a personal injury claim seeking monetary compensation for your Baton Rouge truck accident. However, you’ll be assigned a percentage of the fault for what happened, and your final settlement amount will be reduced by that same percentage.