Get Our Insider to Property Damage Brochure
Charlotte Commercial Truck Accident Attorneys
A Shoulder to Lean on During Dark Times
The severe and often catastrophic injuries resulting from commercial truck accidents can have long-term impacts. The health complications resulting from injuries can cause great financial losses. However, compensation for these injuries can be sought to alleviate mounting financial pressures. Charlotte is a thriving metropolis with a large commercial district. Interstate routes are filled with commercial trucks and other vehicles because these are essential paths.
For instance, I-85 bypasses the Charlotte Douglass International Airport and northeastward towards the uptown section where it junctions with I-77. There are poorly designed roads and intersections risks compounded with thoughtless drivers who cause accidents. The site of Bermont Road and SR 31 is a good example having a record of 168 crashes since 2017 leading to 7 fatal and 52 reported injuries. Recent accidents of overturning trucks there include one with a hazardous spill and another of fleeing bees. High speed and inattentive driving have been reported as the leading causes of these crashes.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a car crash due to the negligence of a truck driver, you may be able to recover financial compensation for your losses. The attorneys at Dewey, Ramsay & Hunt, P.A. are experienced in truck accident injury representation. Our team is known for our dedication to our clients.
Your consultation is informative and free, and you owe no attorney fees unless or until we obtain benefits or compensation for you. Contact our Charlotte personal injury lawyers online or call (704) 377-3737 today.
By Your Side After an Accident in North Carolina
The highways around Charlotte, North Carolina are packed with tractor-trailers, creating countless opportunities for accidents to occur. When a commercial truck overturns or collides with another vehicle, many people can be injured or killed. The size and weight of semi-trucks make them prone to inflicting serious damage on other, smaller vehicles. A big rig driver is well protected, but when a passenger vehicle crashes with a truck, it is likely to result in serious injuries or death.
If you are involved in a truck accident, it can be physically, mentally, and financially devastating. The injuries and pain, combined with a complex legal system, may feel overwhelming. You need an experienced Charlotte truck accident lawyer to represent you and seek the compensation you are entitled to. At Dewey, Ramsay & Hunt, P.A., our aggressive legal team has been handling truck accident lawsuits for decades. We know how to investigate your accident, build your case, and guide you through every step of the process while protecting your rights.
Learn more about filing a truck accident claim in North Carolina by contacting our Charlotte personal injury attorney at (704) 377-3737 for a free consultation. We’ve recovered millions for clients successfully and can help you.
Common Causes of Truck Accidents in NC
Trucking companies and their drivers are legally required to follow specific rules and regulations, such as rules that limit how many hours a driver may operate his or her truck. Unfortunately, drivers are sometimes pressured to exceed their hourly limits in order to complete jobs faster. This leads to fatigued, distracted truckers – and a higher probability of serious accidents.
Other types of reckless or negligent behavior can also lead to serious truck crashes. For example, some truckers abuse drugs or alcohol in an attempt to stay more alert while driving. In other cases, inadequate training or experience is to blame when a preventable collision occurs.
Some common causes of commercial truck accidents in North Carolina include:
- Aggressive driving
- Carelessness and negligence
- Excessive speeding
- Improper and uneven loading of cargo
- Mechanical failure
- Overloading cargo
- Poor vehicle maintenance and unsafe equipment, such as defective brakes
Many truck accident cases involve one or more of the following factors:
- Broadside collisions
- Center lane crossovers
- Head-on collisions
- Jack-knifed trucks
- Lane-change accidents
- Loss of control
- Rear-end collisions
Truck drivers have a dangerous job and a massive vehicle to control. Anyone or a combination of variables that are not up to standard, such as failure to follow federal regulations for motor carriers, can cause a catastrophic truck accident that injures or kills multiple drivers and their passengers.
Truck Accident Lawsuit Settlements
You will need a qualified trucking injury attorney who can quickly assess your situation and take the appropriate action to show that the truck driver, or the company that owns the truck, is at fault for your injuries. Your lawyer can potentially file claims for negligence, pain and suffering, and loss of consortium.
Your attorney will handle all of the critical details concerning your claim. However, it can be helpful to have some key background knowledge about truck accident compensation, which may be obtainable by negotiating a settlement or being awarded damages in court.
Here are three important points for plaintiffs to remember about filing a truck accident claim in Charlotte, North Carolina:
- The trucking company will be required to pay your damages only after they have been found liable. Therefore, it is important to know what your own insurance will cover so that your medical bills are paid while your claim is in litigation.
- Certain evidence needs to be preserved for or within a limited amount of time. For this reason, the sooner you contact an attorney and have a case filed, the better your chances will be of obtaining compensation and closure.
- There is a deadline called the “statute of limitations,” which establishes a set amount of time in which to file your claim. Don’t let the statute of limitations run for too long before you consult with a truck crash lawyer in Charlotte. It is important to give your attorney maximum time to research the accident, depose expert medical witnesses and any accident eyewitnesses, and plan your case.
How a Lawyer Can Help with Your Charlotte Commercial Truck Accident Claim
It’s heartbreaking to watch your loved ones suffer injuries or struggle to help you cope with the catastrophic losses of a truck accident. North Carolina’s truck driving accident victims ordinarily have three years only to file a legal claim against the negligent driver. A lawyer who promptly takes on a case will gather the evidence needed to establish that careless driving caused the accident or if other types of negligence caused the injuries.
Another area where a lawyer’s experience is critical is in demonstrating the severity of the damages or losses. The term “damages” is used to identify the following suffered after the accident:
- Long term financial & wage shortfalls
- Physical losses
- Property losses
- Psychological losses
- Emotional losses
Professional experience in this area can be central for proper adjudication and the final amount awarded. Experience in providing a real and robust picture of life’s struggles after the accident can make a difference in the final outcome and the impact a life-changing injury will have over time.
Our Personal Injury Lawyers In Charlotte Also Focus On The Following Practice Areas:
- Auto Accidents
- Bicycle Accidents
- Boating Accidents
- Bus Accidents
- Construction Accidents
- Drunk Driving Accidents
- Hit & Run Accidents
- Motorcycle Accidents
- Orthopedic Injuries
- Passenger Van Accidents
- Pedestrian Accidents
- Premises Liability
- Rideshare Accidents
- Slip & Fall Accidents
- Soft Tissue Injuries
- Spinal Cord Injuries
- TBI / Traumatic Brain Injury
- Teenage Driver Accidents
- Truck Accidents
- Uninsured/Underinsured Motorists
- Whiplash Injuries
- Wrongful Death
- Rear-End Accident
Commercial Truck Laws & Accident Statistics in North Carolina
There is ample evidence that truck accidents can be preventable. The 32% decline of 32 fatal crashes involving large trucks from 1980 to 2015 has been linked to precautionary measures. For example, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration requires drivers to go through routine physicals. Electronic logbooks of their hours have been implemented to avoid overexerted drivers on the roads. Under federal and state regulations, the length of time a commercial driver can spend behind the wheel has been proven to impact the driver’s efforts to comply with safety measures.
Truck drivers are also drug tested randomly and held to a much lower blood alcohol level than the general public in order to prevent accidents. In spite of all these preventive measures, truck driver negligence continues to cause accidents.
Moreover, commercial truck companies are notorious for fighting these cases and blaming other factors. Experience in this area of law can, therefore, be essential to a successful outcome. There are many elements at play in these cases that make experience a critical tool for effective legal representation.
In addition, accident reconstruction experts are allowed to testify in North Carolina truck negligence cases. Accident reconstruction is permitted in trials where an expert can assist the fact-finding process. The expert recreates the conditions, actions, speed, and other causes of the accident. This professional is expected to propose reliable conclusions as to the drivers’ actions and conditions in preventing or worsening the course of the accident’s events. This can be particularly complicated in truck cases where questions about the actions of the truck driver in failing to secure the hazardous cargo can be critical to demonstrating the ways in which injuries could have been prevented.
However, accident reconstruction isn’t needed in all cases and may turn to be a long and wasteful exercise in a situation where the facts can be substantiated with information that is widely available. A skilled attorney will fight for an injured victim’s rights and prevent a long and unnecessarily complicated judicial process. For example, A large truck is defined as a truck with a weight higher than 10,000 pounds. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has ample data showing that trucks weighing 33,000 pounds or more cause the most fatal accidents.
Contact Our Charlotte Commercial Truck Accident Attorneys Today For A Free Consultation
If there is clear proof a large commercial truck driver was speeding or careless in turning, then the data that is widely available compounded with the actions of the driver may make convoluted expert testimony a problematic tool. Commercial companies will try to complicate cases in order to avoid paying the injured victim. Seasoned commercial truck accident attorneys are generally familiars with these crafty tactics used to confuse and complicate juries.
It’s important to talk to a seasoned attorney before the time to seek legal redress runs out. Call your Charlotte truck accident attorney at (704) 377-3737.
Related Link:
Frequently Asked Questions for Commercial Truck Accident
A commercial truck is on that’s gross weight is over 10,001 pounds, used to transport goods across highways, and apart of a business. This can also include vehicles that are made to hold more than 15 passengers.
There is no deadline to inform your insurance company, but you should do so sooner than later. You will want to have that record for your personal injury case.
Per personal injury cases there is no cap to the amount of compensation you can receive for your injuries. The only damages that North Carolina caps are punitive damages.
More often than not a commercial truck accident will settle before going to trial. In most instances the insurance companies and attorneys work toward a settlement to avoid going to trial. If your case does go to trial then Dewey, Ramsay & Hunt, P.A. will be able to properly represent you.
In North Carolina you do have to have a commercial truck driver’s license in order to operate a truck on the roads. You can have a Class A or Class B DCL.
A truck driver must have a valid non-commercial driver’s license, a valid commercial truck driver’s license, be over the age of 21 to transport hazardous materials or to cross state lines, have at least a year of driving experience, get a medical clearance, and have no active suspensions.
North Carolina does offer punitive damages for truck accident cases, but it is not common. Punitive damages are given out rarely and only when the accident meets certain criteria. These damages may not exceed $250,000 or 3 times the amount of compensation already awarded, whichever amount if more.
The highest amount of fatal truck accidents in 2021 occurred between 6a.m. and 12 p.m. The most deadly day of the week being Wednesday.
Yes, the initial consultation with our Charlotte commercial truck accident lawyers is free of charge. This allows you the freedom to come in and explain your case and get some legal advice before pursuing a case. We can also help you determine if the case is valid, and represent you if you choose. To schedule a consultation please fill out this form.
You have up to 24 hours after the accident to report the accident to law enforcement. They will also need to do their own investigation of the accident with that time frame.