Truck Accident Lawyer Virginia Beach
A young Navy servicemember was riding his motorcycle on Virginia Beach Boulevard in Virginia Beach, Virginia, when his life was tragically cut short by a devastating collision with a commercial truck. The truck driver failed to yield the right-of-way and caused the crash. Our client suffered a traumatic brain injury and died at the scene.
A large truck accident often causes catastrophic injuries and sometimes death. The sheer size and weight of a big truck make it nearly impossible for smaller passenger cars, pickups, and motorcycles to emerge unscathed.
At Shapiro, Washburn, & Sharp, we understand how overwhelming these accidents can be to individuals and their families. We also know that pursuing a truck injury claim without professional legal assistance can reduce your chances of obtaining the compensation you deserve.
If you or a loved one was seriously hurt in a large truck accident, call our Virginia Beach truck accident attorneys today at 833-997-1774 for a free consultation. We have extensive experience in this area of the law and know how to build a strong case in your favor.
The Devastating Impact of Large Truck Accidents
The Virginia Highway Safety Office reports that in 2022, there were 2,981 large truck crashes in Virginia. These resulted in 60 fatalities and 844 injuries.
Collisions with large trucks often result in severe, life-altering injuries or fatalities. The greater mass of the truck leads to a higher momentum, resulting in more forceful impacts. Commercial trucks can weigh up to 80,000 pounds when fully loaded, making them much heavier than standard passenger vehicles, which, on average, weigh around 3,000 pounds.
Because of their size, trucks also require more distance to come to a stop. They are less maneuverable than smaller vehicles, making it harder for them to evade obstacles. They may be transporting heavy or dangerous materials, which may escape in an accident and cause more damage.
And though it may seem clear that the accident was the truck driver’s fault, it’s always best to talk to a truck accident attorney before filing an injury claim. Accidents involving large trucks are typically much more complex than regular car accidents.
Why You Need an Experienced Truck Accident Lawyer
While any motor vehicle accident can cause injuries and fatalities, truck accidents are more complicated for the following reasons.
Size and Force of Impact
While a car accident typically involves vehicles of a similar size and weight, a large truck accident involves a large commercial truck versus a much smaller vehicle, typically resulting in greater damage and injuries.
Injury Severity
While car accidents can cause severe injuries and fatalities, truck accidents may result in even more severe results due to the size discrepancy between the vehicles.
Liability
While liability in a car accident is usually limited to the drivers involved, liability in a truck accident may include the truck driver, trucking company, cargo loader, maintenance contractor, and manufacturer.
Regulations
Whereas state traffic laws mainly govern passenger vehicles, large trucks must comply with federal regulations, operate under hours-of-service rules, and maintain driving and maintenance logs.
Evidence
In a car accident, evidence such as police reports, photos, and witness statements is important in an injury claim. In a truck accident, additional evidence comes into play, including black box data, driver logs, trucking company records, maintenance history, and employment background checks.
Insurance
In most personal injury cases, the insurance company pays the compensation. In a car accident, you typically deal with one policy per driver. However, in a truck accident, multiple insurance companies may be involved, including the driver’s insurance and policies covering the trucking and cargo companies.
Legal Process
Whereas a car accident claim typically follows a straightforward legal process, a truck accident claim requires a deep investigation, expert testimony, and a litigation strategy that considers larger corporate legal teams.
Because of all these complexities, truck accident claims demand a higher level of legal and technical language. Trucking companies have large insurance companies and, typically, larger legal departments that start building a defense the moment a crash is reported. If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, you need a knowledgeable legal team on your side to match that power and experience.
How Can a Truck Accident Injury Attorney Help?
At Shapiro, Washburn, and Sharp, we will gather all pertinent evidence—including accident reports, witness statements, and electronic data from the truck’s black box—to build a strong claim for you. It is best, however, to contact us right away so that the trucking company’s lawyers don’t get ahead of you when it comes to evidence-gathering.
We will also identify all potentially liable parties, including the driver, trucking company, vehicle manufacturers, and cargo company. We’ll look at all possible factors that may have led to the accident, including driver fatigue, improper truck maintenance, or regulatory violations.
Another big part of our job is properly calculating your damages. We’ll evaluate the full extent of your losses, including not just your medical expenses but also your lost wages, pain and suffering, and potential future rehabilitation costs.
Finally, we will negotiate with the insurance companies on your behalf and, if necessary, represent you in court to pursue the compensation you deserve.
If you or a loved one was hurt in a devastating truck accident, contact us at Shapiro, Washburn, & Sharp immediately. We will fight for you as we did for that motorcycle victim mentioned above. During mediation, we helped negotiate a $1.85 million settlement for our client’s beneficiaries.
You can find us in Virginia Beach, Hampton, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Chesapeake.
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