A collision with a large truck or tractor trailer can cause devastating consequences. The chances of suffering a serious or fatal injury are significantly increased because of the sheer size and weight of commercial trucks.
If you have been injured or lost a loved one in a truck accident, it is in your best interest to hire an experienced Windsor truck accident lawyer. Truck accident cases are complicated, and you will want a lawyer on your side who has experience handling these types of complex cases.
Some of the most important reasons to hire a truck accident lawyer include:
1. Determining Liability is Difficult
Determining liability in a car accident between two passenger vehicles is generally straightforward. Through an investigation, conversation with witnesses and review of the police report, you can determine which driver acted in a negligent or careless way and caused the accident. In more complicated cases, both parties will have contributed to the accident in some way.
However, determining liability in a truck accident can be much more complicated. There are often several parties involved in the manufacturing, maintenance and driving of the vehicle, and each of these parties could potentially be held liable depending on the circumstances of the accident.
Some of the parties that could be liable for a truck accident include the:
- Truck driver
- Truck driver’s employer
- Manufacturer of the truck or any of its parts
- Company that owns the truck or trailer
An experienced truck accident lawyer will have the resources to conduct a thorough investigation of your accident to determine its exact cause and the parties that could be responsible. In some cases, several parties could be held liable.
Our lawyers will work to hold all liable parties responsible for any failure to maintain a safe and functioning truck that would not cause harm to others.
2. Negotiations Can Be Complex
Because there are often multiple parties involved in a truck accident, you need a truck accident lawyer who has experience successfully negotiating against every type of party that could be involved.
Each potentially liable party will have its own insurance company backed by teams of lawyers who are focused solely on denying liability and paying as little as possible for your claim.
Our truck accident lawyers have decades of experience working directly with insurance companies on behalf of our clients. We are committed to ensuring your best interests are well-represented and helping you obtain the maximum compensation you deserve.
Because of the severe injuries caused by truck accidents, injury victims will likely require extensive and expensive medical care. We will work to help you obtain the full compensation you need to pay for your medical care and the other expenses related to your injury.
3. There are Laws and Regulations Specific to the Trucking Industry
The Ministry of Transportation requires that all commercial vehicles comply with strict regulations to ensure the safety of all road users.
Filing a personal injury lawsuit for a truck accident requires in-depth knowledge of these many rules, some of which include:
- Truck drivers must meet certain requirements to obtain a commercial truck driver’s license.
- Drivers must abide by the hours-of-service regulation, which outlines the maximum driving times and minimum off-duty times of commercial vehicle drivers.
- Commercial motor vehicles and trailers must be inspected annually and semiannually at minimum.
- To reduce wheel separation or wheel-off incidents, there are also daily inspection requirements for drivers and operators.
- Most trucks driving in Ontario are required to use electronic speed limiters that cap their speed at 105 km/h.
- Commercial vehicles cannot exceed a certain weight limit
Our lawyers are experienced with these laws and will be able to determine if any party’s violation of a law caused your accident.
4. We Only Handle Personal Injury Cases
After a truck accident, you want a lawyer on your side who has experience handling these types of cases. As experienced personal injury lawyers in Ontario, we only handle personal injury cases, such as truck accidents.
This enables us to focus our skills in a few practice areas where we have decades of experience. We know what it takes to build a strong claim on your behalf and how to negotiate a fair settlement with the insurance company and at-fault party.
You can trust that we will do everything we can to help you obtain the compensation you need after an accident.
We also work on a contingency fee basis, which means we will not charge you anything unless we recover compensation for you.
Contact Greg Monforton & Partners today for a free, no obligation consultation to learn more about how we can help you.
Call (866) 320-4770 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form.