In most personal injury claims the primary legal theory upon which liability is based is “negligence.” For trucking accident personal injury claims, it’s no different. Because of that, your claim is required to prove negligence in their specific accident in the following way:
(Learn About Liability When Fault Can Be Shared Between the Parties Involved)
The Defendant Owed the Plaintiff a Duty of Care – All drivers on the roadways are required to give a duty of reasonable care to other drivers, passengers and pedestrians with whom they share the roads and streets. In trucking accident cases, drivers should be even more acutely aware of their duty of care to others because trucks and big rigs are capable of so much more damage than the average vehicle. Trucks often require two lanes of traffic to turn, depending on their size. They often carry heavy, and sometimes dangerous, freight. The force of power with which a truck may hit you can be so much greater than that of a car. And, therefore, it’s incumbent upon drivers to be even more careful.
The Defendant Failed to Exercise Reasonable Care – The driver clearly neglected their responsibilities to others on the road through perhaps reckless or negligent behavior. Whether it’s driving a truck in a highway lane that prohibits truck access; driving at rates of speed too high for conditions; or cutting off vehicles before a turn, if the driver behaved in a demonstrably reckless way on the highway, it may further your claim of liability.
The Defendant’s “Breach” of Duty of Care Was the Cause of the Plaintiff’s Injuries – For a plaintiff to collect damages there must be something concrete the damages are meant to compensate for. Typically, damages are meant to compensate for injuries or loss in personal injury claims and the driver’s failure to exercise a duty of care on the road must be the cause of those injuries for your claim to be rewarded.
Essentially, truck drivers have the same kind of responsibilities other drivers on the roadways have toward their fellow drivers, passengers and pedestrians. But trucks are capable of much more damage than other vehicles on the roads. After all, commercial truck drivers require specific training and licensure to get behind the wheels. When they fail to exercise the care that training is meant to provide, the results can be tragic.
If you’ve been injured as a result of another driver’s negligence on the road, your first priority should always be to seek medical evaluation and treatment. Thereafter, it’s important to seek the counsel of an experienced personal injury attorney who can evaluate your claim, help to document the evidence and witness testimony in your case, and negotiate for all the the damages to which you are entitled.
If you’ve been injured in a trucking accident, the defendant can quickly grow to a list of defendants (from trucking companies to manufacturers and more) and they each may have a battery of insurers and attorneys eager to settle your claim quickly. Contact the experienced trucking accident attorneys of Bizzieri Law Offices in Chicago at 773.881.9000 for a free consultation and get the representation you need to win the compensation you deserve.
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