What You Need to Show to Recover Compensation for Your Losses
When you’ve been injured in an accident involving a commercial truck, chances are your injuries are significant. After all, a semi, tractor-trailer, 18-wheeler or big rig can legally carry up to 80,000 pounds. Even the largest passenger vehicles (the Chevy Suburban is the heaviest) come in at less than 7,000 pounds. Though it can often seem to you that the causes of the accident were obvious, proving liability in a truck accident claim can be challenging, mostly because there are so many different factors that can contribute to an accident:
- Driver fatigue
- Poor maintenance of the truck
- Dangerous or defective components (brakes, steering mechanism, tires)
- Poorly maintained roadways
- Operator error
- Lack of training, experience or supervision
What Must You Prove to Win a Truck Accident Lawsuit?
Though you can always file a lawsuit based on the intentional and wrongful acts of another person, as a practical matter, most personal injury claims are based on allegations of negligence. To succeed with a negligence claim, you must show three things:
- That the person from whom you seek compensation (the defendant) failed to act as a reasonable person would under the circumstances (drove too fast, failed to properly maintain the truck, etc.)
- That the failure to act reasonably caused the accident
- That you suffered actual losses as a consequence of the accident
What Types of Evidence Can Be Used to Support Your Claim?
Evidence can be obtained from a variety of sources:
- Eyewitness testimony from persons involved in the accident or from bystanders
- Testimony from expert witnesses, such as accident reconstruction specialists
- Data gathered from the truck’s “black box recorder”
- The official accident report filed with law enforcement officers
- Forensic evidence, such as examination of vehicles, roadway conditions or injuries sustained
- Pictures taken at the scene of the accident
Contact the Law Offices of David J. Karbasian, PC
Send us an e-mail today or call us at 856-667-4666 / 856-600-HURT to schedule an appointment to discuss your personal injury claim. Evening and weekend consultations are available upon request. We can come to your home or the hospital to meet with you, if necessary.
