Albuquerque Truck Accident Lawyer
If you’ve been involved in an accident with a commercial vehicle, you need to contact an Albuquerque truck accident lawyer right away.
Truck accidents can result in severe, life-altering injuries like amputations, traumatic brain injuries, internal organ damage, and spinal cord trauma. n these challenging situations, an attorney can play a crucial role in helping you pursue fair compensation for your or a loved one’s injuries or, in tragic cases, wrongful death.
According to the most recently available data (2013), there are more than 327,000 accidents involving commercial trucks in the United States each year.
A skilled truck crash lawyer can also assist you in combating insurance companies’ bad-faith tactics to maximize your recovery. Your attorney will ensure that you’re not taken advantage of by insurance carriers and will conduct a thorough investigation to gather evidence for your case.
Truck Accident Law
While typical car accident claims usually involve just two parties – the victim and the at-fault driver – commercial truck accidents bring multiple other parties into the equation due to their involvement in transporting cargo.
In a commercial truck lawsuit or claim, you or your attorney may need to address not only the negligent truck driver but also the trucking company, cargo company, cargo loaders, maintenance teams, part manufacturers, and other relevant parties.
It’s not just the negligent truck driver who’s accountable. You may be able to seek compensation from the entire trucking company.
Holding a trucking company responsible could lead to more substantial compensation for your injuries and losses compared to relying solely on the insurance benefits of a single driver. For instance, trucking companies typically carry higher insurance coverage.
In most cases, trucking companies are responsible for the negligence of their drivers and workers and may be held liable for accidents involving faulty trucks, inadequate maintenance, and negligent or poorly trained drivers.
If you’re worried about facing a powerful trucking company in an injury claim, it’s important that you enlist an experienced truck accident attorney in Albuquerque to help strengthen your case.
Common Causes of Truck-Involved Accidents
Commercial trucks are subject to strict laws and both state and federal safety regulations.
These regulations are designed to enhance commercial trucking safety and reduce related traffic accidents. When it comes to safety, trucking companies bear numerous responsibilities. They must meet cargo securement standards, hiring and training requirements, and mandatory vehicle maintenance.
Any breach of these duties by the company or its employees could lead to a truck accident.
The most common causes of truck accidents include:
- DUI drivers
- Negligent, distracted, or fatigued drivers
- Blindspot accidents
- Tailgating or speeding
- Failure to yield the right-of-way
- Unsafe lane changes or merges
- Poorly maintained trucks
- Truck part or equipment failures
- Improper cargo loading and lost cargo loads
Our lawyers possess the necessary tools and resources to thoroughly investigate the causes of your accident, including issues of negligence.
They can promptly collect evidence of negligence, such as preserving the truck’s black box data and subpoenaing cellphone records. With this information, your attorney can bring your claim for damages against the driver or trucking company.
They’re committed to safeguarding the rights of individuals in claims against large and influential transportation companies.
How a Truck Accident Attorney Can Help
An attorney who specializes in vehicle accidents can help determine if you’re eligible to receive compensation for pain and suffering or other financial damages. They can also help ensure that you receive payment for all the medical benefits and lost wages that you’re entitled to.
Their services typically include:
Investigation
Your Albuquerque truck accident lawyer will thoroughly investigate the accident scene, capture photographs of physical evidence, and conduct a comprehensive inquiry to ascertain the accident’s cause.
Expert Witnesses
Attorneys often have strong relationships with investigators and experts, including those in the commercial trucking industry.
These experts can assist your attorney in planning a winning legal strategy by reviewing the evidence and details of your case. Your lawyer may engage other experts, such as engineers, economists, and caregivers, as well.
Gathering Evidence
All of the driving errors mentioned above are considered preventable, which means that they’re indicative of negligence on the part of a professional truck driver. Gathering and confirming evidence of this negligence is a critical step in building a successful truck accident case.
Evidence should be gathered from the accident scene and the involved vehicles as soon as possible, and measures should be taken to ensure that evidence is preserved and not tampered with.
Common records that a truck crash lawyer may look for can include the driver’s Hours of Service logs, cargo manifests, and any maintenance records.
In certain cases, a truck’s failure or the failure of its components (e.g., tires, brakes, steering) may have led to the crash. Maintenance records may reveal that the carrier postponed necessary repairs, allowing an unsafe truck to be on the road.
It’s also crucial in semi-trailer truck accident investigations to get access to the involved truck’s event data recorder (EDR). This provides valuable data about how the truck was operating just before the crash.
This data can include:
- Date and time of the crash
- Vehicle speed at the time of the crash
- Braking and clutch status
- Position of throttle (gas pedal)
- Status of cruise control
- Angle of steering
- Other relevant data
More information may be accessible from the EDR as well, depending on the age and model of the truck involved in the crash.
Your Albuquerque truck accident lawyer may also look into other sources of evidence like cellphone records, credit card records and receipts, weather and traffic reports, and recall notices for the truck or its parts.
If it can be shown that identified problems were not addressed by the driver or trucking company, and they may have contributed to the truck’s failure and crash, the truck owner or trucking company could be held accountable.
Compensation
When you consult us about a truck accident, it’s usually because you believe that negligent or reckless parties owe you compensation.
In many instances, this belief is well-founded, and we aim to hold negligent parties accountable by demanding fair compensation for associated losses. A successful truck accident case can reimburse you for both economic and non-economic damages resulting from the collision.
In a truck accident lawsuit, our team will strive to secure two types of truck accident compensation:
Financial Damages: These can include your out-of-pocket expenses like current and past medical bills, damage to your property, lost wages, physical therapy, at-home nursing care expenses, and home modification costs that were required due to the accident.
Non-financial Damages: These are more abstract and may not be easily quantified. They may include potentially lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, grief, emotional counseling, and, in some cases, punitive damages awarded by the courts as a form of punishment for a negligent driver or the trucking company.
Other compensable damages in trucking accident claims may include:
- Travel expenses
- Legal fees
- Vehicle damage repair costs
- Lost quality of life
- Wrongful death damages
Generally, more severe injuries tend to result in higher compensatory awards. We are dedicated to pursuing maximum recovery awards for all our clients.
Time Limit for Filing a Truck Accident Claim in Albuquerque
You should act promptly if you are involved in a truck accident in Albuquerque.
As an injured accident victim, you have a limited window of time to file a claim. In New Mexico, the statute of limitations for most personal injury cases is three years from the date of the collision (four years for property damage-only claims).
However, you need to consult with an attorney as soon as possible after the accident to avoid the loss of critical evidence.
Gathering Evidence To Build Your Truck Accident Claim
To seek compensation for your truck accident injuries, your lawyer must establish that the driver’s or the trucking company’s actions directly caused the crash.
This can involve several factors, including inadequate maintenance, failure to adhere to driving hour limits, improper cargo loading, and other contributing factors.
Several pieces of evidence can be instrumental in building your claim, although some of the most crucial documents are often accessible to the trucking company. Your truck accident attorney can assist you in obtaining these vital pieces of evidence from the company, which may include:
- Maintenance records for the truck
- Truck inspection reports or reports prepared by certified inspectors after the accident
- Black box data from the truck, which offers essential information about the driver’s actions leading up to the crash
- The truck driver’s logbooks detailing their driving hours and rest breaks
- The driver’s qualifications, including licensing information, driving records, and work history
- Reports from weigh stations and loading docks where the driver stopped
- Drug and alcohol test results conducted after the collision
- Information from advanced truck devices, such as inclinometers, on-board computers, and GPS devices
In addition to interviewing individuals involved in the crash, your attorney may also seek evidence from sources such as cellphone records, credit card records and receipts, weather and traffic reports, and recall notices for the truck.
If identified problems were not addressed and can be shown to have contributed to the truck’s failure and crash, the semi-truck owner could be held responsible.
Steps To Take After a Truck Accident
Given the size and weight of commercial trucks, any collision between a truck and a smaller vehicle can have devastating consequences, resulting in severe and debilitating injuries requiring medical attention.
In such situations, your top priority should be your health and safety.
After a truck accident:
- Safely stop your vehicle in a secure location.
- Immediately dial 911 to request emergency assistance.
- Seek medical attention for your injuries.
- Preserve all records related to your hospitalization and subsequent medical treatments.
If you can move safely around the accident site without risking further injury, you can also take steps to preserve evidence for your future claim or commercial truck lawsuit.
When the responding police officer arrives at the scene, provide a statement about the accident and collect their information for accessing the accident report later. Capture as many photographs as possible, documenting your injuries, vehicle damage, and the accident scene’s surroundings, including debris, skid marks, and traffic signs and signals.
Exchange contact information with the truck driver, but avoid engaging in lengthy discussions about the accident. If there are witnesses present, obtain their contact details as well.
Don’t make any statements about your injury or admit to any fault while talking with anyone at the scene. You should also avoid speaking with insurance or company representatives until you have consulted with your attorney.
Determining Fault in an Albuquerque Trucking Accident
If you intend to file a lawsuit against a truck driver or a trucking company, you and your attorney must establish negligence to secure a settlement. Negligence is a legal concept forming the basis of many civil lawsuits, including truck accident claims.
To establish liability for the company or the driver, you must present evidence supporting four essential elements:
- The at-fault party owed you a duty of care.
- The at-fault party breached this duty of care.
- The breach of care directly led to the accident.
- You suffered damages in the accident that you can claim in the lawsuit.
Truck drivers and their employers bear the responsibility of adhering to the law and industry regulations, driving safely, and maintaining safe vehicles.
If you can demonstrate that the at-fault party violated any of these duties, resulting in your accident, you are likely to establish liability in your claim.
If you’ve been injured in a truck-related accident, it’s essential that your case is handled by an experienced Albuquerque truck accident lawyer. One who can provide you with peace of mind so you can focus on your physical and emotional recovery.
If you have sustained injuries or lost a loved one in a truck crash, don’t delay.
Contact Barrera Law Group LLC today to safeguard your rights.