July 15, 2020
Trucking Accidents
What You Need To Know About Trucking Accidents
If you have been involved in a trucking accident and sustained injuries, the attorneys at Tuttle Larsen, P.A., will aggressively fight for you. We will use our vast knowledge and understanding of Florida accident and personal injury law to protect your legal rights and obtain the maximum financial compensation for you.
Accidents involving trucks are very different than passenger car accidents. First of all, many commercial trucks weigh close to, if not more than, 80,000 pounds when they are completely loaded with cargo. The average passenger car weighs 3,000 pounds. A truck doesn’t have to be traveling that fast upon impact to cause serious damage and injury. Additionally, if the cargo the truck is hauling is dangerous and it explodes or leaks as a result of the accident, then damages and injuries could be devastating. Some other factors that lead to trucking accidents include:
- Insufficient training with regard to safely operating a large vehicle
- Unreasonable driving schedules that require truck drivers to spend excessive hours on the road
- High-pressure compensation programs that incentivize truck drivers to speed
- Large commercial trucks are more likely to jackknife on the road in an attempt to avoid an accident.
- Trucks are also capable of more accidents while making turns because of their length and size
The lawyers practicing at Tuttle Larsen, P.A., are skilled and ready to litigate your trucking accident case. We are fluent in the Florida laws governing personal injury and trucking accidents and will fight to protect your rights. You can count on us to seek the maximum possible recovery for your injuries.
18-Wheelers Pose Many Dangers
At any given time of the day, countless 18-wheelers and semi trucks can be seen driving along Florida highways and roadways. The enormous size and weight of 18-wheelers, not to mention any potentially dangerous cargo they may be hauling, pose many dangers to other motorists. The accidents between passenger cars and 18-wheelers are often catastrophic. There are many scenarios that lead to accidents with 18-wheelers and they include:
- Truck drivers failing to account for their “blind” spots
- 18-wheelers fail to provide adequate room for the vehicles in front of them.
- 18-wheelers making dangerous turns without giving other motorists adequate warning
- 18-wheelers driving at speeds unsafe for the conditions
- Unsafe merging into moving traffic forces motorists to take evasive action to avoid a collision
- 18-wheelers switching lanes while not accounting for the speed of the traffic in that lane
- Truck drivers falling asleep or losing focus behind the wheel due to violations of driving time regulations
- Equipment failure or other accidents caused by improper maintenance
Unfortunately, if you drive on Florida roads and highways you must share them with commercial trucks of all sizes carrying all kinds of cargo. When the drivers of these large vehicles, or the people responsible for maintaining them, fail to follow proper safety guidelines, the results can be tragic.
Trucking Accident Legal Help
If you have been involved in a trucking accident, the experienced injury attorneys at Tuttle Larsen, P.A., are ready to fight to protect your legal rights and seek compensation for your injuries. We have the experience and legal acumen to litigate this very specialized area of accident law to your benefit. To schedule your initial consultation, call us at 772-563-0032 or fill out our quick contact web form. We welcome the opportunity to file a personal injury claim on your behalf and work toward achieving your compensation goals.
We never forget that real people and communities are behind every case.
Serving injured individuals and families in Vero Beach, Fellsmere, Fort Pierce, Palm Bay, and Melbourne.
Trucking Accident Lawyer FAQs
What is the purpose of a consultation?
Anyone who is dealing with a legal problem that needs to be solved right away is encouraged to meet with a lawyer. Having a consultation can illuminate your legal issues. With the help of a trusted and qualified lawyer, you will not have to evaluate your case alone. They can review your case and examine potential legal solutions so that you can get the outcome you are hoping for. During your consultation, here are some topics that you may want to make sure that you will discuss.
What makes a truck accident lawyer highly qualified?
When you are trying to hire a competent and reliable lawyer who has experience handling cases involving trucking accidents that is the right fit for your particular legal issue, you will want to consider their qualifications. A quality lawyer will be able to explain their education, background, and skills in detail. When you are discussing qualifications, ask the lawyer what their legal background is and how they have applied their skills. Ask them what kind of results that they have been able to achieve for past clients. They should be able to give various examples of case results to illustrate how they have previously handled similar cases to yours.
What kind of case experience should a lawyer have?
In addition to core qualifications, a lawyer should possess many years of legal experience. You do not want to hire a novice lawyer that has not yet achieved a lengthy list of accomplishments. Depending on the demands and circumstances of your truck accident case, your needs may vary. If you have been in a multiple-party accident for example, you should hire a lawyer who has experience working on such cases. Ask a lawyer what kind of case experience that they have achieved over their years of litigation practice. If they are not able to explain what cases that they have worked on, you may want to find a different lawyer.
What are my legal rights?
Your rights as a personal injury accident victim are important, and you should be aware of what your basic rights are. It is important for several reasons. First of all, it will enable you to avoid getting manipulated into taking the blame for an accident. Another reason is that it will help you maximize the compensation amount that you are entitled to receive. You do not want to end up with a much lower settlement amount than what you can actually get. If you have questions about your legal rights, a skilled trucking accidents lawyer such as one from Tuttle Law, P.A. will be able to give you detailed answers.
When Is The Right Time To See A Lawyer?
If you have been in a trucking accident that has resulted in you suffering injuries or many losses, you may want to find out if hiring a lawyer can benefit you. When you are trying to resolve a personal injury that you do not know how to solve, you may end up making your situation worse. Legal issues come with many challenges and hurdles, and if you do now know what exactly you are doing, you may end up with a less than ideal outcome. Thankfully, there are legal services that you can rely on to help you navigate our case. To find out what legal services you can receive from a qualified lawyer with experience working on trucking accidents, schedule a consultation.
July 15, 2020
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Do I need an attorney when I am injured in an auto accident?
Yes. When you hire an attorney at Tuttle Law, you will get a team of people organizing and collecting evidence as well as negotiating and advocating on your behalf. Without an attorney, you will be forced to navigate your injury claim not knowing the applicable laws and can make a mistake that no attorney can fix.
What does it cost?
Tuttle Law gets paid the same way every injury attorney in the state of Florida gets paid, on a contingency fee basis. Our fee is typically 33 1/3% of your recovery. That means that we only get paid if we get a recovery for you.
Why should I hire Tuttle Law?
We are different than the firms you see on TV and billboards. At Tuttle Law, you will speak to an attorney, not a case manager, about your case and your injuries. We understand that this is a difficult process and we do everything we can to make ourselves available for you.
Tuttle Law almost exclusively handles personal injury cases so we have made a strong impression on insurance companies by proving time and again that we will fight to defend our clients from their aggressive tactics.
What are the initial steps of my auto accident case?
Who will pay for my medical bills?
In Florida, motorists are required to have $10,000 of personal injury protection (PIP) coverage on their automobile insurance policies. When you are injured in an auto accident, your own PIP coverage pays your medical bills and lost wages until the PIP coverage is exhausted. PIP pays 80% of your medical bills and 60% of your lost wages. At the conclusion of your case, the defendant’s insurance company will pay any unpaid amount of your medical bills and lost wages. Once your PIP coverage is exhausted, you can also use your health insurance to pay your accident-related medical bills, if you have health insurance. If your health insurance pays accident-related medical bills, you will likely be required to reimburse your health insurance company for these payments at the conclusion of your case.
In the beginning stages of your case, we will notify the other party and any involved insurance companies that you have retained us to represent you. We will also request the insurance company to give us a copy of any statements you may have given them before you retained us.
We will send letters to your doctors and hospitals, notifying them that you have retained us to represent you and requesting that they do not give medical information to the insurance adjuster for the other party. We will contact the investigating officer and witnesses for their statements. We may also request your employment information to document your economic loss.
How long will my auto accident case take?
It is important to understand that your case cannot be settled until your injuries have been fully evaluated. It generally takes some time to obtain the necessary medical information because a doctor cannot answer many questions until your treatment has reached a plateau. Typically, we will have to wait six to nine months from the date of an accident before we receive a full medical report regarding your injuries from your doctor. Once we have a clear picture of your injuries, we can then prepare a settlement demand letter to the responsible party.
What is my case worth?
What do I need to prove to win my auto accident lawsuit?
First, you must prove that the other driver was negligent. Second, under Florida law, you must prove that you sustained a permanent injury to be eligible for compensation for your pain and suffering. For this reason, you will need to have your injuries thoroughly evaluated and we will need to obtain a final report from your doctor before we can move forward with your case.
What are the most common causes of auto accidents?
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the leading causes of auto accidents are speeding, distracted driving, running red lights, drunk driving, and rain.
Determining the worth of a personal injury claim depends on many factors some of which are: how seriously you are injured, the specific facts of the case, and the insurance limits that are available. Ultimately, there is no special formula to decide your case value but the attorneys at Tuttle Law have years of experience that will be utilized to maximize your compensation.
How much auto insurance is required in Florida?
Under Florida law, drivers are only required to carry $10,000 of property damage coverage and $10,000 of personal injury protection coverage. Unfortunately, Florida is one of only a few states that does not require drivers to carry bodily injury liability coverage. Bodily injury liability coverage pays for injuries a negligent driver causes to other people.
If a negligent driver does not have this coverage, the injured party can look to their own insurance policy to see if they have purchase uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. This coverage provides protection when the at-fault driver doesn’t have any coverage, or doesn’t have enough coverage, to compensate the injured party for all damages.
How long do I have to file a personal injury lawsuit?
For the most part, you must file a lawsuit in a personal injury case no later than four years after the date of the incident, or you will be forever barred from pursuing your claim. Please note, there are a number of situations which require lawsuits or notice to the defendant much sooner than four years. If you are considering the possibility of hiring a lawyer, it is generally best to do it as soon as possible.
Contact Us Today
According to Florida law, you have a limited amount of time to file suit against the party that caused the accident. Give us a call today at 772-563-0032 or contact us online to schedule a free initial consultation at our Vero Beach offices. Our fees are contingent; we do not get paid unless you win your case.