Henderson Truck Accident Attorney

Henderson, NV is a sprawling mix of metropolitan and suburban areas, and trucks are the main method of getting goods and deliveries to the area. This makes local areas into shipping corridors and means thousands of trucks come through nearly daily.

If you are hit by a truck, your accident case is often more serious than with car-to-car crashes. Truck accidents are often more severe because of the massive size of 18-wheelers. Moreover, these cases are more complex because they involve two defendants at once: the driver and the company they work for.

For a free case evaluation, call Mitchell Rogers Injury Law’s truck accident attorneys at (702) 702-2622.

Who Do I Sue in a Truck Accident Case?

In most truck accident cases, you can sue the driver and the trucking company they work for. However, having both defendants complicates the case.

Suing Truck Drivers

Truckers can be individually liable for what they did to cause your crash. In some cases, truckers are self-employed with no company to sue. In those cases, their insurance should pay for damages.

Suing Trucking Companies

When the trucker works for a larger company, they can be held liable in two ways:

  • For their own violations, such as negligent truck maintenance, negligent hiring, and regulatory violations
  • In their role as the trucker’s employer

Direct Liability

Since trucking companies own the trucks, they are responsible for broken or unmaintained equipment in many cases. They are also responsible for issues with the drivers they hire, such as keeping a driver on the road after a series of bad accidents.

In some crashes, you and the truck driver are both victims of the trucking company’s dangerous decisions.

Vicarious Liability

Since the trucker works for them, the trucking company can be held “vicariously liable” as their employer. In the same way that any other company can be held liable for what its workers do, trucking companies are responsible if these conditions are met:

  • The truck driver committed negligence while working as an employee.
  • The crash happened during the scope of the trucker’s work.

Trucking companies may try to dodge liability by calling their drivers “independent contractors,” but this is not always accurate. Additionally, they may try to say their trucker was off course or on a personal errand, but the “scope” of a trucker’s job is often broad enough to cover stops and detours.

Proving Fault in a Truck Accident Case in Henderson, NV

For a truck driver or trucking company to be at fault, you need proof that they violated a legal duty they owed you, causing the crash. This is often a simple traffic violation, such as speeding, running a red light, or turning into traffic without yielding. It may also involve three major issues:

  • Tired driving
  • Distracted driving
  • Drunk driving.

Sometimes crashes are caused by simple mistakes, such as misjudging space, failing to check blind spots, or failing to check for smaller vehicles and pedestrians.

Trucking companies and truckers are also required to follow trucking regulations on these issues:

  • Driver health and safety qualifications
  • Hours of service limits
  • Equipment requirements
  • Maintenance requirements
  • Loading and tie-down requirements
  • Weight limits
  • Driver training and licensure
  • Log-keeping requirements

If any of these rules were violated, it might supply proof of fault. For example, if a trucking company ordered its drivers to violate hours of service limits and drive tired, they could be liable when the driver falls asleep at the wheel.

What to Do After a Truck Accident

After a crash, you should get yourself to safety and call 911. The police and ambulance crews who respond can take care of you, get you to the hospital, and start keeping police reports and medical records. However, there are other steps you can take, too.

You should collect as much evidence as you can after a crash. If you need to go straight to the hospital, focus on that first.

Otherwise, if you can, collect all of the following:

  • Driver names and contact info
  • Driver insurance info
  • Passenger and witness contact info
  • The responding officer’s name and contact info
  • Pictures of the crash
  • Pictures of injuries
  • Weather, lighting, and road condition information
  • Location of the crash, including cross-streets and/or mile markers.

In the aftermath of the accident, our car accident lawyers can help you seek additional evidence. We can track medical records, vehicle repair costs, lost wages, and communications from doctors and police officers.

We can also look for other evidence like security cameras or dash cameras that might have recorded the crash. It is important to call us as soon as you can, as some of this evidence can be destroyed or lost over time.

Common Truck Accident Injuries and Damages

Truck accident victims often face serious injuries compared to drivers and passengers in other car accidents. Because trucks can often weigh up to 80,000 pounds, crashes can easily crush smaller cars and leave victims with lifelong injuries.

Head injuries, broken bones, back and spine injuries, and other temporarily or permanently disabling injuries are quite common. If your car is crushed by the weight of a truck, you could easily face crush injuries or amputations as well.

Our attorneys can help you seek compensation for both immediate and future medical care costs. If you faced a debilitating injury, you might need years of skilled nursing care or at least ongoing physical therapy and rehabilitation.

Along with emergency treatment and hospital stays, medical care can be quite expensive, so it is vital to get yours paid through a truck accident lawsuit.

Should I Settle My Henderson Truck Accident Case?

Most injury cases ultimately end in a settlement. “Settling” does not mean giving up on your case, and settling for the right value is actually a win.

The insurance company’s initial offer might be too low, so always review settlement offers and have your lawyer negotiate for a proper settlement.

In the end, accepting a settlement saves both sides time and money, potentially resulting in the best outcome. However, if the settlement is too low, our lawyers can fight the case in court instead.

Call Our Truck Accident Lawyers in Henderson, NV Today

Call (702) 702-2622 for a free case evaluation with the truck accident lawyers at Mitchell Rogers Injury Law.