Rear-End Accidents Involving Commercial Trucks

Large commercial vehicles like semis, tractor-trailers, or tanker trucks rear-end smaller passenger vehicles with devastating results. Worst of all, in the overwhelming majority of cases, the driver of the rear-ended car is completely without fault, and the occupants of that vehicle never saw the collision coming up behind them.Rear-end accident victims are typically entitled to recover compensation for their losses, and the skilled truck accident lawyers at Trust Guss Injury Lawyers, are always prepared for whatever the truck driver, trucking company, and insurance company throw at us. We won’t let them push you around or cheat you out of the compensation you deserve! To schedule a free case evaluation with our aggressive truck accident law firm, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, call our office or contact us online.

National Trucking Accident Attorney Stewart J. Guss discusses trucking safety on national news with Mike Papantonio on America’s Lawyer

What Causes Rear-End Accidents Involving Commercial Trucks?

Rear-end accidents can happen for a variety of reasons, but they typically don’t happen in the absence of someone’s negligence. While it’s certainly true that the fact that commercial trucks can weigh as much as 80,000 pounds makes them harder to stop, truck drivers have a duty to know how to drive their vehicles without putting other motorists at an unreasonable risk of harm. In addition, if a fleet owner is doing his or her job correctly, his or her trucks will have good brakes and other safety equipment that will allow a qualified truck driver to avoid rear-ending another vehicle. Here are some of the more common causes of rear-end trucking accidents:

• Distracted driving
• Driving while impaired by drugs or alcohol
• Texting and driving
• Speeding
• Failing to observe traffic signals
• Ignoring adverse weather conditions
• Faulty brakes
• Worn tires

It is important to reiterate that rear-end accidents are almost always the fault of the driver in the vehicle that did the rear-ending. For this reason, victims the law almost always entitles rear-end accident victims to compensation for their injuries.

Do You Really Need a Lawyer to Represent You After a Rear-End Accident With a Commercial Truck?

Yes.

Because the insurance company knows it’s on the hook after a rear-end accident, they’re often very quick to make victims’ a seemingly generous offer. This often leads victims to wonder whether they really need to take the time and spend the money associated with retaining a law firm.

Anyone who has sustained an injury in an accident with a commercial truck should retain an experienced law firm.

It is important to understand that while the insurance company may be offering you money just for “signing on the dotted line,” they are actually doing everything they can to pay out as little as possible. Trucking insurers are for-profit companies that care about one thing and one thing only—their bottom line. As a result, while their representatives may sound like they really care about the fact that you’re injured, unable to work, and may need to have surgery, what they are really trying to do is get you to settle for as little as possible.Here are some of the shady tactics that insurance companies use to minimize settlements for injured victims:

• Contacting as soon as they can, hoping you haven’t yet had a chance to talk to our law firm
• Starting with an unreasonably low settlement offer
• Requesting a written statement in order to “process” the claim faster
• Asking questions designed to get victims to say things that may hurt their claim
• Requesting overbroad medical authorizations in an effort to find a pre-existing condition that could justify reducing a settlement offer
• Taking an unnecessarily long time to move forward with a claim in order to wear victims down
• Misrepresenting the law or the amount of coverage available

When you retain the legal team of Trust Guss Injury Lawyers, however, you will have a skilled advocate on your side that will make sure that the insurance company pays you as manyofyour losses as possible, including your pain and suffering and lost quality of life.

Protecting Your Rights After a Rear-End Accident

In a perfect world, you wouldn’t have to do anything after a rear-end accident that was caused by the negligence of a commercial truck driver or trucking company. You didn’t ask for this to happen, so you should be able to sit back and wait for a check to appear. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a perfect world, and there are certain steps that you need to protect your legal rights after an accident with a commercial truck. Some of the most important include the following:

• If you can, collect information at the scene of the crash. Make note of the truck’s DOT number, license plate number, and any markings that indicate the trucking company responsible for its operation. Try and obtain contact information from anyone who may have witnessed the accident take place.
• Undergo a medical evaluation, even if you are discharged from the hospital or emergency medical personnel clear you to go home. An official record is vital when it comes to negotiating with the insurance company.
• Take it easy on social media. While we all like to present our lives in the best light online, the insurance company could use pictures or posts indicating that you’re out enjoying yourself or engaging in any physical activity at all to justify a smaller settlement.
• Call our law firm as soon as you can. When counsel does not represent you, you run the risk of saying or doing things that could hurt your claim. In addition, waiting to start an investigation could result in the loss or destruction of critical evidence.

Call Our Truck Accident Law Firm About Your Case Today

If you sustained injuries in a rear-end truck accident, call the legal team at Trust Guss Injury Lawyers, as soon as you can. In most rear-end cases, the law entitles victims to compensation—and an experienced law firm can help you maximize the settlement or award you ultimately receive. For more than 20 years our team of lawyers and legal professionals has dedicated itself to protecting victims’ rights and holding negligent truckers and their employers liable.With our no-win, no-fee guarantee, we will never collect a DIME from you unless we obtain compensation on your behalf. To schedule a free case evaluation with our experienced and tenacious truck accident legal team, call the legal team at Trust Guss Injury Lawyers, today. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so call us today or contact us now by CLICKING HERE.