Stuart Truck Accident Lawyer

Large-truck accidents often result in extensive injuries and losses. In Stuart, people are acquainted with truck crashes especially on busy highways such as Florida’s Turnpike, Route 1 and the Southwest Kanner Highway. Each crash leads to serious injuries, medical costs, and lost earnings, yet injured individuals don’t always receive the compensation they need. If you suffered injuries in a truck crash in Stuart, enlist the help of an experienced truck accident lawyer.

Treasure Coast residents have chosen Philip DeBerard, Injury Attorney as the top Personal Injury Attorney locally. Mr. DeBerard and his firm have over three decades of service helping injured Floridians receive full financial recovery after their crash. Over the years, our firm has won millions of dollars in settlements for our injured clients. We are relentless in negotiating for your full tractor trailer accident compensation, be it for economic losses like medical fees, missed income, lost future earning capacity and property damage, or for non-monetary damages like your pain and suffering.

Consult with us free of charge, and you won’t have to pay us lawyer fees until we get compensation for you.

Important Things to Do After a Truck Accident in Stuart, FL

It’s scary and confusing to get in a road accident, much more if it involves a semi-truck, tractor-trailer, or 18-wheeler that possibly weighs 80,000 pounds. But as overwhelming as the situation is, it will greatly help if you stay calm and bear in mind these tips after a truck crash:

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  Get to a safe spot. As truck collisions typically occur on bustling highways, you must get off the road and distanced from oncoming vehicles. Also check on other passengers, if any, to help them move to safety.

• Call the police. Request an officer to help you on site and to file a crash report. If you’re injured, even if it appears to be a minor injury, you should also ask for a medic to provide medical attention.
• Capture the crash site. While waiting for responders, take pictures or videos of the crash scene, including your apparent injuries and property damage. Exchange insurance info and contact numbers with other involved drivers. Also, if there are potential witnesses at the location, politely request their contact information.
• Consult a doctor. Some injuries could send you to the emergency room right away, but there are also many injuries that don’t become obvious immediately after the accident. Don’t delay going to a doctor, as putting off your medical care might be hurt your injury claim. It’s best to visit a doctor within 24 hours of the incident and to attend any subsequent doctor’s appointments.
• Call your insurer. Most Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance policies require you to let them know in the event you’re in an accident. They’ll have a hotline or online channel for you to initiate your compensation claim with them. In many truck injury cases, PIP policy limits are not enough to cover all associated costs, so you can have to explore other legal recourses.
• Contact an attorney. It’s best to get a lawyer’s guidance as soon as possible. Even if you feel that the insurer sympathizes with you, you may soon realize that truck accident claims are much more difficult (we expound why below). A competent injury attorney can help you pursue an effective PIP claim as well as a third-party liability claim against the person who caused the crash. Don’t worry about hourly fees as Philip DeBerard, Injury Attorney provides your consultation for free and only charges you when you win your case and obtain a recovery.

A Truck Accident Claim in Florida is More Complex – Here’s Why

A truck accident personal injury case might be more challenging than a “regular” car accident case, not just because of the likelihood of catastrophic injuries, but because of certain rules and practices in commercial trucking. Be aware of these factors that can impact your truck crash case.

Commercial trucks follow industry rules that require legal know-how

On top of common traffic rules, there are regulations under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) that trucking companies and truck drivers should obey. For instance, the agency requires truckers to take specific amounts of rest breaks to avoid fatigue, and commercial transport companies are required to consistently inspect and maintain their fleet. These truck-specific rules often factor into the investigation of a truck accident.

Trucking firms already have much of the evidence

When a commercial vehicle is involved in a collision, the freight company will quickly start assembling their defense against possible liability claims. They have a head-start because they already possess records that may be crucial in the case. These include personnel files, personnel drug test results, driver hours-of-service logs, truck inspection and maintenance records, accident history records, and the truck itself.

If you want an effective truck collision claim, you should be having a competent lawyer who’s knowledgeable in trucking evidence and how to get it. This is why years of experience is an important quality to prioritize when searching for a truck accident attorney.

Cargo companies have ways to avoid liability

In many cases, the cargo or delivery company may be held liable if their negligence contributed to the collision. For example, they could have hired ineligible drivers, failed to maintain their truck, or breached hours-of-service rules. When this happens, the injured claimant may pursue compensation from the negligent business, as well as from other involved parties whose negligence led to the crash.

Unfortunately, established companies are able to shield themselves from liability, for example, by insisting that the at-fault trucker was not their employee but an independent contractor. Major companies like Amazon or FedEx have attempted to use this defense. Injured individuals who need full monetary recovery should reach out to a fearless attorney who will stand up for maximum compensation.

Florida’s comparative negligence law may reduce compensation

When it comes to personal injury in Florida, the comparative negligence rule takes into account all parties who acted negligently in the accident. If the person claiming damages is also deemed negligent, they will be held partly at fault for their own injuries hence the compensation they’re entitled to will have been reduced according to their share of fault. For example, if they were 10 percent at fault, it will result in a 10 percent deduction from their award.

Insurers and defense lawyers can work this rule to decrease the settlement in a truck injury claim. They may try to place some blame on the claimant, for example, by saying that the claimant was following the truck too close or refused to yield the right of way. When you pursue a third-party injury claim against an at-fault truck driver or company, take steps to protect your claim with the guidance an experienced injury lawyer.

Consult with Philip DeBerard, Injury Attorney in Stuart Today

With 40 years of experience, the DeBerard injury firm has become a known ally of injured Floridians, particularly in Stuart. Our team has achieved favorable settlements and awards for our clients, including a a semi-trailer accident case where the insurance company settled at $2 million and a a truck injury claim where the trucking company settled at $1.25 million.

Tell us about your truck crash injury. Your consultation with us is free, and you won’t owe us any lawyer fees until we’ve recovered on your behalf. Phone us today at 1-800-299-8878.