Hillsborough County Truck Accident Lawyers

We had a very interesting question and a very good question from one of our Tampa clients recently. They asked us whether they could sue a commercial truck company. They were involved in an accident where, unfortunately, the driver of the commercial truck was under the influence of alcohol and got a DUI, and our client was very badly injured. The answer to that question is yes. It depends on what the commercial policy says but, generally speaking, the owner of the commercial vehicle is what we call vicariously liable for the actions of the commercial truck driver.

There are situations that render these types of cases extremely difficult, which means that you should hire an attorney that is experienced and is willing to go to trial. The insurance companies will fight these cases tooth and nail, especially where their driver was accused of driving under the influence.

We got a call, unfortunately, from a family member of a person who was killed in an accident with a commercial truck and they were wondering if they had a claim. The answer is, yes, you likely do, if you are a survivor under the wrongful death statutes in Florida.

There are so many options with attorneys in Florida, in the Tampa area, Wesley Chapel area. How do you select the best attorney? We had a client, unfortunately, in Tampa who was involved in a very severe commercial truck accident. What’s a commercial truck accident? He was in his car and he was hit by a driver who was driving a commercial truck. How do you select the best attorney? Whether it’s a commercial truck case, a slip and fall, or a regular auto accident, you need someone that is going to communicate with you.

Commercial truck cases in particular have very specific questions that need to be asked at the initial consultation. If you go to a consultation at a law firm and you’re not speaking to the attorney that’s going to be handling the case, and that attorney is not a trial attorney, you may want to think twice about it. You may want to go somewhere where someone’s actually going to speak with you, so they can answer your questions. You have to develop the trust bond in order to have a lawyer that you can count on to do a good job for you.

Truck accident claims, unfortunately, usually involve serious injuries. We had a client in Tampa call us recently about their truck accident claim. They were involved in a very serious commercial truck accident and wanted to know how much the case was worth. As with most cases, it’s very difficult to fully evaluate your case at the initial conference.

The benefit of hiring a trial lawyer is that we can fully evaluate your case, examine all of the elements of the claim, and make sure that you obtain maximum value from the insurance carrier insuring those commercial vehicles. A lot of these accidents are serious accidents. You’ve got big trucks and you’ve got people that are injured, so you want a trial lawyer that’s going to communicate with you and effectively evaluate your case. Give us a call. We would love to speak with you about your truck accident claim.

A friend in Tampa recently asked one of our attorneys how commercial truck accident cases are different from regular auto accident cases. The answer is there tends to be much more complicated scenarios involving truck accidents. First, there are usually more parties involved. You want to make sure to preserve as much evidence as quickly as possible so that it doesn’t disappear. You want to make sure you hire an attorney that has experience with these types of cases and is familiar with the regulations that involve truck drivers and the various different laws that apply to those accidents.

We recently had a potential client in Tampa call who was involved, unfortunately, in a collision with a truck. He was wondering how long his case was going to take to resolve. On every single case, it depends, but the most important factor in how long your case is going to take is how long it’s going to take to reach your maximum medical improvement, which means you’re at the point where you can’t get better anymore. That way, we know the full extent of your injury so we don’t shortchange your case if you are badly injured and there’s something else that needs to be done about it.

A potential client recently called because they had already received an offer on their case from the insurance company after an auto accident, and they were wondering whether or not they should take that offer. Our advice to that person was no. Unless a lawyer is involved, it’s very unlikely that you’re going to get the full amount of your damages from an insurance company. Their job is to pay you as little as possible.

We had a client in Tampa that was injured in a truck accident. On the phone when they called, they asked us, “Should I call the insurance company?” What we told them was to call their own insurance company right away and make a claim because you want to preserve that. You want to make a claim so that you can get into the hospital under the no-fault laws in Florida and go treat. However, with regard to the insurance carrier for the commercial truck, don’t take a statement. It’s too early in the case.

A lot of times, what the insurance carrier for these truck accidents want to do is box you in and try to settle the claim for as little as possible. One of the great benefits of hiring a trial attorney is that we will go and try to get maximum value on your case, but to do that takes time. Speaking with the insurance company for the commercial truck right away is oftentimes not a good idea and unfortunately puts you at a disadvantage.

Truck accident cases are usually difficult in terms of the fact that you’re usually dealing with severe injuries and they need to be attended to by a trial lawyer who knows how to handle the claims. Oftentimes, these cases wind up in trial. We had a client in Wesley Chapel that was unfortunately involved in a very serious commercial truck accident, and he asked a very good question: What are some of the common mistakes that clients will make in these cases?

One of the biggest mistakes is not hiring a trial lawyer. These aren’t your regular garden variety type accidents. These accidents are usually, like I said, serious accidents, for the most part, with serious injuries. The insurance carriers for the commercial truck are very, very, very stingy, oftentimes, with evaluating the case. Their job is to get the case to go away. You need a lawyer with experience trying cases, for instance, because the cases present challenges that a regular auto case does not.

We recently got a call from a potential client who was involved in a truck accident and they were wondering what they should do, what the first thing they should do is after being involved in a truck accident. The first thing that you should do if you’re involved in a truck accident is what this person did, and that’s to call a lawyer that’s experienced in truck accident cases. There are several considerations, with truck accident cases in particular, that you want to make sure you call a lawyer who knows what they’re doing so they can preserve all of the evidence at the scene.

The second thing you want to do is make sure that you take all kinds of pictures of the truck, of the scene, and of the conditions that existed on the day that you had the accident. The third thing you should do is seek medical attention immediately if you’re injuries warrant it. You always want to make sure that you get help with your injuries first.