It's hard to turn on the news without seeing a story about a tractor-trailer accident. With so many people ordering online these days, there are more trucks on the road than ever before. Like it or not, the truck drivers have to share the road with you. This intimidates a lot of people. It even intimidates some Orlando truck accident lawyers. They're afraid of these giant machines. This makes sense. It can be scary to share the road with 18-wheelers. They're huge and seem to drive a lot faster than they should. All you can envision is the truck flipping over or jackknifing while you're next to it.
You're not alone in your fears of truck drivers. If you do get into a truck accident, you aren't going to walk away without an injury. In almost all of these cases, it isn't the trucker who suffers the brunt of your personal injuries. It's the person driving the car or SUV, which makes sense because of the size difference. You don't have a giant piece of machinery protecting you from the impact. The truck driver does.
If you get seriously hurt in a truck accident in Orlando, then you need help. It's important that you call and talk to an Orlando truck accident attorney sooner rather than later.
Regardless of who you intend to sue, your Orlando truck accident lawyer is going to have to prove negligence. This requires that they demonstrate four things. The first thing they need to do is prove that the defendant owed you a duty of care. Just by being on the road, the trucker has to, at a minimum, obey the traffic laws. They also need to abide by all of the federal regulations for commercial truckers.
The second thing they need to prove is that the truck driver breached this duty. This will be the hardest part of your case. You have to show that the truck driver acted in a way that a reasonable person would not have acted. Since they are a professional truck driver, they're going to be held to a higher standard.
The third thing you need to show is that you were injured. As long as you go to the hospital after your accident, this shouldn't be hard to prove. You'll also have to demonstrate that your injuries were caused by the defendant's behavior. Unless something happens to you on the way to the hospital, this won't be a difficult hurdle to climb.
One of the decisions you and your attorney will have to make is who you intend to sue. Of course, you're going to file suit against the truck driver. By extension, you'll also be naming their insurance company in the suit. The insurance will cover any drivers who work for the same company. That's because you're also going to need to pursue the company that the defendant works for. This is because an employer is vicariously liable for the actions of their employees.
Depending on the cause of the crash, the employer may or may not be held legally responsible. For example, if the trucker was drunk at the time of the crash, the employer may or may not be liable. The same is true if the truck driver was not on the clock at the time of the wreck. It will come down to whether or not your attorney can prove that it was common for employees to drive company vehicles on personal time. If the company's owner or manager was aware of this, then they can be held responsible.
The only way to know how best to proceed is to call and talk to an experienced truck accident lawyer in Orlando right away. They can review your case and give you an idea of what it may be worth. They can also let you know if you need to file a suit against multiple parties.
Call the attorney's office and schedule your free, initial consultation. Take an hour and sit down with someone who knows how to handle a case like yours. The consultation is free, and you don't have to pay anything until your case is resolved. The defendant will have a lawyer working for them, and you should too.
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