Rutland, VT Truck Accident Attorney

Rutland, VT Truck Accident Attorney

If you drive in Rutland, it’s impossible to not encounter large trucks on the road. As the third-largest city in Vermont, Rutland sees a lot of large truck traffic and is located near both I-91 and I-89–highways that are frequently used by large trucks.

While driving near large trucks doesn’t necessarily mean that there is an increased risk of accident, there is an increased risk of severe damages and injuries should a truck accident occur. Large trucks can weigh up to 20 times more than standard passenger cars and when a car and a truck collide, damages to the former are often significant.

If you’ve been in a large truck crash, our Rutland, VT truck accident attorney at the office of Larson & Gallivan Law can help. Please call us today to learn more about our legal services and the process of recovering compensation.

How Truck Accidents Happen

Truck accidents don’t just happen–they are almost always the result of error, fault, or negligence on the part of one of the drivers involved. Some of the top causes of truck accidents include:

• Truck driver negligence Truck drivers have a responsibility to operate their vehicles safely and responsibly, but this duty is sometimes neglected, increasing the risk of a crash. Things like driving while distracted, driving while intoxicated, driving aggressively, taking a turn too fast for conditions, failing to rest and falling asleep at the wheel, and more can all cause a collision.
• Loading errors Trucks are often carrying hundreds of pounds of cargo. If the cargo is improperly loaded or secured, the result could be a shift in cargo while the truck is in motion. A shift in hundreds of pounds within a trailer can be disastrous, leading to the trailer swinging across multiple lanes, or even tipping over in serious cases.
• Vehicle defects Trucks need to be inspected and maintained on a regular basis in order to ensure their safe operation. If a truck has a defect, it could be dangerous. For example, a defectively manufactured tire could lead to a blowout. Or, a truck that doesn’t undergo proper maintenance may experience an engine failure.
• Passenger car driver errors Sometimes, a truck accident occurs for reasons that are not related to the truck or the truck driver. Dangerous behavior when driving around trucks includes following too closely, driving in the truck’s blind spots or “no zone,” cutting a truck off, and speeding.

Injuries and Damages from a Truck Accident

As stated above, trucks weigh much more than do passenger cars, which means that the amount of force involved in a collision is much greater (force = mass x velocity). As such, the injuries and damages that result from a truck accident are often much more severe than are injuries and damages that result from accidents involving two passenger cars only. The range of potentially serious injuries include:

• Traumatic brain injuries
• Internal injuries
• Back and neck injuries
• Bone fractures
• Spinal cord injuries
• Amputated limb injuries
• Soft tissue injuries
• More

In some cases, injuries are so severe that a person is left disabled for life; in the most tragic of cases, injuries sustained in a truck accident are fatal.

Injuries require medical treatment, which means that a truck accident victim will likely incur costly medical expenses as a result of the crash. If the injuries are disabling, they will also suffer from lost wages, and perhaps a loss of earning capacity and benefits. In addition to these losses, their car may be totaled, resulting in large property damage costs.

In addition to the economic damages associated with a serious truck accident, a truck accident victim will likely also incur noneconomic losses, such as pain, suffering, and emotional distress.

Liability for a Truck Crash in Rutland

When a truck accident occurs and a victim suffers serious damages, the victim deserves to be compensated for the full value of their economic and non-economic damages. Recovering damages requires proving fault and filing a claim against the at-fault party–or, more likely, the at-fault party’s liability insurance provider.

Liability, or legal responsibility, is based on negligence–the failure to exercise the proper degree of care. In a truck accident claim, liability may fall on the shoulders of the trucking company, a shipper or loader of cargo, the truck driver, the manufacturer of a defective vehicle part, or another third party. Sometimes, liability is shared by multiple parties.

How Our Rutland Truck Accident Attorney Can Help

If you have been involved in a truck accident, one of the first things that you should do is consult with an experienced truck accident attorney who can assist you in building your claim and maximizing your compensation award.

At Larson & Gallivan Law, our Rutland truck accident attorney will assist you by:

• Investigating your case
• Gathering evidence
• Hiring experts to determine and prove fault
• Sending spoliation of evidence letters to ensure that evidence is not destroyed
• Interviewing the truck driver and eyewitnesses
• Recovering the accident report
• Organizing your medical bills and documents that prove other financial losses
• Calculating the value of your claim
• Negotiating your settlement
• If necessary, litigating your case in court

We will be by your side throughout the entire process to provide legal advice and counsel. We know how devastating being involved in a crash is, and want you to feel supported during the claims process.