Leaders in Litigating
Truck Accident Cases

Truck Accident Lawyers

Putting Your Life Back Together After a Truck Accident

In North Carolina, our roads are filled with tractor-trailers that haul goods across the state and commercial trucks that deliver locally. While these trucks are essential to our state’s economy, they are also very dangerous because of their size and weight. When you have an accident with a tractor-trailer, they usually cause serious, disabling, or fatal injuries that have life-altering consequences. We care about making sure that, after a truck accident, our clients get the compensation they deserve to put their lives back together.

Truck Accident Liability: Who’s Responsible?

Because commercial trucks and tractor-trailers are massive machines that pose risks to public safety, the trucking industry is subject to numerous regulations (Title 49, Parts 350-399) and driver qualifications. Trucking operators and others involved in commercial trucking also have legal obligations to take reasonable measures to ensure the safety of people on the road.

Despite these precautionary measures, not everyone complies with traffic laws, trucking regulations, or their duty of care – all of which can come with major consequences when they involve cargo carriers. Fortunately, victims injured by the negligent or wrongful acts of others, and families who lose loved ones in preventable crashes, have the right to seek compensation for their damages by holding at-fault parties financially responsible.

Determining who can be held liable for a semi-truck accident is a fact-specific matter that varies from case to case. Even if wrecks are caused by negligent truckers – which they often are – truck drivers may not be the only party to bear financial responsibility for damages. That’s because trucking operators are often responsible for their employees, and because they may have been negligent as well.

While investigations into fault and liability are crucial to trucking accident cases, there are a number of common causes, violations, and negligent acts attorneys look for to determine who can be held responsible. Examples include:

• Truck drivers who were too tired or were otherwise negligent when operating their vehicles.
• Trucking companies that negligently hired unfit drivers, violated Hours-of-Service rules, or committed other regulatory violations.
• Vehicle maintenance companies responsible for inadequate truck maintenance.
• Third party companies or distributors that overloaded delivery trucks / big rigs, or loaded unsecured cargo.
• Truck or auto part manufacturers that made defective products.

Because there may be multiple potentially liable parties – and because the stakes are often elevated when victims suffer serious injuries or wrongful death – truck accident claims can be complex. Our tractor-trailer accident attorneys have the experience and resources to help.

What Is My Truck Accident Case Worth?

The value of your truck accident case depends on the facts of your case – including the nature and severity of your injuries, the extent of resulting damages, and the ability of the at fault parties to pay.

At Edwards Kirby, our experienced attorneys can review the facts of your truck accident along with the damages you incurred to arrive at an estimated value range for your case. This estimate is vital to negotiating a full and fair settlement, and when pursuing litigation, if necessary.

Examples of our car accident case results:

• $10.75M recovery over a fatal truck wreck that resulted in the deaths of two children, and brain injury to a third.
• $9.45M settlement over a fatal tanker truck crash alleged to have been caused by a company that improperly allowed traffic to back up while performing work on I-95.
• $5.35M recovery for the family of a law enforcement officer killed in a tractor-trailer wreck.
• $4.6M recovery for a woman who was struck by a tow truck returning from a repossession.

To help clients maximize compensation, we work meticulously to determine an underlying cause, and explore all available insurance coverage, including commercial insurance policies, and underinsured / uninsured motorist coverage. We also work closely with reconstruction, medical, and financial experts to assess fault and liability, the long-term impact of injuries, and projected future damages.