Truck Accidents

Evansville Truck Accident Lawyers

Getting you Back on the Road!

If you suffered injuries in a collision with a semi-truck or commercial vehicle, you may be entitled to recover compensation for the damages you incurred.

Truck accident victims often suffer significant injuries due to the sheer size of commercial vehicles. A fully loaded commercial semi can weigh up to 80,000 pounds! Injuries sustained from an accident with commercial trucks can land you with medical bills, lost wages, lasting injuries, pain, and even disabilities that alter the path of your life.

Unfortunately, truck accident claims can be difficult to document and prove. Commercial truck companies are often backed by massive corporations – corporations with a large legal team that tries to push victims around.

Our experienced Evansville truck accident lawyers understand the confusion and hardship you and your family are going through. We want to offer our services, starting with a free consultation. When working with an experienced personal injury law firm like ours, you can relax knowing you have a knowledgeable team backing you up that won’t let a big corporation or insurance company push you around!

Contact our Evansville law firm by calling 812-213-4551 today to get started on your claim.

How Does Indiana Define Truck Accidents?

Indiana law defines commercial vehicles as one of the following:

  • Large trucks
  • Combination vehicles
  • Pickup trucks over 10,000 pounds
  • Buses that can carry at least 15 passengers
  • School buses
  • Any vehicle with a hazardous material placard

While no one ever expects to get into a collision with massive commercial vehicles, it’s important to remember you have options if you are involved in an accident. Survivors of accidents with commercial vehicles often face a long recovery process requiring expensive medical attention and physical therapy. Speaking to a semi-truck accident lawyer in Evansville is crucial to obtaining the compensation you need to recover after such a traumatic experience.

Call 812-213-4451 to schedule your free consultation with Gerling Law Injury Attorneys. This is often the first step in determining whether you have a solid commercial truck accident claim and what your options are.

What are the Stats?

In 2020, 4,965 people were killed, and 146,940 were injured in crashes involving large trucks nationwide. In Indiana, of the 175,821 collisions reported, accidents involving commercial vehicles amounted to 8% or 14,221 accidents.

This may seem like a low percentage, but that is because commercial vehicle drivers are required to undergo significant training. They are expected to act in a way that guarantees the safety of those around them. When they violate that expectation, lives are at risk. Although collisions with commercial vehicles may have decreased since 2019, these accidents continue to occur and devastate the lives of those involved.

What Makes An 18-Wheeler Accident Worse Than A Car Crash?

Any large commercial vehicle can be difficult to maneuver or stop in an emergency. The size and weight of commercial trucks, including semi-trucks, tractor-trailers, and 18-wheelers, often cause significant damage and injuries to drivers and passengers of personal vehicles.

In addition to the increased risk of injury and damage, trucking accidents can be more difficult to document for a legal claim. Getting an attorney on board as soon as possible can go a long way toward leveling the playing field for accident victims.

Trucking companies face significant penalties and legal liability in the case of an accident. They have more incentive to protect themselves from lawsuits and injury claims than private drivers. Consequently, getting to the scene and gathering evidence should begin immediately to ensure the preservation of evidence.

In the case of a car crash, you typically only have to deal with another driver and their insurance company. In an 18-wheeler accident, you must deal with the driver, the trucking company, their insurance company, their legal department, and possibly multiple other parties.

Any involved insurance companies will act quickly and aggressively to minimize both legal and financial liability. The insurance company may try to negotiate a small settlement with you immediately, hoping to keep your claim as small as possible. They may also look for any potential reason to deny your claim or minimize your damages, laying more of the blame on you than you are responsible for.

What’s worse is that insurance companies use shady tactics to make it seem like you are getting a great deal or that your first offer is the only offer you are going to get. They employ emotional manipulation and strong-arm tactics and act like they have the upper hand when dealing with victims.

Let Gerling Law Injury Attorneys show them that they can’t push you around!

How Do You Find Who is At Fault?

Evansville truck accident lawyers get to work immediately on determining one of your case’s most essential elements—determining who was at fault. Generally, the driver that was negligent and caused the accident is at fault. Negligence is shown by proving that the driver was engaging in distracted driving, speeding, driving under the influence, texting, or other unsafe behaviors.

After an accident, your Evansville truck accident lawyer establishes the required elements of negligence to prove the truck driver’s responsibility for your damages. The elements of negligence include the following:

  • Duty – The truck driver owed you a duty of care to operate their vehicle responsibly to avoid harm to others.
  • Breach – The truck driver breached this duty. A breach is proven by showing the truck driver was engaging in behavior like texting while driving, speeding at the time of the accident, or failing to stop or adhere to traffic signals.
  • Causation – The truck driver’s breach caused your damages.
  • Damages – You must have suffered harm due to the truck driver’s negligence. In other words, if you can’t show that the crash caused your injury, you probably don’t have a case. An attorney can help you make this connection.

While establishing these elements may initially appear straightforward, you must present strong evidence supporting your claim to ensure your case is successful. Don’t miss out on the compensation you deserve by failing to get a qualified semi-truck accident attorney in Evansville to represent you.

What Should You Do After a Truck Accident in Evansville, Indiana?

After a collision with a truck, you have to act quickly to make sure everyone is safe and to preserve evidence that will prove your case later. Follow these steps if you’ve been in a truck accident:

Call 911

The very first thing you should do after a truck accident is call 911. Be sure to request assistance from police and medical aid.

Officers will quickly arrive at the scene of the accident. They will ask questions, survey the scene, and collect as many details as possible. The officers will then take that information and create a police report.

Police reports can play a significant role in your claim, as they answer many common questions and provide much-needed information. Your truck accident lawyer can use the accident report when building a strong case.

Seek Medical Attention

If injuries are severe, you will likely receive medical treatment at the scene of the accident. However, even if you do not get medical help immediately after the accident, you must seek medical attention as soon as possible. There are a couple of reasons to always seek medical attention.

First, you may have serious injuries without knowing it, as some injuries are not obvious right away and may take some time to become evident. Visiting an emergency room or your primary care physician can shed some light on all of your injuries and allow you to begin treatment right away.

Second, if you wait to see a doctor, the defendant or their insurance company can use that to claim that you were not injured in the accident but sometime afterward. The bottom line is that waiting to see a doctor can weaken your case.

It is also essential you follow every step and piece of advice your physician gives you. If you skip steps or refuse to follow treatment, the defendant can assert that you made your own injury worse by not following medical advice. This can also weaken your case. Everything is recorded in your medical records. If you follow your doctor’s orders, these records can help strengthen your case substantially.

Collect Evidence

If at all possible, begin collecting evidence as soon as possible. This can include:

  • Driver information
  • Truck information
  • Photos and videos
  • Witness information

You will need to record the company that employs the driver who hit you.

When taking photos and videos, ensure you capture photos that show the entire accident scene. Take photos of skid marks on the pavement, damage to your vehicle as well as the vehicle that hit you, traffic signs and lights, and any other details that will allow your lawyer and the court to paint a picture of the scene that led up to your accident.

You may need to track down the incident report from the responding officer. This police report may be invaluable to your personal injury attorney.

If your injuries cause you to miss work, be sure to document all of your lost wages. Once more documentation becomes available, including accident reports and medical records, your 18-wheeler accident attorney can request these items to use for your case.

Call Your Insurance Company

You will likely want to file an insurance claim for your accident as soon as possible. Call your agent and answer any questions they have regarding your accident. They will want the photos you took of the damage to your vehicle and may ask for other evidence you have collected.

If you feel uncomfortable dealing directly with your insurance company, you may be able to have your truck accident attorney speak with them on your behalf.

Consult With An Evansville Truck Accident Lawyer

Your health and safety are first and foremost. Once you have sought treatment for your injuries and are ready to proceed, you should consult with a qualified Evansville truck accident lawyer. Your attorney will collect details of your accident, answer your questions, and explain how to best tackle your claim. They will know how to put the evidence you collected to work. They can help you deal with stubborn or pushy insurance companies, and should your case end up in court; they will stand by your side as they explain why you deserve the care you have asked for. It can be extremely challenging to handle your claim alone, so let a truck accident attorney help you.

Reach out to our Evansville office today by calling 812-213-4551

What Are Common Causes of Truck Accidents?

Various circumstances cause vehicle collisions in the United States every day. The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute compiled car accident statistics for 2017, including collisions involving commercial vehicles, which you can see below.

The most common factors in commercial vehicle accidents include:

  • Unsafe lane movement
  • Following too closely
  • Speeding too fast for weather conditions
  • Improper passing
  • Distracted driving
  • Overcorrecting
  • Falling asleep at the wheel
  • Animals on the roadway

Truck accidents occur in many situations but are almost always devastating. Regardless of the cause of the accident, truck collisions result in severe injuries and property damage. Our Evansville truck accident lawyers are committed to obtaining justice and fair compensation for our clients.

What Are Common Injuries After a Truck Accident?

Research indicates that in collisions between passenger vehicles and commercial vehicles, the occupants of passenger vehicles are more likely to be injured or killed than occupants of commercial vehicles. The size of commercial vehicles presents especially dangerous circumstances in the event of a crash.

Common injuries sustained in truck accidents include:

  • Traumatic brain injury
  • Broken bones
  • Spinal cord and back injuries
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Internal injuries
  • Paralysis
  • Death

There are many different kinds of injuries and massive impacts an accident with a commercial vehicle can lead to. You may suffer lasting injuries that result in life-long pain or psychological distress.

If you lost a loved one due to injuries sustained in a truck accident, you may be able to pursue a wrongful death claim. You could potentially recover damages for the victim’s lost earning potential and funeral expenses, among other things. Contact us today to speak to one of our committed and compassionate truck accident injury attorneys.

What Kind of Compensation Can You Expect?

Indiana state permits victims injured in truck accidents to recover compensatory damages through economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages represent directly calculable losses resulting from the accident and include the following:

  • Medical expenses 
  • Lost wages 
  • Loss of future earnings 
  • Property damage

Carefully preserving all documentation supporting these losses is vital to collecting the total value of your economic damages demand. Documentation includes invoices, bills, medical records, and pay stubs. Provide these to your semi-truck accident lawyer in Evansville, who can begin calculating the value of these losses. 

Non-economic damages represent the intangible harm suffered due to your collision and can include psychological and emotional injuries that can ripple throughout your life. These damages represent the following:

  • Pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress 
  • Loss of enjoyment of life 
  • Loss of consortium 
  • Permanent disability or disfigurement

Due to their subjective nature, these losses are challenging to establish without the help of qualified Evansville truck accident attorneys. However, they tend to have a more significant impact on an injured victim’s life than direct financial losses, as these injuries are largely unseen, and you may feel isolated when you are forced to suffer them alone.

What do Truck Accident Attorneys Do?

Experienced truck accident attorneys can help you with the following:

  • Collecting evidence
  • Collecting witness testimony
  • Document the facts of your case, including lost wages, medical treatment, and medical expenses
  • Deal with insurance companies
  • Deal with the trucker that injured you and the company they work for
  • Guide you through the legal process
  • Fighting your case in court, should it go to litigation

The goal of our law firm is to take as much of the weight off your shoulders as possible while guiding you through the personal injury legal process.

Should You Contact a Truck Accident Attorney?

Gerling Law Injury Attorneys has over half a century of experience representing clients who suffered injuries in truck accidents. Thinking about your accident may be overwhelming and confusing. Our truck accident attorneys at Gerling Law Injury Attorneys want you to know that you are not alone. We have substantial experience navigating truck accident claims at every stage of the lawsuit.

Contact us online or call 812-213-4551 today for a free, no-obligation consultation, the first step in holding a reckless truck driver accountable for the injuries they have caused.

Go with Experience. Go with Gerling. ®