When it comes to handling auto accidents, there are different ways that a personal injury attorney will approach the case. This is especially true for a truck accident vs car accident. While many people think any old personal injury lawyer is qualified to handle all types of auto accidents, if they don't have experience with both truck accidents and car accidents, they're likely to miss a step that could be crucial to getting you the highest compensation for the damages you or your loved ones has endured.
Truck Accident vs Car Accident: 5 Ways These Types of Cases Differ
First, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations apply and provide great guidance as to what is or isn’t proper within truck driving. If you just analyze a crash the same way you would look at an automobile collision, many of the safeguards that the federal and state governments have put into place are ignored. We’ve been in court before when attorneys and experts evaluating a truck crash with a car failed to understand what Motor Carrier Regulations applied and used the wrong analysis to try to determine who was at fault. This mistake can be catastrophic for injured parties.
Second, safety manuals and other guidelines from the really good trucking companies in the industry provide further guidance as to how a truck driver should handle his rig. Again, this can be pivotal in determining who is at fault for a crash.
Third, the regulations even affect the amount of insurance carried and by whom (e.g., trailer owner, cargo owner, shipping company, driver, etc.) and whether the other parties involved in the transportation of the shipment might be responsible. Volumes upon volumes of analyses have been written on the subject matter by the best trucking law attorneys in the country. If you have an attorney who doesn’t know of or understand these analyses, you might be doing a huge disservice to your case.
Four, many trucking lines have rapid response teams that go to truck crash sites immediately. Ethical teams gather information and help to determine how the crash occurred and who is responsible. However, unethical teams destroy or distort or hide information, in an attempt to escape responsibility. Your Hagerstown truck accident attorney should have a rapid response team which includes an accident reconstructionist and ensures the materials needed from the crash (e.g., dash camera footage, driver logs, photographs of the scene and vehicles, etc.) are secured as soon as possible.
Five, a good Hagerstown truck accident attorney will quickly get the driver qualification file (DQF) from the driver's company. The DQF provides vital information about the driver's driving history, medical test results, how many hours he/she has been on the road, as well as other key facts. Good truck attorneys will also get “black box” information downloaded and analyzed with the help of a qualified expert. This will provide detailed information as to how the truck was being operated prior to and during the collision.
Contact Our Experienced Hagerstown Personal Injury Attorney to Get Started On Your Case
If you or a loved one has been involved in a truck or car accident in Maryland, our skilled and knowledgeable Hagerstown personal injury attorney has experience handling both types of cases and will do everything in their power to ensure a positive outcome for you and your family. Contact us online today ot call (301) 790-3600 now!
Bruce Poole is a member of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys and American Association for Justice Trucking Litigation Group and is recognized by the National Trial Lawyers as a Top 10 Trucking Accident Attorney in Maryland.
