Being injured in a truck accident is a traumatic experience. Medical bills, lost wages, diminished earning capacity, and other costs follow after the accident.
Unfortunately, most drivers are underinsured or uninsured resulting in further pain and suffering and high costs such as hiring a lawyer.
After getting injured in any truck accident, seek advice from an experienced Jacksonville truck accident lawyer at Leon Law Firm. Our experienced lawyer can help you recover compensation for related expenses, lost wages, and future damages. Call for a consultation at (904) 944-4515.
How our Jacksonville truck accident lawyer can help you
You don’t have to go through this alone. When you’re in an accident, our Jacksonville truck accident lawyers will be there to help you. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been fender-bended by a giant 18-wheeler or if you’re one of the victims of a severe multi-vehicle pileup on the interstate—we’ll be there for you.
Trust us on this:
- We will handle all the paperwork and legal groundwork so you can tend to your injuries and begin the slow process of getting your life back together.
- We’ll help you get the compensation you deserve. When someone else was at fault in your crash, we’re here to ensure the at-fault party takes responsibility for their actions. We have been doing this for years.
- You don’t have to worry about your insurance—if it’s an issue, we’ll work with them on your behalf.
- We will fight hard for a settlement that covers all your losses.
- Defend you in court if the insurance provider won’t offer you a fair offer.
In all kinds of cases, from minor crashes to devastating accidents that take lives, we can handle any situation thrown at us. You might expect truck accident lawyers to charge more because they deal with such complex cases, but that’s not how we do things here. Our fees are straightforward and reasonable—there aren’t any hidden fees at the end.
Jacksonville, Florida truck accident statistics
In Florida, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) states that there have been an average of 22 truck wrecks every day for the last four years.
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly cut traffic down, which means fewer accidents in 2020 and 2021.
Across the state, the following numbers of large trucks were in accidents:
- 2018: 9,118
- 2019: 9,112
- 2020: 8,598
- 2021: 5,621 (preliminary data until November 26, 2021)
The number of semi-truck accidents in Duval County is going up:
Semi-Truck Statistics In Jacksonville
- 2018: 534 (5.86% of statewide crashes)
- 2019: 506 (5.55% of statewide crashes)
- 2020: 517 (6.01% of statewide crashes)
- 2021: 353 (6.28% of statewide crashes)
The number of big truck accidents in Duval County is now the fourth highest in the state.
Most common causes of truck accidents in Jacksonville, FL
Truck accidents are among the most common causes of major injuries and death on American roads. While most drivers are responsible and follow the rules of the road, some still take unnecessary risks or even break laws on purpose. The most common causes of the truck wreck in Jacksonville, FL, include:
Distracted Driving
Distractions include anything that diverts a truck driver’s focus from driving. Distracted driving includes various activities, such as texting, talking on the phone, using a navigation system, and eating while driving a vehicle. You, your passengers, and other motorists could be put in danger by any of these distractions.
Poor Truck Maintenance
Truck drivers must legally conduct safety checks on their vehicles before each trip, and trucking companies are responsible for sending out their drivers with fully functional rigs. Despite these regulations, many trucks on American roads have worn tires, subpar electrical systems, inadequate brakes, and other parts prone to sudden failure.
Impaired Drivers
Impaired driving is risky. It accounts for more than half of all automobile collisions. It implies driving a car while affected by:
- Alcohol
- Drugs (legal or illegal)
- Drowsiness
- Distractions, such as texting or using a phone; and
- Having a medical condition that impairs a driver’s ability to drive
Having a medical condition that impairs a driver’s ability to drive
Overload Trailers
Despite strict restrictions on the cargo a truck can carry, some businesses intentionally overload their fleets to travel less. A vehicle’s balance is significantly impacted by overloading, making it more difficult for the driver to turn or completely stop.
Drowsy Driving
A driver’s reflexes and response time can quickly slow down by fatigue after spending a lot of time behind the wheel. The state implemented federal laws to ensure truck drivers take regular rest breaks because they were so likely to fall asleep at the wheel. Although it is against the law for truckers to forego their required driving breaks, many will do so to complete deliveries quickly. Drivers receive extra compensation for completing deliveries rapidly, so choosing profit over safety puts them and other drivers in danger.
Reckless Driving
Although each state and locality defines reckless driving, the FMCSA defines it as “driving a vehicle in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.” Reckless driving is a conscious or intentional disregard for road rules and vehicle operation.
There are dozens of reckless behaviors and violations. Here are some:
- Overspeeding (25 miles per hour or more over the posted speed limit)
- Driving under the influence/while intoxicated
- Crossing on a two-lane highway over a double yellow line
- Passing a stopped school bus
- Texting while driving
- Ignoring red lights or stop signs
- Failing to yield the right-of-way to other motor vehicles and pedestrians
- Drag driving
- Evading law enforcement
Jacksonville truck accident common injuries
Back & Neck Injuries
Mostly in the event of a collision with a truck, drivers and passengers of smaller vehicles may experience a variety of soft tissue injuries in the neck and back. Back and neck injuries include whiplash, herniated or dislocated discs, bulged discs, muscle strains, torn tendons and ligaments, and other soft tissue injuries.
Spinal Cord Injuries & Paralysis
Spinal cord injuries may result in partial or permanent paralysis and lifelong pain following a truck accident. These truck accident injuries may require lifelong care that will cost thousands to millions of dollars over time, depending on where the spine injury occurred.
Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)
Traumatic brain injuries may happen when someone experiences whiplash, receives a blow to the head (such as when someone hits the window in the event of a collision.) Traumatic brain injuries may cause long-term or permanent problems, or even death, which can radically change a person’s life.
While many signs and symptoms of this kind of injury appear right away, some signs and symptoms of a truck accident may not show up for days or even weeks. The following are the known symptoms of TBI:
- Nausea and vomiting;
- Loss of consciousness;
- Seizures and dizziness;
- Trouble falling asleep or oversleeping;
- Loss of balance and blurred vision;
- Sensitivity to light or sound; and
- Memory and mood issues.
Burns
Burns could cause a completely different level of accident injury if a trucking accident results in fire or the spill of hazardous chemicals. Burns may cause pain for months following an incident, making victims vulnerable to harmful infections until the skin has completely healed. These burns may affect a person’s quality of life if they leave behind permanent scarring or disfigurement.
Lacerations
It may result when a truck accident victim comes into contact with sharp metal, shattered glass, broken plastic interiors, or other debris. Also, these can potentially cause puncture wounds or lacerations, which can be both disfiguring and painful. Cuts usually heal on their own, but they can leave permanent scars.
Bone fractures
After a truck accident, fractures can occur in almost any part of the body. No bone in the body is immune to the possibility of fracture, including limbs like the arms and legs, the pelvis, or more complicated bone breaks. These fractures may cause lifelong pain from bones that cannot heal after an accident, surgery, or months of recovery.
Damages available to truck accident victims
Truck accidents can leave you with painful, serious injuries, expensive medical bills, a lot of time off work, and emotional scars that last for years (or a lifetime). Fortunately, if you were not at fault for the accident, you have the right to seek compensation for your losses. Your compensation after a truck accident depends on the damages you endure. In a truck accident case, you can get three types of damages: economic, non-economic, and (rarely) punitive.
Compensation follows for particular financial losses through economic damages, including:
- Medical expenses
- Past and future wages lost
- Rehabilitation
- Property damage
- Other costs you pay on your own
Compensation for non-economic damages may include:
- Pain in the body
- Emotional trauma
- Depression
- Disability
- Anxiety
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Punitive damages may be rarely available. These punish the defendant for acting particularly recklessly rather than compensating the injured party. The point of punitive damages is to communicate that other people shouldn’t act in the same dangerous way in the future.
Establishing liability in a Jacksonville trucking accident
It can be difficult to establish liability in a Jacksonville trucking accident. With so many different parties involved, there are many times when it’s hard to pin down who’s at fault in an accident. Being injured in a truck crash, you must know how to approach your case with an experienced Jacksonville personal injury attorney like Leon Law Firm.
Here are possible truck accident liable parties:
Negligent Drivers
Not all truck drivers are expert drivers. Given the vehicle size they are driving, they should know that they have a lot of responsibility on the road. But they don’t always drive carefully, mainly if they are young and want to make a lot of money quickly. So, they are more likely to go over the speed limit, get into accidents because of driver error (like not keeping a safe distance), or even drive while intoxicated.
Trucking Company
In some cases, trucking companies are responsible for the terrible accidents their drivers’ cause. They set a timeline for delivering the goods that were too short. They could be at fault for hiring a driver with a long traffic violation history. They might skip regular maintenance and repairs to keep their trucks on the road as much as possible.
Manufacturers of Truck Parts
Manufacturers of truck parts are responsible if they sell a faulty part installed in the truck, either when assembling or fixing. This claim is harder to prove, especially if the commercial vehicle gets a lot of damage and the broken part is destroyed. But if it shows a defective part, your truck accident lawyer will include the company that made the equipment in your claim.
Truck Maintenance Service Provider
Despite the driver’s best efforts, a catastrophic truck accident may occur if the vehicle is not correctly maintained or the parts used to repair it are inferior. In this case, the company that provided inadequate maintenance is liable because it allowed an unsafe vehicle to be on the road.
Owners of Cargo
Cargo loaders may cause truck accidents. If cargo loaders exceed the trailer’s weight limit or arrange the goods messily across its floor, a truck may be unable to brake or change lanes effectively. When it comes to passenger vehicles, an overloaded truck with many things stacked on one side is a recipe for disaster on the road.
Why choose Leon Law Firm to handle your truck accident claim in Jacksonville, Florida
Fighting for our client’s rights is what we do, and we’ve been doing it for years. But what does that mean for you?
When you choose Leon Law Firm to handle your truck accident claim, you are choosing a group of personal injury attorneys with a long list of past victories for their clients. You are choosing the firm that will do whatever it takes to prove your case and find justice for you. Trusting Jacksonville personal injury law firm means trusting a firm with the skills and resources you need to win—including resources to fight complex cases where others might throw in the towel.
When you work with Leon Law Firm, you get a lawyer who cares about you and has the time and resources to correctly and efficiently handle your case!
Here’s what you can expect:
- High-quality and result-oriented approach to your legal issues.
- We fight to win. We carefully plan and execute the best legal strategy.
- Exceptional services, exceptional results, and personal attention.
- We are 100% focused on personal injury, immigration, and criminal law.
- No fees if we Don’t win on personal injury cases (Accidents).
- case review.
Jacksonville Truck Accident FAQs
The worth of your truck accident case is hard to figure out. Your injuries and property damage are just two things that will affect how much your truck accident case is worth. There can also be more than one person involved.
Some common factors that influence the value of a case are:
- How severe are your injuries?
- How much are your lost wages worth?
- Is a full recovery expected?
- Do you have a short-term or long-term disability?
- Was the accident your fault?
- How much does your family depend on the money you make?
People who got injured in a truck accident have only four years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit against the party who was at fault. After four years, you won’t be able to file a case because the time to file will have passed.
Probably, yes.
Insurance Coverage with No-Fault
Florida is one of a few states with “no-fault” rules for car accidents. Personal Injury Protection (PIP) is a type of insurance that all drivers must have. It pays for a portion of medical bills and lost wages, no matter who was at fault. So even if you were partly to blame, you could still get money from your insurance policy.
You can take steps to appeal if your PIP benefits are denied or run out. If you are not totally to blame for the accident, you can probably sue the other people who were at fault.
Florida’s Shared Fault
In personal injury cases, the state’s law is based on a rule called “pure comparative fault.” This law means that if you were partly to blame for the accident, your award would decrease by the amount you caused.
The first thing an insurance company does is try to find someone to blame. They think that will get them out of paying or cut down on how much they have to pay you.
When you’re being unfairly blamed for a truck accident, having a tough lawyer fight for you can make all the difference in how much money you get.
To win your case, you must show each element of negligence with clear and convincing evidence.
That means you have to show that there is enough evidence to prove:
- The defendant was responsible.
- The defendant broke his duty.
- Your injuries were caused by what the defendant did.
- You got hurt because of it.
The evidence used to show negligence is different in truck accident cases.
You could use any of the following to help your case:
- Your story
- Witness testimony
- Police report
- Truck maintenance records
- Commercial vehicle driver’s log book
- Record of driver training
- Medical records
- Payroll and employment records
- Expert testimony from the fields of medicine, economics, and science
- Reports on toxicity
Contact an experienced Jacksonville truck accident attorney for a consultation
The Jacksonville truck accident attorneys at Leon Law Firm know the system; they have seen it firsthand. They know what it takes to win your case and what questions to ask to show that someone else was negligent. These cases are tough to beat, and if you are going up against a big insurance company, you need someone who knows how to fight and win on your side.
Even many minor truck accidents can lead to serious, permanent injuries. No matter how serious or seemingly small your injuries, contact an experienced Jacksonville truck accident attorney from our firm as soon as possible. We’re ready to fight for you and your family every step of the way.
