Victims of motor vehicle accidents often face severe injuries, medical fees, and vehicle repairs. Unfortunately, these consequences become even more profound for victims involved in construction truck accidents. According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, over 3,000 truck accidents caused injuries statewide in 2020.
If you collided with a construction truck, you might be entitled to compensation if the other driver was at fault. However, you might find a construction truck accident claim difficult to begin. A Lehigh Acres truck accident lawyer could help you file a claim and manage your case.
Accidents Specific to Construction Trucks
A construction truck can be involved in the same type of accidents as other vehicles, including rollover, T-bone, head-on, rear-end, and sideswipe collisions. However, some construction truck accidents result from the unique characteristics of these vehicles.
For example, some rear-end accidents become override accidents when a truck drives over the back of a passenger car because of the truck’s height. In addition, underride collisions—which involve a vehicle sliding beneath the truck’s side or back—can also be a concern due to the truck’s height.
Finally, a squeeze play accident could occur when a construction truck makes a right turn. A car becomes trapped between the truck and the curb if the driver swings the truck to the left before turning back to the right.
Who Is Liable in a Construction Truck Collision?
Florida currently has a no-fault auto insurance system. Regardless of who caused the accident, your personal injury protection coverage compensates for the medical costs and other financial losses of anyone insured under the policy.
Keep in mind that the types of damages covered under no-fault claims are limited. For instance, you will not receive compensation for pain and suffering or other noneconomic losses caused by the accident.
However, you could file a liability claim if your injuries meet the standard set by Florida Statutes § 627.737 for severe injuries:
- Permanent loss of a major bodily function
- Permanent injury
- Permanent scars or disfigurement
- Death
Are There Exceptions for Construction Truck Accidents?
Unlike a standard car accident claim, you could claim against multiple parties after a construction vehicle accident, including:
- The construction truck driver
- The driver’s employer
- The truck manufacturer
- The truck maintenance company
Proving Fault in Construction Truck Accidents
Whether your accident resulted from driver error, an employer’s disregard, or mechanical failure, you could receive compensation by proving that someone’s negligence led to the crash. There are four elements to proving negligence.
Duty of Care
You must show that the person responsible for the construction truck accident owed you a legal duty of care. Truck drivers must drive safely on the road. In addition, employers are responsible for ensuring their drivers meet all the requirements to drive construction trucks and that their trucks don’t have any maintenance issues.
Breach of Legal Duty
After establishing the duty of care, you must also prove that the person breached that obligation. If a reasonable person, knowing what the person knew at the time of the accident, would have acted differently, you could establish a breach of duty.
Causation
You must then establish that the person’s negligence was the direct cause of the accident. The issue of legal culpability and negligence boils down to deciding fault. Here are a few situations in which you could hold someone responsible for a construction truck accident:
- An intoxicated driver
- The employer hired a driver without the correct qualifications
- A dump truck had an unsecured load in its hopper
- The construction company knew of a mechanical issue with the truck
Legal Damages
Finally, you must demonstrate that the construction truck collision caused injuries. Remember that to file a lawsuit after a construction truck accident, these injuries must be serious under Florida law.
Compensation You Can Receive from Construction Truck Accidents
You might qualify for compensation in a construction truck accident if it resulted in injuries. You could recover both economic and noneconomic damages.
Economic damages pay you for your actual, measurable losses resulting from the accident. Some examples of financial losses include:
- Replacing lost income
- Reimbursement of current and future medical costs
- Damaged property
Noneconomic damages are not easily quantified, although our team has experience calculating their value despite their intangible nature. Examples of noneconomic losses include:
- Pain and suffering
- Disfigurement
- Distress
- Social disconnection
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Statute of Limitations in Construction Truck Accidents
A statute of limitations sets the deadline for filing a lawsuit in Florida’s civil court system of Florida after you sustain injuries in an accident. While most injury claims settle out-of-court with the driver or construction company’s insurer, we’ll keep this deadline in mind during negotiations to ensure it doesn’t expire.
According to Florida Statutes § 95.11, you have four years to file suit. If you miss the deadline, the court will likely dismiss your case unless specific circumstances merit an extension of the time limit.
What to Do After a Construction Truck Accident
What you do after a vehicle accident might affect the outcome of your case. Follow these steps if you become involved in a collision:
- Seek medical attention
- Call the police and file a police report
- Obtain the names and contact information of everyone involved in the accident
- Take pictures of the damages and injuries
- File a claim with your insurance company
- Document all your medical bills and expenses that result from the collision
- Contact a construction truck accident attorney to discuss your options for recovering compensation
Work with Anidjar & Levine Personal Injury Lawyers
At the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine, we want you to focus on growing better. We’ll take care of everything else. For example, we can help you work out a deal with the involved insurance companies, have your vehicle fixed, and get the compensation you deserve. In addition, we don’t get paid unless you do. So, call us today or fill out our form to schedule your free consultation.
We Can Help.
