Every driver should drive with the greatest possible care, but fuel truck drivers may have reason to exercise abnormally great caution. A fuel truck may not only be extremely heavy and therefore capable of causing extreme harm, but it may also be carrying large quantities of combustible liquid that could catch fire—or worse—as the result of a collision. You or a loved one who has been injured because of a fuel truck accident in Naples can retain legal counsel to seek compensation for your losses.
The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine can provide a Naples truck accident lawyer to be at your service. Call the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine today for a free consultation.
Fuel Trucks Are More Dangerous Than the Average Vehicle
When fuel tankers are involved in accidents, their capacity to cause damage may be far greater than smaller vehicles that generally weigh much less than a fuel tanker.
Fuel tankers may be among the heaviest class of vehicle on any given Naples roadway. The Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy explains that, while small trucks like pickups may weigh less than 6,000 pounds, the largest class of trucks can surpass 33,000 pounds. A fuel truck may weigh significantly more than 33,000 pounds, and this could be the case for the tanker that was involved in your accident.
There are several reasons why a fuel truck may pose a distinct danger in the case of an accident, including:
The Fuel That It Is Carrying
Fuel tankers may naturally tend to carry fuel, and fuel may generally have intrinsic properties that may contribute to:
- Fire
- Explosion
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) explains that municipal fire departments respond to approximately 51,600 fires per year caused by flammable gas combusting and that those fires caused on average 168 deaths and $644 million in property damage each year.
There is a possibility that a fuel tanker will be carrying a type of liquid prone to catching fire or causing an explosion. This may pose an additional danger, or level of danger, that is not generally present when other types of vehicles collide.
The Size And Weight of the Tanker
It is generally the case that the heavier a vehicle is, the greater its potential to cause injury or death to occupants of vehicles that it collides with. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) explains that when smaller vehicles are involved in an accident with a tanker, the smaller vehicle may be at greater risk of injury or death.
A fuel truck may have been the larger, heavier vehicle in the collision that involved you or a loved one, and its weight may have been a primary factor in you or a loved one’s injuries.
A fuel truck’s size and weight could also limit the speed with which it was able to stop or maneuver out of the way before colliding with your vehicle. The dangers that a fuel truck’s characteristics pose are not an excuse for a driver that caused your accident—rather, they were reasons that the motorist should have taken all necessary measures to avoid the collision.
A Naples fuel truck accident lawyer or their team will put together a plan for seeking compensation that covers your losses. Call the Naples personal injury lawyers today for additional information about how our team could help.
A Lawyer Will Figure Out Liability for Your Losses
The issue of liability is one that pertains to any personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. To assign liability is to answer the question of who is financially responsible for the losses that have come from your Naples fuel truck accident.
There are several potential parties who could be liable for a car accident. These include:
- The driver of the fuel truck
- The employer of the fuel truck driver
- Any party responsible for a malfunction that caused the accident
Every accident involving a fuel truck comes under unique circumstances, and liability for each case must be determined independently. A lawyer will figure out who is liable for your losses or a loved one’s losses before they seek compensation from those parties.
Some of the other responsibilities that a lawyer can handle for you or a loved one are:
Evidence Collection
A case may only be as strong as the evidence available to support it. There are several forms of evidence which may be relevant to your case, including:
- Any video footage of your accident occurring
- Physical evidence
- Documentation of the accident scene
- Police reports
- Witness accounts
A lawyer may work alongside engineers or other types of experts to recreate the circumstances of your accident. This may help bolster your case that one or more parties caused your collision and are therefore responsible for the harm that you or a loved one have suffered because of the collision.
Loss Calculation and Settlement Negotiation
A lawyer will itemize all of your accident-related losses and assign each value. From medical costs to pain and suffering and other types of harm, a lawyer will paint the full picture of how your fuel truck accident has harmed you by taking full stock of your losses.
Defense of Your Rights
A lawyer may personally handle as much of your case as possible so that your rights remain unviolated. If you have to make any statements or appearances related to your case, your lawyer will advise and accompany you so that nobody may attempt to violate your rights or take advantage of you.
Speak with Us Today
A free consultation with the team for a Naples fuel truck accident lawyer costs you nothing. Call the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine today for your free case review.
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