Commercial Vehicle Accidents In The State Of Florida

In this article, you will learn:

• Where and why many commercial vehicle accidents happen in FL
• Why it is worth seeking damages and what they may entail
• The importance of hiring an experienced lawyer in a commercial vehicle accident case

Trucking or commercial vehicle accidents are common, especially in South Florida, because we have a lot of tractor trailers coming in and out of the port here, and we have a lot of dump trucks that fill up at the rock quarries in Southwest Miami. We have a fair amount of big trucks on the roadways here and on the highways. So, I’d say they’re just as common here; maybe even more so than anywhere else in the country.

Where Trucking Accidents Frequently Occur In Florida?

The highway we have, US 27, is a really big trucker route all the way out to west coast to the center of the state. But all over South Florida, they happen on every single highway system we have here. Our speed limits are pretty high, and we have a lot of people that don’t pay close attention to other drivers. So, we end up with a lot of trucking accidents here.

Vehicles Subject To Different Regulations And Rules Of the Road

Commercial vehicles are often subject to different regulations. They have weight limits, the drivers have to maintain certain hours and logs that they’re not allowed to drive for more than a certain amount of hours in a day. They also have to have a special type of license to drive these particular vehicles. It’s different than just someone getting into a car and driving off. These trucks are subject to the FMCSR, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, which also govern the rules and regulations and standards of the trucks, the drivers, and the cargo.

How Commercial Vehicle Or Trucking Accidents Differ From Passenger Vehicle Accidents?

The main ways that accidents involving trucks can differ from passenger vehicle accidents is trucks are big, it takes longer for them to stop, and the bigger they are, the harder they fall. The accidents are usually more catastrophic than your average car accident even at a slow speed. When they do happen, they are usually much worse than your average car accident.

Common Causes Of Commercial Vehicle Or Trucking Accidents Across Florida

Negligence is the primary cause of trucking accidents; either bad driving on behalf of the truck driver or other drivers on the road lead a truck driver into a bad accident. Weather conditions, often bad maintenance of the vehicles, drivers that are falling asleep at the wheel, things that would end up being in violation of that Trucking Regulation Code that I mentioned earlier also contribute, but all the same things that cause regular car accidents are causing trucking accidents too.

Potential Damages Recoverable In A Florida Trucking Accident Case

The same type of damages in a regular car accident are recoverable. You can recover damages that are based on the value of your injuries, compensatory damages, pain and suffering damages, future medical damages, and punitive damages depending on what led to the accident.

The Importance Of Retaining Legal Counsel That Is Experienced In Dealing With Trucking Accident Cases

Having handled these in the past, we know what we are looking for. One example is these tractor-trailers, they all have the tractor-trailer equivalent of what the airplanes have, a black box, which essentially takes a snapshot of what’s going on in the vehicle prior to an accident, and it also keeps a log of everything that’s going on with the truck while it’s on its journey. That’s just one example of what your average car accident attorney that is not experienced with these tractor trailer accidents might not be looking for.

Why Commercial Vehicles Tend To Have Larger Insurance Policies Than Individual Motorists?

Commercial vehicles will have larger policies because if they are involved in any kind of an accident, they are usually much more catastrophic than your average car accident, but also because the policies will not only account for bodily injury harm to others, but insurance policies are there to cover the cargo and the value of the shipment that they’re shipping. But they’re larger policies, they’re usually corporate policies that will protect the companies that own the trucks and that own the cargo on the truck. So, larger policies to insulate the larger companies.

Why It Is Worth It To Fight A Trucking Company To Get Medical Bills Paid In A Catastrophic Injury Case?

Just like any type of accident, whenever you’re going up against an insurance company, they are going to play games, and they’ve got shady tactics to try to get you to go away. But they’re there for a reason; they have insurance to compensate people for injuries that they may sustain because of these types of accidents. Just because they have a lot of resources and it might seem like a David-and-Goliath, it’s always worth it. That’s why you want to get an attorney that has handled these types of cases before. We know right where to go when we get there, who to talk to, and how to talk to them.

For more information on Commercial Vehicle Accidents In Florida, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (954) 379-8030 | (786) 785-2555 today.