Perry Hall, MD Truck Accident Lawyer

Few motor vehicle accidents are as dangerous as truck accidents. Individuals who are on the receiving end of truck accidents often have very serious injuries that have a good chance to stick with them for the rest of their lives. Worse still, many truck accidents can result in the death of occupants of other vehicles.

If you got hurt in a truck accident near Perry Hall, we can help. The treatment for and recovery from injuries caused by large commercial truck accidents can easily cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. We can fight for justice and compensation on your behalf so you can deal with the aftermath of a severe truck accident.

Talk with our truck accident lawyers from Rice, Murtha & Psoras about your case by calling (410) 694-7291.

Things that Cause Truck Accidents in Perry Hall, MD

Many different things can cause truck accidents. Generally, truck accidents happen because someone was negligent. This can happen in a variety of ways that we will detail below.

Negligent Drivers

A very common reason that truck accidents happen is negligence on the part of the driver. Driver negligence means that the trucker did something careless that a reasonable trucker would not do and that careless action caused your injury. Like all motorists, truck drivers need to follow the rules of the road. A truck driver is negligent if they get in an accident because they were speeding, ran a red light, or did not heed a stop or yield sign.

Additionally, there are other rules truckers must follow to be safe on the road. For example, truckers have hours of service limits that dictate how long they can be behind the wheel at one time. Truck drivers cannot drive for more than eight hours without a 30-minute break, cannot drive more than 11 hours after ten consecutive hours off duty, and cannot drive for more than 14 hours total in one driving session. These restrictions and more are in place because it is known that driving while fatigued is just as dangerous as driving drunk. A tired driver behind an 18-wheeler can seriously injure or kill other motorists.

Trucking Companies

Sometimes, some of the blame for a truck accident may fall on a trucking company instead of the trucker. Many trucking companies pressure their drivers to make speedy deliveries and make more trips in order to increase profits. This could incentivize truckers to make riskier decisions on the road, and some of the blame may be able to be placed on the trucking company.

Another way that trucking companies can be liable for a truck accident is through negligent hiring. Negligent hiring is when an employer hires someone despite knowing that there is a good chance they could harm other people in that position. For example, if a trucking company hired a driver who had recent duties on their record, they may be liable based on negligent hiring if that trucker gets in an accident and hurts someone.

Truck Defects

Accidents can also be caused by issues with the vehicle itself. A defect is something wrong with the truck that can result in an injury. These problems are baked into the design of the vehicle or come up somewhere during the manufacturing or repair process. Examples of design and manufacturing defects that could cause truck accidents include worn-down tires that might pop, using substandard materials for key components, or airbags or brakes that are installed the wrong way.

Perry Hall, MD Truck Accident Damages

If you are successful in your lawsuit, you will be awarded damages for your injuries. Although you will only be awarded damages once, the damages themselves are broken down into categories. These categories help the court understand why exactly you are asking for the specific amount of financial compensation in your lawsuit. Damages are broken down into economic damages, non-economic damages, and punitive damages.

First, Economic damages are based on things like hospital bills and costs of medical treatment. There is generally an invoice, bill, or other tangible piece of evidence that can be used to establish their worth. Second non-economic damages, on the other hand, are more abstract. They are awarded for things like pain and suffering or mental distress from injuries. Finally, punitive damages are based on the defendant’s conduct. They are only awarded if the defendant has been particularly bad and the court wishes to punish them for their bad conduct.

Calculating Damages in a Perry Hall, MD Truck Accident Lawsuit

When you ask the court for damages, you have to specify the amount of compensation you are asking for. While you can, in theory, ask for any amount for any reason, it is a good practice to sit down with our truck accident lawyers and come up with the amount you are asking for through some sort of method. Although there is no set way to calculate damages, we will go over two of the main ways it is done below.

The Multiplier Method

simply takes your economic damages and multiplies them by a given factor to determine your non-economic damages. The idea is that the long-term effects of an injury will be greater than the short-term medical treatment and associated costs. For example, if you have medical expenses of $100,000, you could use a factor of five and ask for $500,000 in non-economic damages for a total of $600,000 in damages.

The “Per Diem” Method

The “per diem” or “per day” method takes a different approach. This method calculates a value for the pain and difficulty of your injuries for each day you were dealing with them and adds it up to determine damages.

Our Perry Hall, MD Truck Accident Lawyers are Here to Help

Rice, Murtha & Psoras’s truck accident lawyers are ready to give free case reviews when you call (410) 694-7291.