Summerville, SC Truck Accident Lawyer

Thousands of trucks travel across the United States every day. Unfortunately, some number of those trucks will get in accidents, and people will get badly hurt as a result. Worse still, victims of truck crashes often end up with enormous medical bills from medical procedures and other treatments they need because of their injuries.

All of this can seem very unfair, but you can hold those responsible in court when you are negligently injured in truck crashes and get the financial compensation you deserve. Our lawyers have handled hundreds of truck accident cases, so we know what it takes to get the job done and make sure you have competent, professional legal representation.

Call (803) 219-4906 and get in touch with Rice, Murtha & Psoras’s truck accident lawyers about your case today.

Who Can You Sue in Summerville, SC Truck Accident Cases?

Suing the right party is a very important part of your claim. There are different entities you may want to take to court depending on the cause of your accident. When you are preparing your case, it is important to sit down with our truck accident lawyers and determine the specific cause of your accident because that will determine who you sue in your lawsuit.

Drivers

It is almost always the correct move to sue the truck driver involved in your accident. Truck drivers can cause accidents in many different ways, from speeding to making bad decisions on the road to simply being too tired to operate their vehicles effectively. When truckers do these things, you can sue them for your injuries.

You may also want to sue drivers besides the trucker if they were involved in your crash. For example, if another driver crashes into a truck, which then hits you, it may be a good idea to sue the first driver in addition to the trucker.

Trucking Companies

In many cases, you can also sue the trucking company that employed the trucker. The law allows employers to be liable for the negligent acts of their employees through something called “respondeat superior” or “let the master answer.” For liability to attach to the employer, the employee must be doing something related to their job when they hurt you. For example, if a trucker gets gas at a rest stop and hits you when they leave, their employer will likely be liable because getting gas is related to the trucker’s job. However, if the trucker hits you while going to their friend’s house instead of doing whatever they were supposed to be doing, their employer will likely not be liable because that conduct is not related to their job.

Another reason you may sue trucking companies is negligent hiring practices. If a trucking company hires drivers they know are not qualified or fails to train the truckers they do hire, they can be responsible for any injuries those truckers cause.

Truck Designers, Manufactures, and Mechanics

Sometimes, truck accidents happen because there is something wrong with the truck, not because of anything a driver did. When that happens, you can sue certain parties for creating defects in the truck. For a product like a truck, a “defect” is anything that makes it dangerous to operate in its intended manner.

The party you sue for a truck defect will depend on where the defect occurred. If the truck is poorly designed, you will sue the party that designed the vehicle, which could be the name brand or a third-party design firm. If the defect stems from a manufacturing problem, like using substandard materials, you would sue the manufacturer, and if the defect stems from a bad repair job, you can sue the mechanic shop that worked on the truck and caused the defect.

What Do I Need to Prove in Truck Accident Lawsuits in Summerville, SC?

To win a truck accident lawsuit, you must prove that the defendant was negligent. “Negligence,” or carelessness, means that someone did something careless and that unreasonable conduct caused your injuries. In a civil case, you need to establish four “elements” to prove negligence: duty, breach, causation, and injury.

Duty

In law, a “duty” is an obligation one party has to another. For example, truck drivers have a duty to drive their vehicles safely and in a manner that will not get anyone hurt. They need to uphold this duty at all times when they are behind the wheel of their truck.

Breach

Breach is the failure of one party to uphold their duty. For example, if a trucker starts speeding down the road, drives drunk, or drives for longer than FMCSA rules allow, they have breached their duty to other drivers and can be found liable for any injuries they cause.

Causation

Causation is frequently the element that truck accident cases spend the most time on. In any personal injury case, you need to prove that the defendant caused your injuries. More importantly, you must demonstrate that they were the “proximate cause.” This means that their conduct must be closely related to causing your injuries. For example, if a trucker elects to speed through a red light and hits you, the proximate cause of your accident would be the trucker speeding through that red light.

Injury

Finally, you have to demonstrate that you were actually injured. After all, if there is no injury, there is no real reason to go through a costly and time-consuming lawsuit. It is important to remember that “injury” includes more than just damage to your person. It can also include financial injury, like paying for a totaled car, or non-economic things like emotional distress.

Contact Our Summerville, SC Truck Accident Attorneys Today

Rice, Murtha & Psoras’s truck accident attorneys can discuss your case with you today when you contact our office at (803) 219-4906.