Truck Accidents Due to Negligent Maintenance

Most car owners know it takes quite a bit of work to keep their vehicle running smoothly, and improper maintenance will drastically reduce the useful life of their car or truck. This includes things like oil and other fluid changes, brake pad replacements, paying attention to recalls, and much more. All of this work is required for a relatively simple passenger vehicle, meaning that the amount of work necessary to keep a commercial truck up and running takes considerable more attention. Most truck drivers and trucking companies keep strict maintenance schedules in order to ensure their drivers and everyone who shares the road with them is kept safe, but unfortunately, there are instances where those responsible for the upkeep of these massive and complex vehicles fail to maintain them properly and the results can lead to an accident. 

If you have been in an accident with an 18-wheeler or other commercial truck caused by improper maintenance, you are the victim in this situation and are entitled to fair and extensive compensation. Your compensation package, paid out by the commercial truck insurance the driver and/or trucking company has, should cover a range of damages that go well beyond your medical bills and lost wages and include things like your pain and suffering, trauma, fear, and more. The unfortunate reality, though, is that the insurance company will do anything possible to pay you as little as they can while still successfully settling your claim, meaning that if they get their way, you will not be getting all of the money you deserve.

 

Determining If Your Accident Was Caused by Negligent Maintenance

If you are in a truck accident that you know was not your fault, then you will need to figure out what happened, and why it happened in order to move forward with your claims process. In many instances, a driver will simply admit that it was due to some sort of failure stemming from maintenance, such as an avoidable brake failure due to worn-out pads or a tire blowout because of overfilled tires. However, there are times when a driver will not be forthcoming about the reason in order to avoid being disciplined by their employer or in an attempt to avoid taking full liability for the accident. In these instances, we will need to take a closer look at the available records and evidence to confirm our suspicions.

Truck drivers are required to keep meticulous records for nearly all aspects of their work – the miles they travel, the schedule they keep, the weight, volume, and type of cargo they haul, as well as their maintenance routine and much more. The benefit to this record-keeping is that there is ample information available to attempt to paint a picture about what went wrong in your accident (such as an overtired driver who has been on the road over their allowed hours of service or a jackknife caused by an overweight trailer), but the drawback is that you will need to dig through copious information to find a thread to follow.

Fortunately, the team at BKBB has years of experience handling trucking accidents of all manners, and we will be happy to take on this administrative work in addition to the filing processes and negotiations that will be necessary in order to reach a fair settlement agreement. 

Seeking Fair Compensation After a Trucking Accident

Once we have established the cause of your accident (and thereby established who was at fault), we will move forward with seeking fair compensation. We will go through the actual process of how we calculate damages during our initial consultation, and of course throughout our work together, but once we have quantified the amount of money we will seek, our work is only beginning. The insurance company will make an initial offer, at which point we will need to make an initial counter-offer, and so begins an ongoing and aggressive series of negotiations meant to close the gap between the two amounts. 

After the claims investigation is complete and the insurance company makes their first offer, you will be shocked at the difference in their calculations versus ours. This is because insurance companies prey on the anxieties of victims by offering them a one-time settlement offer for quick cash hoping they simply accept it to slow the financial damage they are experiencing. However, we will fight to make sure you are not financially responsible for the actions of another driver, and will not rest until we either reach a fair out-of-court settlement or conclude a lawsuit in the Florida courts. 

Contact BKBB For a Free Consultation To Learn About How We Can Help You Get the Money You Deserve

We offer a free initial consultation for victims of all types of personal injuries, trucking accidents included, so we can discuss your accident in specific detail and give you greater insight into the way we can help you get through this process successfully. Trying to take on a major insurance company at the same time you are trying to recover from serious injuries and trauma can be—and often is—extremely overwhelming for the victim, a fact the insurance company is aware of and uses to their advantage. Instead of taking on this burden on your own, we will represent your case while you focus on what is truly most important: your recovery and health.