Truck Attorney In Laurel, MS
Commercial trucks are a common sight on Mississippi highways. These vehicles are an essential cog in both the state and federal economy, but because of their size and weight, they can cause devastating injuries when involved in an accident. If you or someone you love has sustained injury or been killed by a negligent truck driver, a Laurel truck accident lawyer is here to protect your rights to compensation.
Roadways like I-55, MS-15, and U.S. Route 11, all of which cut through Laurel, carry risk for commercial trucking accidents. Now is the time to stand up and demand justice, and the team at WaideLaw can help.
Hire a Truck Accident Lawyer
With over 50 years of combined experience, the team at WaideLaw offers results-driven, caring, and compassionate legal counsel for a variety of Laurel personal injury accidents, including those involving commercial trucks. Lead attorney Daniel Waide is a proud Mississippi resident, born and raised on a family farm in Clay County. Here, he learned the principles that still guide him today: hard work, honesty, and integrity.
Daniel Waide views his practice as a spiritual calling more than simply his career and works to live out the values described in Isaiah 1:17. He is ready and prepared to arm himself with the truth of your case and go into battle on your behalf to seek the full and fair amount of compensation you are entitled to.
Common Causes of Truck Accidents in Laurel, MS
In a single year, 76,000 individuals across the United States suffered injuries in trucking accidents. Accidents involving 18-wheelers can be devastating, and the most common causes typically include:
- Distracted driving: Anything a truck driver does to take their hands off the wheel or their eyes off the road is considered an act of distracted driving. Typical distracted driving actions can include texting and driving, eating and drinking while driving, adjusting temperature or radio controls, reaching for something inside the truck cab, or interacting with the GPS system.
- Driver fatigue: Truck drivers often spend long periods of time behind the wheel of a vehicle and may even be tempted to push past safe driving limits to meet deadlines or get ahead of schedule. When a truck driver is fatigued, their risk of causing a serious and deadly accident increases significantly.
- Poor truck maintenance: When the tires, braking or steering systems, or lights on a truck are not regularly inspected and maintained, this can lead to serious accidents. When a trucking company cuts corners on this required maintenance, they put everyone at risk and can potentially be held liable.
- Impaired driving: When a truck driver is operating their vehicle while impaired by drugs or alcohol, it is not only illegal but also a recipe for disaster. Intoxicated driving can cause a trucker to suffer a slower reaction speed and impaired judgement, leading to accidents and a high number of fatalities.
- Unsecured or overloaded cargo: Across the United States, overloaded trucks account for around 65% of all fatal traffic accidents. When unsecured or overloaded cargo shifts, it can make it harder for the driver to control the vehicle, leading to cargo spillage, jackknife accidents, and rollovers.
- Speeding and tailgating: Because of their weight and overall size, it takes a commercial truck much longer to reduce speed than your average passenger vehicle. When a truck driver follows too closely behind another vehicle or speeds, they may not have enough time to slow down and avoid striking another vehicle in the roadway.
Understanding the reason behind a truck accident can help point out what parties can be held liable. In truck accidents, the parties commonly held liable include the truck driver, the driver’s employer, the trucking company, and the company in charge of loading the truck’s cargo.
FAQs
What Steps Should Be Taken After a Truck Accident?
After a truck accident in Laurel, Mississippi, there are several actions one should take to protect both their physical health and their right to a future claim. First, move yourself to safety and call 911. If you are physically able, gather evidence such as photos and videos of the accident and of your injuries. It is also crucial that you seek the contact information of the truck driver and their employer, but do not discuss fault.
How Can a Personal Injury Lawyer Help Me?
A personal injury lawyer can help you in many ways during a truck accident case. They are here to investigate the accident in detail, working to gather evidence and determine cause and liability. They can also help you file your official injury claim, negotiate on your behalf for full and fair compensation, and take your case to trial should the need arise.
What Are the Most Common Kinds of Truck Accidents?
In Mississippi, the most common kinds of truck accidents include jackknife accidents, rollover crashes, tire blowouts, failures in a truck’s braking or steering system, rear-end collisions, underride accidents, head-on collisions, poor driver safety or training, and intersection accidents. Understanding the type of accident suffered will help determine the cause and liability.
What Damages Am I Entitled to After Sustaining Personal Injury?
There are several damages you may be entitled to recover after sustaining a personal injury in a truck accident. These damages can include all related medical expenses, lost wages, lost employment benefits, or the loss of your future earning capacity, pain and suffering damages, loss of the enjoyment of life, loss of consortium, disfigurement and scarring, wrongful death damages, and, in rare cases, punitive damages.
Experienced Laurel Truck Accident Lawyer
If you or someone you love has suffered injury in an accident involving a commercial truck or 18-wheeler, you need to hire a truck accident lawyer as soon as possible. Do not make the mistake of facing a personal injury claim alone. At WaideLaw, we are here to advocate for your rights.
Call our offices today to learn more about our personal injury services and to schedule an initial consultation. We are proud to make justice our mission at WaideLaw and are ready to serve you when you need us most.
