Charlotte Injury Lawyers Blog
What Elements Must You Prove in a Truck Accident Lawsuit?
When you are hurt in an accident, it can be one of the worst days of your life. If the crash is with a truck, you could be severely injured. The negligent driver should be held responsible for your damages, including your injuries and property damage. Truck accidents can be more complex than other types of crashes. The driver, trucking company, manufacturer, or others could be found negligent. You will want to understand how to prove the other driver is responsible for the accident so you can seek compensation.
There are four major elements that you must prove. These include duty, breach, causation, and damages.
Duty
When a driver gets behind the wheel, they have a duty of care. They must act in a way that will not harm others. Drivers must obey all traffic laws, follow signs, and pay attention to the road. Drivers must also take care to ensure that their vehicle is safe and that they operate it in a safe manner. All drivers have a duty of care to ensure safety on the road.
Charlotte Personal Injury Attorney Matt Arnold answers the question: ” If an incident report was filled out, do I have a right to receive a copy?”
Breach of Duty
When someone acts in a negligent manner, they breach their duty of care. Negligence is the failure to use a level of care that a reasonable person would use in the same circumstances. If a driver does something that is unsafe, they have breached their duty of care. There are many things that may be negligent, such as speeding, failure to yield, improper lane change, distracted driving, driving while impaired, and more.
Truck accidents can be more complex, and more than one party may have been negligent. For example, the trucking company could be negligent if it failed to make repairs, which resulted in an accident. In North Carolina, a party may only obtain damages when they were not negligent. The other party or parties must be 100% responsible for the accident in order to collect compensation.
Causation
To seek compensation after an accident, you must show that your damages were a direct result of the breach of duty. In other words, the other party’s negligence caused your injuries and other damages. It is important to get medical attention as soon after the accident as possible. This will help to prove that your injuries were a result of the accident. Keep all your medical records and documentation that indicates exactly when and how the injuries happened. You may also need expert testimony from a medical professional if the case goes to court. Your attorney will help ensure that you obtain what is needed for your claim.
Damages
Once you establish that the driver was negligent and caused the accident, you must be able to prove your damages. Damages include such things as medical bills, surgery costs, hospital and doctor visits, disfigurement, rehabilitation expenses, lost wages, emotional stress, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, property damage, and more. To prove damages, you will need to provide detailed information that shows your injuries, such as medical records, bills, doctor testimony, photos of injuries, and others. Your attorney will help you gather the data you need for your claim.
If you or a loved one were hurt in a truck accident, we are here to assist you. Contact our experienced legal team at Arnold & Smith, PLLC, at (704) 370-2828 to request a consultation.
The skilled personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to maximizing the financial recovery and obtaining justice for every personal injury client injured by another party’s negligence. The issues our personal injury clients may be facing include, but are not limited to, slip and fall injuries, wrongful death, product liability, catastrophic injuries, dog bite claims, car and truck accident injuries, motorcycle injuries, traumatic brain injury (TBI), nursing home negligence, spinal cord injury, boating accidents, and defective medical device injury. Our personal injury attorneys understand the devastating impact such an injury can have on a person’s life, and that the effects so often go beyond physical pain and suffering. The personal injury attorneys at Arnold & Smith, PLLC are dedicated to helping clients determine the strength of their claims, and to aggressively pursuing the means necessary to achieve the best possible end result for each client’s particular situation.
Source:
damages | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute (cornell.edu)
negligence | Wex | US Law | LII / Legal Information Institute (cornell.edu)
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