In a single recent year, there were more than 500,000 crashes involving large trucks, including more than 4,500 that were fatal and 107,000 that resulted in injuries. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the majority of those injured or killed in these collisions (82 percent) are the people in other vehicles. The number of fatal truck crashes per people in the U.S. has risen 27 percent since 2010.more

The most common causes in large truck accidents are:

• Fatigue.
• Distraction.
• Alcohol or drug use/impairment.
• Speeding.
• Speeding & overtaking.

Determining Fault in Florida Truck Accidents

The very first step in any Florida injury or wrongful death case is determining fault. This is true for any kind of crash. Florida is a no-fault state, meaning that your own personal injury protection (PIP) insurance will kick in first to cover up to $10,000 in damages. In a semi-truck accident, this is usually nowhere near enough to cover all of your losses. F.S. 627.737(2) allows those who have suffered serious, lasting injuries in traffic accidents to pursue claims against the at-fault driver(s) beyond what PIP offers.

Insurance companies may offer a settlement, but it’s important to talk to an experienced truck accident attorney before signing anything because your case could be worth much more than what’s being offered.

Usually the only type of collision wherein there is a presumption of liability is a rear-end collision. In fact there is a name for it: A rebuttable presumption. This means if the semi-truck rear-ends you, there is a presumption that the truck driver was liable. This presumption can be rebutted with evidence, but it’s difficult to overcome.

Beyond that, the nature of the investigation might be simple (where on the vehicle did the impact take place?). More often, though, it involves complex measurements, analyses and expert witness testimony. Surveillance footage (including red light cameras), vehicle instrument recordings, cell phone logs and other information may be used for the court to make a determination.

Truck accident cases often involve multiple defendants, including:

• The truck owner.
• The owner of the cargo.
• The driver (often an independent contractor/separate from the owner of the truck/carrier).
• The manufacturer of the truck.

Whereas insurers in regular car accident cases may not push for an investigation (it may be more time/expense than the claim is worth), semi-truck crash cases are typically investigated much more thoroughly because of what is at stake. Commercial trucking companies are required to maintain between $300,000 and $5 million in insurance coverage, depending on the type of cargo they’re hauling.

If the insurance companies involved find any reason to believe the injured claimant was at-fault, they could decline payment altogether, which could tack on more time. Many commercial truck insurers cover the cost of not only the injuries but the cargo that may have been lost. That could prove a substantial sum, so they’ll look for any reason to avoid paying a settlement.

The Extent of Your Injuries

The substantial injuries typically incurred in a truck accident can also impact the amount of time a case will take. Bigger trucks result in more substantial injuries. These must be carefully documented to ensure a fair settlement. But insurers will insist on closely examining these as well. If there is any evidence that some injuries were pre-existing or aren’t serious as one claims, insurers will not agree to pay what is being asked of them.

It should be noted that pre-existing injuries that are aggravated by the truck accident can still be covered.

Although many crash cases are settled out-of-court, truck accident cases may be more likely to go to trial given what is at stake. In some cases, the insurer will agree the truck driver was at-fault but will dispute the extent of the plaintiff’s losses/damages. Settling a Fort Lauderdale truck accident case can take years, and a trial will take even longer.

The good news is that you do not have to pay your injury lawyer upfront. Your attorney is paid on a contingency fee basis, meaning you do not pay attorneys’ fees unless/until you win.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts 2018, FMCSA

More Blog Entries:

South Florida Car Accident Compensation Could Change With Auto Insurance Reform, Jan. 2, 2020, Fort Lauderdale Truck Accident Lawyer Blog

The Miami Herald reports the women were attempting to make a left turn on Tea Table Bridge in the Florida Keys in March. As they waited to make their turn, the large truck hauling portable toilets hit them from behind, propelling their small car into the opposing lane, where it was then struck by the driver of a mobile home. The women were all wearing their seat belts, but according to state highway patrol investigators, it didn’t matter because the impact to the passenger side was so severe and so deep. It was so horrific that it was only once the troopers had cleared the scene they discovered the body of the fourth victim inside the vehicle. They had been visiting from Spain. The driver of the truck that rear-ended them was given a citation for careless driving.more

Fort Lauderdale truck accident attorneys are heartbroken at this stunning loss of vibrant young lives of those who sought only to appreciate the beauty of our state. As long-time wrongful death lawyers, we know full well the devastating injuries and losses that result when these types of large vehicles are involved in South Florida collisions. It comes down largely to the size differential between these large loads and the smaller passenger vehicles more ubiquitous on our roads.

It’s worth noting that with rear-end collisions, courts in Florida have held there is a presumption of negligence by the driver in the rear (though this presumption is rebuttable). As noted in the 2001 Florida Supreme Court decision of Clampitt v. Sales, even a merely “abrupt stop” isn’t enough to overcome the presumption of negligence, as drivers are expected to maintain a safe distance from the vehicle in front of them. Typically, the stop made by the vehicle in front must be “arbitrary.” In this case, a vehicle stopped to wait for a safe time to make a left turn is not stopped “arbitrarily.”

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration reports in its most recent Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts report that in 2016, a total of 4,440 large trucks and buses were involved in deadly crashes, which was a 2 percent uptick from the year before. It’s also nearly a 30 percent increase from the statistical low of 3,430 in 2009.

Of the roughly 475,000 police-reported crashes involving large trucks, less than 1 percent were fatal, but that still amounted to nearly 3,900 deaths. More than 80 percent of these deaths were those not in the truck, but rather those in passenger vehicles, on bicycles or walking. Further, 22 percent – or 104,000 – resulted in injury. Anytime large trucks are involved, the resulting injuries are likely to be serious, mostly thanks to the disparate size of the vehicles involved. This is exacerbated if one or both vehicles involved is speeding or traveling too fast for the road conditions.

In this case, according to the Miami Herald, the European victims, all 30- and 31-year-old women, were killed on a two-mile stretch of the Keys highway where accidents are so frequent, the Monroe County Sheriff asked the Florida Department of Transportation to reduce the speed limit from 55 mph to 45 mph. FDOT initially denied the request, but later agreed to lower it – for now – to 50 mph. The sheriff speculated the reason for the high number of crashes is that it’s a popular spot for people to pull over to launch boats, take pictures, swim, fish, paddle and picnic.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

‘Equivalent to manslaughter.’ Families of Spanish tourists sue truck driver, employer, July 6, 2018, By David Goodhue, The Miami Herald

More Blog Entries:

Florida Shooting Victims File Venue and Event Liability Claims, Sept. 14, 2018, Fort Lauderdale Wrongful Death Attorney Blog

All this makes the latest report from TRIP all the more troubling. TRIP is a national research group based in D.C. The latest study opines a $740 billion backlog in infrastructure spending in order fr our nation’s roads, bridges and highways to be safe. Researchers further noted that the deterioration of roads is going to happen even faster as the rate of vehicle travel continues pick up and local and state governments find themselves coming up short to fully fund needed maintenance and repairs.

The shortfall was tallied by an analysis of data complied by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), as well as state and federal bridge and road condition information.

In Florida, the Department of Transportation reports 17 percent of the state’s bridges are either structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. That’s 2,044 out of 12,070. Further, the percentage of roads that are in either poor or mediocre condition is 26 percent. To fix this issue, it would cost $1.8 billion – or about $128 per driver. But of course, there are some vehicles that contribute more to this damage than others. Commercial carriers are one of those, which is why there has been calls for the industry to pay a higher tax for tolls or other taxation measures intended to beef up government transportation coffers.

Vehicle travel in the U.S. has increased 15 percent between 2000 and 2015. During that same time, travel by commercial trucks spiked by more than 25 percent. Between now and 2030, it’s expected heavy truck travel with increase an additional 75 percent.

The fact that traffic levels are increasing, it’s imperative that we find a way to keep our roads in good repair. Information from AASHTO indicates we need to be spending nearly 40 percent more on our roads – from $88 billion up to $120 billion – in order to keep the roads in bridges in good shape. The problem is that so far, our spending on infrastructure isn’t keeping pace with how many miles are being traveled on these roads.

Poor road conditions not only increase the chances of a truck accident or other type of collision, they result in damage to individual vehicles and we all end up spending more in gas.

The federal Fixing America’s Surface Transportation ACT (the FAST Act) offers approximately $305 billion in transportation funding over the course of five years. However, that money still doesn’t offer a steady, long-term source of revenue for what is going to be an ongoing problem.

When bad roads lead to accidents, there may be an option to seek damages from the government agency responsible for maintenance and repair. However, these cases are complex and involve overcoming sovereign immunity defenses, as well as proving the entity knew about the damage or reasonably should have known about it and failed to address it.

Call Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney Richard Ansara at (954) 761-4011. Serving Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.

Additional Resources:

U.S. has a $740 Billion Backlog of Roads and Bridges Repairs, Nov. 9, 2016, By Clarissa Hawes, Trucks.com

More Blog Entries:

Tour Bus Crash Kills 13, Injures Dozens More, Nov. 3, 2016, Fort Lauderdale Truck Accident Lawyer Blog