Truck accidents often cause severe or catastrophic injuries that might turn into long-term or permanent disabilities. Retaining a Gainesville truck accident lawyer can increase the likelihood that you can recover the compensation you deserve—and the compensation that is enough to cover long-term medical expenses.
Gainesville is home to the University of Florida, a regional airport, many businesses, and the residential population. Thus, many trucks use Gainesville roads to deliver goods to the college, shops, and grocery stores. While no one plans on getting in a truck accident, it can happen, especially when a city has more truck traffic than others.
If you suffered injuries or lost a loved one in a truck accident, contact a Gainesville truck accident attorney as soon as possible for a free case evaluation. You can reach us at any time.
Table of Contents
- Why Choose Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, in Gainesville
- Truck Accident Compensation in Gainesville
- Florida Truck Accident Stats
- Truck Accidents in Gainesville, FL
- Working With Insurance Companies
- Contact Our Gainesville Truck Accident Attorneys Today
- Frequently Asked Questions
Why Choose Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, in Gainesville, FL
Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, in Gainesville, FL, has experience representing those who suffer injuries in truck accidents. Over the years, we have recovered millions in compensation for our clients.
Two examples include a $3.85 million reward for a truck accident where the plaintiff suffered a brain injury and a $3.2 million in compensation for another truck accident where the plaintiff suffered a brain injury. While we guarantee no results, Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, is here to help you.
Most accident cases are complex, but truck accidents are even more so because of the number of defendants that might share liability. Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, looks at every case individually and reviews your medical records to help you pursue the compensation you deserve.
Even if you are still in the hospital, we can meet with you—either in person or virtually. We understand it is sometimes difficult to travel when you have injuries, so we can conduct a virtual case evaluation while you are home recovering. Our case evaluations are always free and without obligation.
If you suffered truck accident injuries, you need someone to help you recover the compensation you deserve based on your injuries. Instead of worrying about recovering enough money, let us handle that stress so you can concentrate on healing. Contact Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, for a free case evaluation.
Truck Accident Compensation in Gainesville
The amount you can recover for a truck accident depends on the severity of your accident and who is responsible for the damages. In some cases, the truck driver is not the only person responsible. The trucking company, a truck mechanic, an inspector, or even an independent truck owner who leases their truck to the driver could shoulder some of the liability for your injuries and other damages.
Florida allows you to recover two types of damages: Compensatory and punitive damages. The court orders compensatory damages, which include economic and non-economic damages, as a way to make you whole again. The court only orders punitive damages if the defendant's actions were grossly negligent or intentional.
Economic Damages
Sometimes referred to as special damages, economic damages have a monetary value and include:
- Medical expenses: Doctors' appointments, surgeries, follow-up appointments, prescriptions, prescribed over-the-counter medications, ambulatory aids, vehicle hand controls, and home updates, including widened doorways, handrails, grab bars, and wheelchair ramps. You can also recover expenses for cognitive therapy, physical therapy, occupational and physical therapy, rehabilitation home expenses, and home health care.
- Income: You can collect lost wages from the time of the accident through the time you settle or receive a trial award. You can recover future loss of earning capacity for the time you cannot work, even right up until you would normally retire.
- Personal property: Those in vehicle accidents, including truck accidents, can recover compensation to replace or repair destroyed or damaged personal property, including their vehicles and anything of value in the vehicle.
- Death-related expenses: You may also recover funeral and burial costs, cremation expenses, and certain probate cases. You might also recover probate attorneys' fees and expenses.
Non-Economic Damages
Sometimes referred to as general damages, non-economic damages do not have a monetary value and include:
- Pain and suffering, including emotional distress.
- Loss of quality of life if you have to make life-long changes, such as taking prescription drugs or using ambulatory aids because of your accident injuries.
- Loss of companionship if you can no longer enjoy time with your family, including sitting as a family at dinner or attending family activities and events.
- Loss of consortium if you can no longer have a physical relationship with your spouse.
- Loss of use of a body part, such as a hand, or a bodily function, such as your eyesight.
- Inconvenience if you have to hire someone to do the chores you usually do, such as lawn maintenance, grocery shopping, home repair and maintenance, or house cleaning.
- Amputation of a digit or limb.
- Excessive scarring and/or disfigurement.
Punitive Damages
It is difficult and time-consuming to recover punitive damages. However, in some cases, they are worth the extra time. The court only orders punitive damages to punish the defendant—these damages do not make you whole again.
You can only recover punitive damages if the court orders compensatory damages. Florida requires an additional trial if you ask for punitive damages. You must complete the first part to see if you can recover compensatory damages. If you can, the court—with the same judge and jury—determines whether the defendant should pay punitive damages.
You can only recover punitive damages if the court determines the defendant committed grossly negligent or intentional actions or inactions. Your attorney will review the defendant's actions or inactions to determine whether you should ask the court for punitive damages.
Florida Truck Accident Stats
Florida sees about 400,000 wrecks per year. Of those, about 3,750 are fatal, and 2,530 result in injuries. The Gainesville area sees about 5,200 accidents annually, with about 57 fatal wrecks and 3,650 injury crashes.
Cities like Gainesville are more apt to see wrecks, including truck wrecks, because of the number of people and trucks in the city, especially during the fall through spring, when college students are in town.
In addition to state regulations, truck drivers must also abide by federal regulations, including hours of service regulations. Truckers sometimes ignore federal rules to deliver a load on time, especially if they get stuck in traffic jams or have to wait longer to load or unload. Ignoring state and federal regulations often leads to more truck accidents.
Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, has experience handling truck accidents, including all the federal regulations that truckers must follow. If a truck driver's negligent behavior caused the accident that caused your injuries, you could recover damages from the driver and possibly the trucking company and others.
However, you must take legal action within a specific deadline. Florida statutes give you up to four years to take legal action for a truck accident. However, the sooner you contact a truck accident attorney, the better your chances are of recovering the compensation you deserve. Evidence tends to disappear after a few days—proof that you might need to prove the truck driver was at fault.
Truck Accidents in Gainesville, FL
The severity of truck accidents depends on several factors, including speed, whether the truck has a full load or is empty, and several other factors.
Some types of truck accidents include:
- Head-on collisions: A truck or another vehicle leaves its lane and travels in the wrong direction in the other lane.
- Rear-end collisions: A truck can rear-end a driver who pulls in front of the truck or ram a driver from behind if the truck driver is not paying attention or cannot stop because of a mechanical or medical condition.
- Sideswipe collisions: Other vehicles can sideswipe a truck just as easily as a truck can sideswipe them. Weather can sometimes push a trailer sideways into a jackknife situation where the trailer sideswipes a vehicle. In other cases, the sideswipe wreck is because the truck driver or a vehicle driver is driving recklessly.
- Turning collisions: If truck drivers misjudge a turn, they could run over property or another vehicle with the trailer.
- Blind spot collisions: In most cases, vehicles involved in blind spot collisions share liability with the truck driver. A truck has substantial blind spots. After a driver checks all of their blind spots, a vehicle could pull into an already checked blind spot.
- Rollover collisions: These collisions happen when the wind blows a trailer over or the truck driver takes a curve too fast.
Truck Accident Injuries
The injuries you might sustain in a truck accident depend on several factors, including speed, how the truck hits you, the weight of the truck and its load, what the truck is carrying, and other factors.
Injuries might include:
- Bumps, bruises, cuts, scratches, and scrapes.
- Strains and sprains.
- Pulled and torn muscles and other soft tissue injuries.
- Internal injuries.
- Simple and compound fractures.
- Crushed bones and other crush injuries.
- Head, neck, and shoulder injuries.
- Traumatic brain injuries.
- Back and spinal cord injuries.
- Chemical and thermal burns.
- Road rash.
Working With Insurance Companies
Insurance companies are in business to make a profit. That means they do not like to pay out claims and may do anything possible to deny a claim. Barring that, they might offer you as little as possible, which is what they think you will accept, to make you go away.
Even your insurance company will not look out for your best interests, no matter how faithful you are to it. All that matters to it is the insurance company's bottom line. Thus, we prefer to call the insurance company to start the claim process for you.
However, if you call the insurance company, you should give it your name, policy number, date and location of the truck accident, and your attorney's contact information. Do not try to explain anything to the insurance company. One of its tricks is to twist what you say to use it against you. You might not think you said anything that the insurance company can use against you, but it will find a way.
Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, works with all types of insurance companies—large and small. We know all of the insurance company's tricks. Additionally, the insurance company knows that when you retain an attorney, you are more likely to take your case to court, and they are more apt to offer a fair and reasonable settlement during initial negotiations.
Even if the insurance company refuses a fair and reasonable settlement, many reopen negotiations once you file a lawsuit. Going to court is very expensive for the insurance company, especially if it loses—not only does it have to pay its expensive attorneys, but it would have to pay your attorney.
Contact Our Gainesville Truck Accident Attorneys Today at Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA
If you suffered injuries or lost a loved one in a truck accident, you need an attorney with experience in state and federal trucking laws to pursue the compensation you deserve.
Recovering the compensation you deserve after a truck accident means negotiations with one or more defendants or a complex court case. Because big rigs are commercial vehicles and are heavy, you could suffer catastrophic injuries and might be up against more than one defendant.
Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, can help you pursue the compensation you deserve from all defendants responsible for your injuries or the loss of your loved one.
Instead of trying to deal with the stress of fighting with insurance companies while you are trying to recover or while mourning for a lost loved one, let Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, deal with the insurance companies involved. You can concentrate on recovering from injuries or taking care of your loved one's business.
If you suffered injuries or lost a loved one in a truck accident near Gainesville, Florida, contact Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA, for a free case evaluation by calling 833-552-7274 (833-55-CRASH) or contact us through our website.
Client Testimonial
“AMAZING and understanding attorneys! Did great on my case and I highly recommend Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA for anyone that has been injured in an accident!"
Rating: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Koralis R.
Jan 2020
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