Tractor-trailer truck accidents leave victims facing long-term physical and financial hardships. If you or a loved one were injured, you need clear facts about your rights. A Greenville truck accident lawyer can help you hold negligent drivers and corporate trucking companies accountable for the damage they cause.
At David R. Price, Jr., P.A., our legal team handles complex commercial vehicle injury claims across Greenville County. The legal process moving forward involves strict timelines and complex insurance policies. Speaking with one of our Greenville truck accident attorneys ensures that your rights remain protected while you focus on your physical recovery.
Why Truck Accident Cases Are Different From Car Accident Cases
Truck accident cases differ from car accident cases because commercial motor vehicles can weigh up to 80,000 pounds. This massive weight creates a huge amount of force during a crash, which leads to catastrophic injuries and severe property damage. Because the injuries are often life-altering, the medical bills and financial stakes can be much higher than in a standard passenger vehicle wreck.
These cases also involve strict federal laws and regulations that do not apply to regular drivers. Commercial truck drivers must follow rules regarding mandatory rest breaks, drug testing, and cargo weight limits. Fully proving your case requires reviewing driver logbooks, black box data, and maintenance records to determine whether any federal safety regulations were violated.
Finally, multiple corporate parties are usually involved in truck accident cases. Instead of just dealing with an individual driver, injured victims have to face the trucking company, cargo loaders, and their corporate insurance teams. These businesses hire investigators immediately after a crash to find ways to limit their liability and avoid paying out claims.
Common Causes of Truck Accidents in Greenville
Commercial truck crashes in Greenville happen for a few main reasons, but driver error is the most common. Truck drivers often spend long, exhausting hours traveling on busy highways. To meet strict delivery deadlines, some drivers violate federal hours-of-service laws and stay behind the wheel while fatigued. This can cause extreme tiredness, which, combined with distractions such as using a mobile phone or adjusting a navigation system, significantly slows a driver’s reaction time.
Corporate negligence and poor maintenance also cause serious accidents on local roads. Because semi-trucks travel tens of thousands of miles each year, critical components like brake pads, tires, and steering systems wear out quickly. When trucking companies or third-party mechanics fail to inspect and repair these parts, catastrophic mechanical failures can occur at highway speeds.
Additionally, improper cargo loading poses an immediate danger to nearby motorists. If a shipping company does not secure a heavy load correctly, the weight can shift suddenly when the truck turns or brakes. This shift can cause the driver to lose control completely, leading to jackknife accidents, rollovers, or cargo falling directly onto the roadway.
Types of Truck Accidents We Handle
The mechanics of a semi-truck lead to specific types of collisions that do not occur with smaller vehicles. Our legal team reviews evidence for many kinds of crashes, including:
Jackknife Accidents
This happens when a truck’s braking system locks up, causing the trailer to swing out at a 90-degree angle to the cab. The truck becomes completely unmanageable, blocking multiple lanes of traffic.
Rollover Wrecks
High winds, excessive speed around curves, or sudden evasive maneuvers can cause a top-heavy commercial trailer to tip over onto its side.
Underride Collisions
These are among the most lethal accidents. They occur when a smaller passenger vehicle strikes the back or side of a semi-trailer and slides underneath it, bypassing the car’s safety crumple zones.
Blind Spot Wrecks
Large trucks have massive blind spots, often called “No-Zones,” on all four sides. If a trucker changes lanes without checking carefully, they can crush smaller vehicles traveling beside them.
Cargo Spills
When unsecured items fall from a flatbed truck or an open trailer, they create immediate road hazards for every nearby motorist.
Common Truck Accident Injuries
Due to the size of commercial vehicles, survivors of these accidents face lengthy medical treatments and permanent changes to their health.
- Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs): The violent impact of a truck crash can cause severe concussions, skull fractures, and permanent brain tissue damage. These injuries lead to cognitive issues, memory problems, and personality changes.
- Spinal Cord Injuries and Paralysis: Damage to the neck or back can sever or bruise the spinal cord. This results in permanent loss of sensation and motor function, leading to paraplegia or quadriplegia.
- Bone Fractures: The crushing force of a semi-truck can easily break bones in the arms, legs, ribs, and pelvis. These fractures often require complex surgeries and extensive physical therapy.
- Internal Organ Damage: Blunt force trauma can cause internal bleeding and tear vital organs like the liver, spleen, or kidneys, requiring emergency surgical intervention.
- Severe Burns: Many commercial accidents involve ruptured fuel tanks, leading to explosions and fires that cause permanent scarring and disfigurement.
Who Can Be Held Liable in a Greenville Truck Accident?
Determining fault in a truck accident requires looking beyond the driver who caused the impact. South Carolina follows a modified comparative negligence system under S.C. Code § 15-38-15. This means you can recover damages as long as your fault is not greater than the combined fault of the defendants. Multiple corporate entities can face liability for your losses:
1. The Truck Driver
If the driver was speeding, driving under the influence, or distracted, they are directly responsible for the harm they caused.
2. The Trucking Company
Under the legal doctrine of respondeat superior, employers are liable for the actions of their workers while on duty. Companies can also face direct claims for negligent hiring, poor training, or forcing drivers to violate safety rules.
3. The Maintenance Provider
If a third-party mechanic fails to repair faulty brakes or replace defective parts, the vendor may be held liable for any resulting mechanical failures.
4. The Cargo Loading Company
If a separate logistics business packed the trailer improperly, causing a weight shift or cargo spill, then this company is also liable for the resulting crash.
What Compensation Can You Recover?
Under South Carolina law, you can recover money for your medical bills, lost wages, and damaged property. Compensation for these damages includes immediate expenses like emergency room visits, surgeries, and prescriptions. It also covers your long-term financial needs, such as future physical therapy sessions and the income you lose if your injuries prevent you from returning to work.
You can also seek compensation for the personal, non-financial toll of the crash. This includes compensation for your physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, and mental anguish. If your injuries cause a permanent disability that limits your daily activities, these funds help address your reduced quality of life and the loss of companionship felt by your family.
To maximize your recovery, you must document every loss. Keeping copies of hospital bills, pay stubs, and vehicle repair estimates helps prove the exact financial impact of the collision. A Greenville truck accident lawyer uses this evidence to negotiate with the trucking company’s insurance provider to ensure your settlement covers all past and future expenses.
Why Choose David R. Price, Jr., P.A. as Your Greenville Truck Accident Attorney?
When you are recovering from a serious truck collision, you need a local law firm that knows how to stand up to big trucking companies. At David R. Price, Jr., P.A., our Greenville truck accident attorneys focus entirely on protecting injured people in Greenville. We immediately take control of your case by requiring the trucking company to preserve critical evidence, including the truck’s electronic black box data, driver logbooks, and maintenance histories.
Our legal team understands how to find violations of federal safety rules to prove who was at fault for your injuries. We handle all the stressful phone calls, paperwork, and negotiations with corporate insurance adjusters so you can focus on your medical recovery.
We work on a contingency fee basis, which means you do not pay us any upfront costs or hourly fees. You only owe us money if we successfully win a financial recovery for your case.
Our Results
Our legal team has a proven track record of securing financial recoveries for victims of motor vehicle and trucking accidents throughout South Carolina. Some of our past case results include:
- $1,225,000.00 Recovery: Secured for an individual struck by a company truck driven by an impaired motorist in Greenville County.
- $1,128,078.00 Total Recovery: Obtained for a client injured by a commercial truck where the driver lacked the proper license to operate a commercial vehicle in interstate commerce.
- $350,000.00 Recovery: Won for a man who suffered a torn rotator cuff in a collision caused by a commercial truck driver in Greenville County.
NOTE: Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Every case is different and depends on its unique facts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the time limit for filing a truck accident lawsuit in South Carolina?
Under S.C. Code § 15-3-530, the statute of limitations for personal injury claims is generally three years from the date of the accident. If you miss this deadline, you lose your right to file a lawsuit in court.
Should I speak to the trucking company’s insurance adjuster?
No. Insurance adjusters work to protect corporate profits. They frequently record conversations and use your statements to lower your payout. Let your truck accident lawyer Greenville handle all communications with a trucking company’s insurance adjuster.
How long does it take to settle a truck accident claim?
Because these cases involve severe injuries and multiple defendants, they often take longer than simple car crashes. A claim can take anywhere from several months to over a year to resolve properly.
Contact Our Greenville Truck Accident Lawyers
If you or a loved one have sustained injuries in a commercial motor vehicle crash, the lawyers at David R. Price, Jr., P.A. are ready to review your case, protect your rights, and help you pursue the financial recovery you deserve.
Contact our Greenville truck accident attorneys today at 864-271-2636 to request a free consultation.
