Commercial trucks are large motor vehicles, and most large trucks have different centers of gravity than other automobiles on the road, making them more prone to truck rollovers. Truck rollover accidents have the potential to cause multiple injuries to innocent people who are in the vicinity of the trucks.
The causes of rollover accidents are not always easy to determine. Any person who suffers injuries because of an overturned truck in Greenville should consult with an experienced truck accident lawyer today.
Causes of Truck Rollovers
When investigators attempt to determine what caused a rollover accident, they often have a tremendous amount of interest in the actions of a truck driver.
The speeds at which truck drivers are operating will usually play a major role in determining the cause of these accidents. Many rollovers are attributed to failure to adjust speed to curves in the road. Truck driver inattention, steering, and load management also contribute to rollovers.
In other cases, truck drivers may deal with fatigue issues, or they may have been driving under the influence (DUI) of either drugs or alcohol.
Some rollover accidents are not caused by the drivers at all, but instead are caused by issues with the truck itself. Improperly loaded or secured cargo could be a factor in certain rollover crashes.
It is also possible that a truck could overturn because of issues with its brakes or suspension. Tires that are not properly inflated could also play a role in some rollover accidents. An experienced truck accident lawyer can inspect the maintenance records of the truck and the maintenance history of the company.
Common Overturned Truck Crash Injuries
The people who suffer injuries in rollover crashes are often driving smaller motor vehicles that are sharing the road with the truck.
Anyone struck by an overturned truck can suffer multiple injuries. Some of the more common kinds of injury claims in these cases could include:
- Fractures or broken bones
- Closed head injuries
- Back injuries
- Leg injuries
- Neck injuries
- Internal injuries
- Skull fractures
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
- Spinal cord injuries
- Permanent nerve injuries
- Amputations
- Paralysis
- Severe burn injuries
Some rollover accidents result in death. When a person dies in a rollover crash, the family members left behind may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
South Carolina allows a deceased person’s surviving spouse and children to file a wrongful death lawsuit, and a person’s parents can file when there are no spouses or children. If a person’s parents are no longer living, then a deceased person’s statutory beneficiaries can file a wrongful death action.
Compensation for Rollover Accidents
A rollover accident case can be incredibly challenging for most people to recover fair and full compensation on their own. A trucking company will retain lawyers immediately, often while the truck is still at the scene. Therefore, it is always recommended that you work with a personal injury lawyer to handle your case. The first thing an experienced truck accident attorney will do is launch an independent investigation into your accident to secure important evidence and know precisely what occurred.
Many insurance companies for commercial trucks will try to contact victims and extend settlement offers quickly after a collision. Even when these amounts may sound significant, injured persons need to ask themselves whether the offered amounts would actually be enough to cover their entire lifetime of medical expenses if their from the collision from require it. Most of the time, the offered amounts will not.
When a person has legal representation, they do not need to worry about dealing with an insurance company, because their lawyer can step in and immediately begin handling all communications on a victim’s behalf. This approach is always beneficial because injured people do not have to worry about any statements they make to insurers that could be taken out of context and used to reduce a possible settlement amount.
If a person can prove the fault of a truck driver or trucking company by a preponderance of the evidence (meaning “more likely than not,” a much lower bar than the beyond a reasonable doubt standard used in criminal cases), then they can receive compensatory damages relating to their accident. Compensatory damages often include a combination of economic damages and noneconomic damages.
Economic damages are the kinds of compensation that involve losses victims can back up with evidence of their payments. Common examples of economic damages include:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Property damage
Noneconomic damages relate to much more subjective losses for people, usually mental or psychological injury claims. Some of the more frequent noneconomic damages may include:
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of consortium
- Mental anguish
A third possible kind of damages in a much more limited number of cases is punitive damages. Such awards are rare because they require people to prove that injuries were the result of a defendant’s willful, wanton, or reckless conduct. In South Carolina, a punitive damages award cannot be more than three times the amount of compensatory damages or $500,000, whichever is greater, except in certain circumstances.
Call Us Today to Speak with a Greenville Truck Accident Lawyer
If you suffered have catastrophic injuries or your loved one was killed in a truck rollover crash in Greenville, SC, then you should seek qualified legal counsel to hold the negligent party accountable. The attorneys at David R. Price Jr., P.A. will fight on your behalf and can help you recover every last dollar that is available in your case.
Our firm is aware of how complex rollover investigations can be, but we also work with experts in our field and know how to use all of the evidence we collect to help present the best possible case in court. Call (864) 207-4741 or contact us online to receive a free consultation.
David Price is a Personal Injury, Civil Litigation, Collections, and Criminal Defense Attorney who practices in Greenville, SC. He graduated from the University of Georgia School of Law, and has been practicing law for 12 years. David Price believes in helping those who have been injured. Learn more about his experience by clicking here.
