Kenner Truck Accident Attorney

Like many cities throughout the U.S., Kenner relies on commercial trucks to transport goods and supplies needed to stock store shelves and assist residents who live and work in the area. With proximity to New Orleans, these trucks also commonly pass through the area on their way to ship and deliver items there. Suffice it to say, those who drive the local roads are familiar with the truck traffic frequently included in traffic congestion here.

Unfortunately, for all of our reliance on trucks to transport the products we need, commercial vehicles are large and hard to maneuver, and accidents involving semis most often result in serious injuries to the occupants of other vehicles. Making matters worse, the insurance companies selling commercial vehicle insurance policies often resist fairly compensating those injured by these enormous vehicles. 

If you or your loved one have been injured in a truck accident, the experienced Kenner truck accident attorneys at Stewart J. Guss, Injury Accident Lawyers, can help you fight the insurance company to get the compensation you need. For your free case evaluation, simply send us a message online or call us.

We are a national law firm based with multiple offices around the country, including Louisiana. We also work with affiliate law firms in most states that share our focus and dedication to excellence. No matter where you are located, we may be able to help you, so call or contact us now. We are open, for free, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, at 800-898-4877, or you may contact us now by clicking here to submit your case for review.

Kenner Truck Accident Guide

A Local Firm With a National Reputation to Help You With Your Truck Accident Claim

The legal team at Stewart J. Guss, Injury Accident Lawyers, understands the benefits of having a local law firm that is also a national law firm to assist you with your claim. If you obtain services locally, you benefit from face-to-face meetings with a legal staff that lives and works in your community and is well-familiar with the roads where accidents occur and the facilities where injured people obtain their treatment. 

On the other hand, a firm that represents clients from all over the U.S. commonly offers more resources for the claims they take, both in the size and experience of their legal team and the finances available to handle even the most challenging cases.

The legal professionals at Stewart J. Guss, Injury Accident Lawyers, are pleased to offer the best of both worlds. We have a local office in Louisiana. Additionally, our team can handle much of the intake process and other business of your claim over the phone or through video conferencing to provide services to individuals throughout the state. You can reach us any time of the day or night to begin moving forward with your injury claim.

How Much Is a Kenner Truck Accident Claim Worth?

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), commercial trucks weigh 20 to 30 times more than most passenger cars they share on the road. They have a higher center of gravity that not only increases the risk of rollovers but also increases the risk of smaller vehicles becoming trapped beneath the truck's body during an accident. They are harder to maneuver and require more distance to stop.

Because of these reasons (and many more), the trucking industry is one of the most federally regulated industries in the nation, and those most likely to be injured or killed in accidents involving commercial trucks are the occupants of other vehicles and vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians or bicyclists.

Those who survive a commercial truck accident are more likely to suffer severe or catastrophic injuries. Catastrophic injury refers to a disabling injury that eliminates or impairs the injured party's ability to earn an income in the future. Catastrophic injury cases are typically more highly valued to account for the future impacts that the sufferer's disability will have on their finances and their ability to perform self-care tasks independently.

In all truck accident claims, the claimant has the right to seek compensation for out-of-pocket expenses and psychological impacts. The expenses commonly associated with truck accident claims include medical treatment, wage loss, lost earning capacity, and damage to their vehicle and other personal property. The types of impacts that claimants seek compensation for include physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of the enjoyment of life, inconvenience, and more. 

While calculating the value of your expenses is typically straightforward, to calculate the non-economic portion of your claim, your legal team will consider several factors, including:

• The amount of insurance the at-fault driver has to compensate the claim. Independent truck owners who operate their own commercial trucks and trucking companies must obtain more insurance to account for the increased risks involved with the vehicle operating on public roadways. Our lawyers can seek compensation from those larger policies.
• The severity of the injury, with accidents resulting in permanent injuries or requiring significant treatment typically resulting in higher claims.
• The recklessness or carelessness that the at-fault party exhibited that led to the accident. In Louisiana, the claimant and their attorney can seek punitive damages in egregious situations. Louisiana law explicitly allows punitive damages when an intoxicated at-fault driver causes the accident.

Where Truck Accidents Commonly Occur in Kenner

I-10 runs east-west across several southern states and right through Kenner. As one of the nation's longest interstates and the southernmost cross-country highway, it is a standard truck-traffic route and a frequent site of fatal and injury accidents involving semis.

When commercial vehicles enter the city from I-10 to pick up or drop off a shipment, they commonly use Veterans Boulevard or Loyola Drive to reach their destination, and both of these areas—heavily used by commuters and those headed to the airport—are also locations where commercial truck accidents occur.

The Causes of Truck Accidents

As noted, the trucking industry is heavily regulated, with trucking companies tasked with ensuring that drivers are appropriately licensed and trained to operate the vehicles and that drivers are performing pre-trip inspections for every trip. 

They must commit to a regular maintenance schedule for the trucks and provide a required level of insurance on the vehicle. When a driver who has obtained a commercial driver's license is discovered to have committed a traffic or safety violation, not only do they risk fines and fees associated with the breach, but the company they work for (unless they are self-employed) also faces civil liability for the harm caused to others as a result.

Despite these regulations, commercial truck drivers often commit violations that can cause a truck-involved accident on a public roadway and harm others.

Some behaviors that can cause truck accidents include:

• Drowsy driving: According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which is the federal agency that oversees the trucking industry, around 13 percent of commercial truck drivers involved in accidents were tired at the time of the crash. Physical or mental exhaustion can impair the skills a driver needs to safely operate a commercial vehicle. Exhaustion can delay response times and cause difficulty in maintaining a single travel lane.
• Speeding: Because of its weight, the distance that a commercial truck needs to come to a complete stop is far greater than that of a passenger vehicle. This is particularly true when the truck is speeding at the time when the brakes are applied, as the excess speed also causes the brakes to work harder to bring the weight of the truck to a stop.
• Distracted driving: Truck drivers often spend most of their waking hours behind the wheel of a vehicle. The scenery can get boring, and the miles can get long. Truck drivers are subject to the same driving distractions as other drivers, such as eating, drinking, adjusting vehicle controls, texting or talking on a cell phone, visiting passengers or co-drivers, or even daydreaming.
• Failure to yield the right-of-way: All vehicles must stop at red lights or stop signs and yield the right-of-way to the traffic in other travel lanes. Failure to yield is one of the most common causes of accidents at an intersection, which are extremely dangerous to the occupants of other vehicles due to the size discrepancy between trucks and passenger cars.
• Impaired driving: One of the many conditions for obtaining and maintaining a commercial driver's license is avoiding all alcohol and drug use that would impair the driver's ability to operate the truck safely. Drivers are subject to regular drug and alcohol screenings and are also held to a lower legal impairment limit of 0.04 grams of alcohol per deciliter of blood (half the impairment limit of most other drivers over 21). Despite this, some drivers overindulge in alcohol or take drugs—including illicit, prescription, or over-the-counter medicines—that impair their driving.

We Can Help You Fight the Insurance Company for the Compensation You Need

Truck drivers and trucking companies must take extra precautions to avoid causing harm to other users of the roadway. When they violate this requirement, they can be found criminally and civilly liable for the harm they've caused. Despite this, the companies that provide liability insurance for their trucks often make it difficult for accident victims to obtain compensation for their injury's financial and psychological costs.

From start to finish, the legal team at Stewart J. Guss, Injury Accident Lawyers, can help you fight the insurance company for the compensation you need by offering services such as communicating with the insurance provider on your behalf, collecting the necessary evidence to prove your case, documenting your expenses, and providing professional guidance as you make the crucial decisions in your case.

What You Can Do to Protect the Value of Your Truck Accident Claim

An accident often confuses people. What should you do next?

Seek prompt medical attention for your injuries and comply with your doctor's treatment plan. Another vital step is to contact an experienced truck accident lawyer as soon as possible.

In Louisiana, most accident claimants only have one year to file a lawsuit seeking compensation for their injuries. While most accident claims resolve via settlement, you must follow this deadline, as letting the statute of limitations expire in your case means the at-fault party's insurance company no longer legally needs to resolve the claim.

Other actions include keeping receipts of the accident-related expenses you have incurred, any medical documentation you are provided, and journaled entries of your scheduled medical appointments and other day-to-day impacts from your injury. Provide copies of this information to our legal team.

Injured in a Kenner Truck Accident? Trust Guss

Many local law firms would happily speak with you about your Kenner truck accident. When you contact Stewart J. Guss, Injury Accident Lawyers, however, you get the benefits of a local legal team plus the network and resources of a national firm. 

The Kenner personal injury laywers of Stewart J. Guss, Injury Accident Lawyers, is nationally recognized for protecting the rights of injured victims for more than 20 years. If a Kenner truck accident injured you, call our office right now for a free consultation! Because we take all of our personal injury cases on a contingency fee basis, you will not owe us a dime unless we win your case. We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so call us today at 800-898-4877 or contact us now by clicking here.