Metairie Truck Accident Attorneys

Petroleum and coal products are Louisiana's largest industries and make up the state's biggest exports. Trucks transport these products and others from Louisiana and throughout the country, traveling through Metairie on I-10. And they bring other goods into the state.

Truck drivers work hard to transport the products we want and need as quickly as possible to their destinations. However, negligent truck drivers and trucking companies who don't follow best practices and prioritize safety put others on the road for dangerous truck accidents and life-altering injuries.

An experienced Metairie truck accident lawyer at Stewart J. Guss Personal Injury Attorneys can help truck accident victims seek compensation for damages related to their injuries, including money for medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering. You can let a law firm handle the details of your claim and negotiate with the insurance company while you focus on recovering from your truck accident injuries.

The skilled Metairie truck accident lawyers at Stewart J. Guss Personal Injury Attorneys are dedicated to getting the best case results for clients who sustained injuries in Metairie truck accidents.

We are a national law firm 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.

Metairie Truck Accident Guide

Why Choose Stewart J. Guss Personal Injury Attorneys

The experienced legal team at Stewart J. Guss Personal Injury Attorneys includes dedicated lawyers, paralegals, and case management specialists who aggressively pursue maximum compensation for those who have suffered injuries due to negligence, including those who have suffered injuries in Metairie truck accidents.

Our firm's team has over two decades of experience advocating for victims of negligence and a track record of impressive results. The firm's dedication to professional excellence and client advocacy has led to the recovery of tens of millions of dollars in settlement money and the occasional jury award.

We cannot promise a specific financial outcome for your Metairie truck accident claim. However, we can promise to fight to get maximum compensation for your injuries if you have a viable truck accident claim.

Compensation in Louisiana Truck Accident Claims

Truck accidents are among the most dangerous of all traffic accidents. Victims often face debilitating and severe injuries that are expensive to treat and require weeks, sometimes months, away from work. Sometimes, permanent injuries prevent truck accident victims from working, compounding the economic burden of high medical bills.

Negligent truckers who cause Louisiana truck accidents often walk away with minor injuries, if any at all, because they have more protection from the impact of a crash.

Truck accident claims are notoriously complex because they involve high-value insurance policies and typically result in large amounts of property damage. Additionally, a truck accident can involve multiple other vehicles, especially when the truck is a semi and an accident occurs in heavy traffic.

Louisiana law permits injured truck accident victims to take legal action to seek compensation for losses related to their injuries, referred to as damages. If you reach a settlement agreement or a jury rules in your favor, you could receive money for your economic and noneconomic losses.

Each Metairie truck accident case has different elements that impact the type and amount of damages someone might receive for their claim. Here are examples of special and general damages that a truck accident victim might recover:

Special Damages

Special damages refer to economic losses that correlate with a specific monetary value.

They include:

• Medical expenses, including ambulance transport, emergency room treatment, hospitalization, surgery, diagnostic testing, follow-up visits, and prescriptions
• Estimated future medical treatment costs when a Metairie truck accident leads to severe injuries that require ongoing care
• Lost income from missing work due to the accident, injuries, and recovery
• Estimated future lost income when Louisiana truck accident injuries prevent an injured victim from working
• Vehicle repair or replacement costs

General Damages

General damages refer to noneconomic losses that victims of negligence suffer. They are more difficult to quantify because they aren't attached to a particular dollar amount on a bill or receipt. General damages compensate injured people for how their injuries have affected their relationships, quality of life, ability to work, and other similar things.

Examples of general damages include:

• Pain and suffering
• Mental anguish
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Diminished quality of life
• Loss of consortium

The team of Metairie truck accident lawyers at Stewart J. Guss Personal Injury Attorneys, can review your truck accident case and advise you which damages you could receive.

Statute of Limitations in Metairie Truck Accident Claims

It's crucial to take action and consult with a lawyer as soon as possible after a Metairie truck accident. Under Louisiana law, you have one year to bring a lawsuit against the negligent trucker or trucking company responsible for the accident and your injuries. If you don't meet the deadline, you will not recover any compensation for your injuries.

Contact our Metairie truck accident attorneys. We can meet any deadlines and give you the best chance to recover damages for the accident and related losses.

Common Types of Truck Accidents

Truck accidents are often like any other traffic collision between cars, SUVs, and other passenger vehicles. Semis and other heavy trucks can be involved in head-on, rear-end, and broadside collisions. Yet, 18-wheelers, dump trucks, flatbed trucks, garbage trucks, and other types of trucks are more likely to be involved in rollovers. Trucks also can jackknife and spill their cargo.

Rollovers

The shape of trucks makes them more prone to rollovers. Most are top-heavy, especially dump trucks, garbage trucks, and concrete pumpers. Improper loading, driving too fast on curved roads, or making a sharp turn too quickly can lead to a dangerous rollover. Going too fast along the lakefront, for example, could lead to a rollover.

Jackknifes

Icy roads contribute to jackknife accidents, so they don't occur too often in Metairie or throughout Louisiana. However, if truckers apply their brakes too quickly or skid on wet roads, they risk a jackknife accident. Jackknifes don't always involve other vehicles, but a dangerous collision is likely if one occurs in heavy traffic.

Cargo Spills

Trucking companies and truck drivers must adequately secure their cargo for safe transport to comply with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations. Insecure cargo can shift during transport and cause truckers to lose control of their truck. This could result in a rollover. With or without a rollover, nearby motorists risk severe truck accidents and life-changing injuries if a cargo spills all over the road.

Common Injuries in Metairie Truck Accidents

Fully loaded semi trucks can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, compared to the average car that weighs around 4,000 or 5,000 pounds. The major disparity in size and weight makes truck accidents among the most dangerous traffic crashes. Victims can suffer various injuries in a truck accident that might give rise to a personal injury claim.

Examples include:

• Traumatic brain injuries
• Back and neck injuries
• Soft tissue injuries
• Spinal cord injuries
• Amputations
• Dislocations
• Burns

The compassionate legal team at Stewart J. Guss Personal Injury Attorneys, knows your pain. We have helped thousands of injured people fight for compensation. We can help you hold the negligent truck driver and their employer responsible for their negligence. You should not have to suffer because someone else's careless decisions harmed you.

How Does Negligence Lead to Metairie Truck Accidents?

Truck drivers and trucking companies must follow all FMCSA rules and regulations to be safe when operating on the nation's roads and highways. This includes obtaining a commercial driver's license (CDL), keeping trucks in roadworthy condition, and properly loading them.

Drivers and their employers sometimes ignore the rules, putting others at risk for truck accidents and injuries. Examples of truck driver and trucking company negligence that sometimes lead to dangerous and deadly accidents include:

Distracted Driving

The generally agreed upon definition of a driving distraction is any activity that takes a driver's eyes off the road, hands off the wheel, or mind away from driving. Texting does all three, making it the most dangerous of all distracted driving behaviors. However, truckers were the first to comply with laws about cell phone use. Truckers cannot use hand-held devices at all.

Phones are the obvious driving distraction, but not usually a problem for most truck drivers. Yet, many other distractions can interfere with safe operation, such as drinking, eating, adjusting the radio, reaching for something on the floor, and daydreaming.

Fatigued Driving

Truckers have demanding schedules. Although federal law governs how long they can drive daily and weekly, many truck drivers still do not get adequate rest. Sometimes this is related to sleeping in a truck or hotel. Other times, untreated medical issues can impact sleep. According to the FMCSA, drivers awake for 18 hours experience the same level of impairment as someone with a 0.08 blood alcohol level, twice the legal limit for truck drivers.

Speeding

Speeding is not typically the direct cause of a truck accident. However, speeding is a contributing factor to many truck accidents, and it increases the likelihood of severe and fatal injuries. Driving too fast for traffic or road conditions or driving too fast without considering the weight of the truck and its cargo can lead to a trucker losing control. Excess speed also increases the chances of a tire blowout, which can lead to a dangerous truck accident.

Poor Hiring and Training Practices

Many truck accident victims take action against a truck driver's employer after an accident. The company carries the insurance policy, so this makes sense. However, trucking companies sometimes engage in negligent practices that open them up to financial liability without question.

Poor hiring practices and inadequate training are two common issues. Additionally, trucking companies that encourage their drivers to violate FMCSA regulations, like driving beyond time limits or operating an overweight truck, can also be responsible for truck accident injuries.

Poor Truck Maintenance

Federal laws require trucking companies and owners/operators to inspect trucks for mechanical issues, perform regular maintenance, and fix any problems. Trucks need to be roadworthy to protect everyone on the road.

Mechanical failures at critical times can lead to dangerous truck accidents. Simple things like the failure to change and fill engine fluids, replace worn tires, and monitor brake systems can cause truckers to lose control of their trucks.

Fighting the Insurance Company After a Metairie Truck Accident

Those involved in Metairie truck accidents inevitably have to deal with the truck owner's insurance carrier, whether the driver owns their truck or works for a trucking company. Trucks cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and can cause significant property damage during an accident, so insurance policies have high limits.

Although there are exceptions, insurance providers typically fight harder to avoid financial liability in high-value claims. They need to protect profits, so they try to deny claims or drastically reduce their value.

Let an experienced Metairie truck accident lawyer handle communications with the insurance company. Your legal team can review any settlement offers and use them to negotiate for more money.

Additionally, lawyers protect clients from questionable strategies insurance providers sometimes use to avoid paying fair compensation, such as offering an early, lowball settlement to get a victim to take the money and waive their right to sue for damages.

Injured in a Metairie Truck Accident? Contact Stewart J. Guss Personal Injury Attorneys

The Metairie personal injury lawyers at Stewart J. Guss Personal Injury Attorneys, has received national recognition for fighting for victims of negligence for over 20 years. If you suffered injuries in a Metairie truck accident, we are here to help. Call us to discuss your case and determine your eligibility for compensation.

We take cases on contingency, so you won't owe us any money unless we obtain compensation for your injuries. Our intake specialists are available 24 hours per day at 800-898-4877. You can also submit your Metairie truck accident details by clicking here.