Truck Accident Attorney in New Orleans

Trucks are critical to the infrastructure of our country. However, they are also massive vehicles that dwarf the cars around them, making them kings of the road. As a result, many people find trucks intimidating—and for good reason.

Because of the size difference between a truck and a car, a collision between the two vehicle types typically means that the car and its occupants fare worse than the truck and its driver. And if you’re the one in the car, it can be one of the scariest moments of your life.

At Morgan & Morgan, we have experience helping people like you recover from the devastating injuries that result from truck accidents. Our attorneys will guide you through the claims process and help you find the medical resources you need to fully recover from your injuries.

Most importantly, though, we will help you get compensation to pay for your medical bills and other expenses. By removing the fear of financial ruin, we can give you the peace of mind necessary to recover quickly and fully.

If you have been seriously injured in a truck crash, contact Morgan & Morgan immediately to consult a truck accident lawyer in New Orleans during a free case evaluation.

Truck Accident Injuries

If you are involved in a truck accident, you will likely spend significant time in the hospital. After all, truck accident injuries are usually quite serious, and many victims suffer lifelong disabilities after a crash. Some common injuries include:

• Traumatic brain injury
• Nerve or spinal damage, including paralysis
• Broken, crushed, or shattered bones
• Dismemberment
• Permanent scarring

These injuries often require months or years of medical treatment, which can get extremely expensive. Having a good truck accident lawyer in New Orleans can help you obtain money to pay for that treatment.

How to Avoid Truck Accidents

The best way to avoid the serious injuries that often result from truck accidents is to never get into an accident in the first place. And while it is impossible to completely avoid accidents unless you never get into a car, you can take measures to mitigate your chances of being in a truck accident.

Avoid Passing Trucks on the Right

Truck drivers have extremely limited lines of sight. Typically, their visibility on the right side of their truck is worse than their visibility on the left side. Thus, if you are trying to pass a truck on the right, there is a good chance the driver has no clue your car is there.

Truck drivers must stay in the right lane while driving unless they are passing. As such, there typically won’t be many opportunities to pass a truck on the right. However, the situation might arise on wide highways.

But even if there is such an opportunity, you should never take it unless it is your only option.

Always Pass a Truck Quickly

Regardless of which side you pass a truck on, you should always pass as quickly as possible. The longer you drive next to a truck, the more likely its driver will attempt to move into your lane, causing an accident.

The best way to pass a truck is to make sure you can see the truck’s mirror and then complete the pass swiftly. Generally, it is safer to speed slightly to get past the truck quickly than to complete the pass while staying under the speed limit.

Be Wary of Blind Spots

Trucks have many blind spots. As a rule, if you can’t see at least one of the truck's mirrors, you are probably in one of those blind spots. The most dangerous blind spots are directly behind and in front of the truck. In addition, because the driver sits on the left side of the cab, most of the lane directly to the right of the truck is also a blind spot.

The best way to avoid blind spots is to give trucks plenty of room. Approximately 50 feet of leeway should be relatively safe for most trucks, though you may want to give roughly 100 feet of space if you are both driving at very high speeds.

Watch for Other Dangers on the Road

The time required to brake completely is different for a truck than it is for a passenger vehicle. If you are driving at a speed where you can stop your car in about 200 feet by hitting the brakes, a truck might require three or four times as much distance to stop at the same speed.

Because trucks are both slower to stop and speed up, they react more slowly to dangers and hazards. As a result, if you see a hazard, you should be extra cautious if a truck is driving nearby. It might need more room to avoid potential danger. By slowing down or even pulling off the road, you can ensure you don’t get caught in an unfortunate accident.

Avoid Trucks in Bad Conditions

If truck drivers are appropriately safe, they will pull off the road and not drive during heavy rain or similar conditions. However, not all truck drivers are appropriately cautious. This leads to multi-ton vehicles being driven in conditions that make it hard to maneuver or stop safely.

Typically, if the weather is too dangerous for a car, it is far more dangerous for a truck. Thus, conditions that require extra caution by a car driver usually require considerably more caution from a truck driver.

While you can’t do anything about a truck driving in bad conditions, you can avoid driving near the truck. The safest option is to pull over and wait for the truck to travel far beyond you. Alternatively, if you can safely pass, pull far ahead of the truck. However, be wary not to drive too fast for the conditions.

If you do get into an accident because a truck was driving in unsafe conditions, contact a truck accident lawyer in New Orleans immediately. The negligence of that truck driver was the cause of your accident, and you deserve compensation.

How a Truck Accident Lawyer in New Orleans Will Get You Compensation After a Crash

If you have been injured in a truck accident, you will need money to pay for your medical bills and other expenses resulting from the injury. Typically, you will get this money from one or more insurance companies.

In Louisiana, each insurance company pays a percentage of compensation based on how responsible you are for the accident. Thus, if you were 20% responsible for the accident, your insurance company would pay 20% of your expenses, and the other insurer would cover the rest.

These details only become important when they affect your compensation, which typically only happens when the insurance companies disagree about your level of responsibility. In such cases, they might try to pay you less than a combined 100% of the compensation you need.

A trusted truck accident lawyer in New Orleans from the office of Morgan and Morgan can prevent you from getting caught in this situation. Our attorneys are skilled at investigating accidents, and we will find evidence that proves culpability and prevents the insurance companies from pointing fingers at each other.

With that evidence in hand, we will negotiate a fair settlement offer from one or both companies. If that settlement doesn’t cover all your expenses and losses, we will take the case to court.

However, that doesn’t typically happen. In almost all cases, we can persuade both companies to agree to fair settlements. This outcome is preferable because it ensures you obtain the money you need as quickly as possible. And when you are facing thousands of dollars of medical bills, it is crucial that you get money quickly.