How Are Truck Accidents Different Than Car Accidents?

Watch this video by dedicated Buffalo injury attorney Timothy Hiller, Esq., where he explains how truck accidents are different than car accidents.

How are truck accidents different than car accidents? That is a good question. Legally, there isn’t much of a difference. But practically, there is a big difference. Number one, your injuries are likely to be very serious following a truck accident for obvious reasons as opposed to just your typical motor vehicle accident.

So the injuries tend to be more serious. But more than that, a big difference between a trucking accident and a motor vehicle accident is that a trucking company is involved. The way these companies set themselves up is to shield themselves from liability. They’ll often have the truck driver be what’s called an independent contractor. So when you’re in a trucking accident, the company or the entity that actually has money to pay your claim will say that they’re not legally responsible because the driver wasn’t their employee.

The trucking company will claim that the driver was only an independent contractor. Now, to beat back that claim, you need legal assistance. These are complex issues of law. You need someone who understands them and who knows how to show how they’re wrong.  I’ve dealt with trucking claims, and I’ve held trucking companies accountable and showed that these schemes where they make their driver’s independent contractors are not valid.

Another big issue in terms of the difference between a motor vehicle accident and a trucking accident is going to be the information that’s available. The trucking industry is regulated, and they are required to keep certain information to provide to regulators. So we can access that information. Sometimes without even filing a lawsuit, we can get that information. You need someone who knows, number one, that information exists and, number two, knows how to get it.

The other big difference between a trucking accident and a motor vehicle accident is your typical motor vehicle accident, most drivers carry the minimum insurance. They carry $25,000 of insurance. What that means is no matter how injured you are, the most insurance is going to pay is $25,000. Well, trucking companies are either self-insured for millions of dollars or just large companies that can pay fast sums of money.

So if you have a serious injury from a trucking company, you’re actually going to be able to get compensated for that. Whereas in a motor vehicle accident, sometimes you would not be able to get compensated for that depending on how much insurance that individual driver carried. So what that means is that in a trucking accident, if you’ve been seriously injured in a truck, it’s much more reasonable to think of it as a potential litigation right off the bat. These are cases that are high value typically, and they’re not going to settle right away. And you need an attorney who’s going to be thinking about it as a potential court case from the get-go rather than someone who’s treating it as just another auto accident where we’re looking to settle out for whatever you need.

If you or a loved one was injured in a truck accident in New York, you may be entitled to compensation. At The Law Offices of Kenneth Hiller, PLLC, we have successfully helped thousands of clients protect their rights and maximize their compensation after suffering a personal injury. Contact us today for a free consultation with our experienced Buffalo injury lawyers.