Truck accidents can result in catastrophic consequences; Legal remedies are available, however, to help compensate victims for the damages they suffer.
A man was recently struck and killed by an 18-wheeler in Massachusetts. The truck accident took place as the victim was walking in the westbound lane ramp. The semi-truck driver continued driving until he was stopped later that night. Police detectives assigned to the Worcester District Attorney’s Office have been involved in the hit-and-run investigation. The semi-truck driver has been interviewed and the truck has been impounded. It has not been determined at this point if charges will be filed against the driver.
Unlike in some basic car accident cases when negligent parties and insurance companies may be the only defendants involved, truck accidents can have additional defendants who can include not only an inattentive truck driver but also the truck company that employed the driver. If the truck driver was acting within the scope of the driver’s employment and the truck company exercised control over the driver, the injured party may also be able to seek compensation from the truck company, as well as the driver.
Serious injuries and death can result from truck accidents, which tend to be catastrophic due to the size disparity between semi-trucks and other vehicles or individuals sharing the roadway. Personal injury lawsuits are available to victims injured in a collision and family members of lost loved ones can initiate a wrongful death case. The injured party will be required to establish the driver’s negligence, meaning that a duty of reasonable care was owed to the victim, that duty was not met and the victim was injured as a result. Sometimes, injured parties may be comparatively negligent in an accident in which they were harmed. In Massachusetts, as long as the injured party was not greater than 51% percent at fault in the accident, or the majority at fault, recovery is possible. Prior to that threshold being exceeded, recovery for the injured party is possible but will be apportioned according to fault.
Semi truck collisions can result in serious injuries and death. Legal options exist for those injured, as well as their families, to recover for damages sustained.
Source: WoburnPatch, “Update: Truck Wanted In Fatal Accident Found in Woburn,” Danielle Masterson, Jan. 16, 2013.
