Truck accidents can cause serious injuries that can have a great impact on a victim’s life.
A bicyclist recently hit by a box truck was sent to the hospital in Worcester with serious injuries. The victim has serious leg injuries as a result of the truck accident. The truck driver was cited for a failure to yield to oncoming traffic, a marked-lanes violation and for an inspection sticker violation as well. The Massachusetts State Police reconstruction team is continuing to investigate the accident.
Accidents involving large trucks can be more serious than car accidents not involving a truck. The serious injuries that can result from a truck accident are simply due to the size and nature of trucks compared to other vehicles trucks share the roadways with, including passenger cars and bicycles. Bicycles can be especially vulnerable on the roadways. Pursuing damages when injured in a truck accident is based on common legal principles of personal injury and negligence.
The concept of negligence provides that each of us owes a duty of reasonable care to protect others from foreseeable injuries. Commonly, in order to establish a negligence claim against the party that harmed the victim, the victim will need to show that the driver acted negligent by establishing a duty of care that was owed to the victim that was not fulfilled. In some cases, however, such as when a negligent truck driver has been cited for a violation of the law, the injured victim will be able to establish the driver’s negligence according to the legal concept of “per se negligence.” This legal concept considers a violation of the law evidence of negligence when harm has been caused.
Because catastrophic and sometimes debilitating injuries can result from a truck accident, the legal system works to help victims recover compensation for the expenses and damages they might experience. Understanding these options may provide some peace of mind to injured victims.
Source: Metrowestdailynews.com, “Bicyclist injured by truck in Marlborough,” Norman Miller, May 31, 2013