Truck Accident Lawyer in Gallatin
Truck accident victims are often left with serious injuries that take months to heal—and those victims deserve justice.
A Gallatin truck accident lawyer from Mitch Grissim & Associates will hold the irresponsible trucking company and drivers accountable for their failure to protect drivers, using all available evidence in your favor.
Contact us at (615) 255-9999 or online to schedule your free consultation and take the first step toward healing from a serious truck accident.
Why Do Truck Accidents Happen?
Truck accident cases may result from a variety of causes, which can include the following.
- Truck Driver Mistakes – Speeding, texting while driving, failing to stop at a red light, and even intoxicated driving on the part of a truck owner can result in tragic accidents.
- Trucking Company Oversight – Big rigs are complicated, dangerous vehicles, especially if a driver is overworked. Trucking companies have an obligation to ensure their commercial truck drivers are competent, focused, and well rested.
- Maintenance Failures – In some truck accidents, the maintenance team did not ensure that these large trucks were road-safe.
- Mechanical Defects – A Gallatin truck accident case may result due to brake failures or untested tires that cause the truck driver to lose control.
- Road Conditions – Sometimes, it is poor road conditions that lead to a truck crash, such as potholes or slick roads after a rainstorm.
We Handle All Types of Truck Accident Injury Claims in Gallatin, TN
Our Gallatin truck accident lawyers have years of experience with many types of accident injury claims, which may include the following.
- Spinal Cord Injuries – Damage to the spinal cord from an accident with large trucks involved can result in permanent injuries and irrevocably change a victim’s life. Our Gallatin truck accident lawyers will help you recover compensation for your ongoing medical treatment and pain.
- Traumatic Brain Injuries – A victim’s injuries are often more severe in accidents with commercial vehicles involved, and they can include irreversible brain damage. Our team will assist you in seeking compensation that will cover your medical care and future needs.
- Amputations – Losing a limb is traumatic and results in high medical expenses. We’ll protect your legal rights, help you pursue compensation, and make sure your medical bills are covered to the fullest extent of the law.
- Neck Injuries – These injuries may be as simple as frequent migraines or as severe as total paralysis. Your attorney from Mitch Grissim & Associates will make sure your medical attention is accounted for in your settlement.
- Back Injuries – Injuries sustained during a truck accident may lead to significant pain and discomfort, such as slipped discs. If you suffer from back pain because of someone else’s negligence, we will hold them accountable.
- Wrongful Death – A compassionate, competent attorney from our law firm will help loved ones file a wrongful death claim to pay for burial expenses and other expenses, ensuring they can grieve without worrying about bills.
What to Do After a Truck Accident
As crashes can happen any time you get on the road, it’s crucial that you know what to do after a truck accident.
First, call the police and stay at the scene, ensuring that you’re not in the way of oncoming traffic. Take pictures of the damage to your vehicle and yourself, then gather the contact information of everyone present at the scene. After the police arrive, seek medical attention at a local hospital, keeping your records for future reference.
You will need to file a claim with your insurance company but do not speak to any insurance adjusters who may contact you to get more details. Instead, call a Gallatin truck accident lawyer who can negotiate with them on your behalf.
Who Can Be Responsible for Your Truck Accident?
Multiple parties may be held accountable, whether that is other drivers who failed to stop or the city of Gallatin, TN, for poor road maintenance. However, these are the most common defendants who may be liable for a car accident.
Truck Driver
In most accidents, truck drivers have the majority of liability. They may have failed to respond to changing road conditions in time, or they were distracted and speeding down a highway.
Truckers are also obligated to take extra caution in hazardous weather like rainstorms, pulling off if visibility drops. If they continue to drive despite the danger, this can implicate them in a lawsuit should they cause an accident.
An attorney from Mitch Grissim & Associates will perform a thorough investigation to identify what they were doing at the time of the accident and determine how that may have contributed to the outcome.
Trucking Company
There are also times when a trucking company is liable, especially if their truck drivers are employees and not contractors.
Truck companies are required to provide adequate time for rest and meal times, but many disregard these regulations and push their drivers to complete their trips faster. They may also fail to maintain their fleet or send out trucks that they know are unsafe.
When you contact our law firm, our attorney will prove liability using electronic driver logs and repair documentation, as well as evidence from the crash itself.
Part Manufacturers
Vehicle and parts manufacturers can be liable for a brake failure truck accident if it can be proven that it was a manufacturing defect, not insufficient maintenance, that led to the failure.
Other common reasons a manufacturer might be held liable are faulty tires, weak ties between the tractor and the trailer, or poor steering systems.
How to Prove Fault in a Truck Accident Claim in Gallatin, Tennessee
There are four factors necessary to determine that the other driver is at fault for the truck accident. These are:
- Duty of Care – The other party has an obligation to act with reasonable caution so that others are not injured.
- Breach of Duty – The responsible party failed to uphold their duty to prevent accidents.
- Damages – You suffered physical or financial losses as a result of the breach of duty.
- Causation – Your injuries were directly caused by the other party’s breach of duty.
Comparative Negligence
Tennessee uses modified comparative negligence, meaning that all parties involved in an accident are assigned a percentage of blame.
If you are less than 50% responsible for the accident, you can seek damages, but your award will be reduced by the percentage for which you are to blame.
For example, if you are found to be 30% responsible, you will get 30% less than you would otherwise.
How Gallatin Truck Accident Lawyers Can Help
Truck accident lawyers are a crucial ally in any personal injury case; this is especially true for truck accidents, as they can be complicated. There are four critical areas in which we can help you get justice.
Investigating the Claim
Our law firm has extensive contacts with medical professionals, trucking industry experts, and accident reconstructionists who can prove that you were injured, that the other party is responsible, and that the accident happened as you said it did.
We are also able to take witness statements that will support your claim.
Establishing Damages
Based on medical records and expert opinions, we’ll identify the damages you suffered and expenses you may have in the future related to the accident. We can then come to the bargaining table with a fair, evidence-based claim for what you deserve.
Negotiating With Insurance
The insurance company will do everything they can to deny your claim and absolve themselves of responsibility. As we are familiar with their tactics, we can leverage the evidence to hold them accountable and ensure you get a fair deal.
Representing You in Court
While many claims for truck accidents are settled through negotiations with the insurance adjuster, it is sometimes necessary to file a lawsuit. In this case, your truck accident lawyer will handle the paperwork and argue your case in court, providing a comprehensive examination of the accident to prove liability.
We’ll keep you updated all throughout the trial and seek to minimize the impact on your recovery as much as possible while still getting results.
Types of Compensation You Can Claim
A truck accident may result in several types of compensation, which are separated into economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages are for financial burdens incurred by your injury. These include the following:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Property damage
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Loss of earning potential
- Burial expenses in the case of wrongful death
Non-economic damages compensate you for the inconvenience and suffering caused by a truck accident. These can include the following:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Disfigurement or disability
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of companionship in the case of wrongful death
Statute of Limitations for Truck Accidents
In Tennessee, truck accidents have a one-year statute of limitations, meaning that you need to file a lawsuit within one year if insurance negotiations fail. This is a very short time period, making it all the more crucial that you call an attorney as soon as possible after the accident.
Trucking Laws in Gallatin, Tennessee
There are both federal and state laws that commercial truck drivers and trucking companies must abide by. Tennessee laws state that trucks must weigh less than 80,000 pounds, be no more than 13’6” tall, and be less than eight feet wide.
A trucking company must ensure that all their drivers are properly licensed and medically fit for duty. They must abide by federal standards for rest times, which limit the amount of time that a trucker can drive. Additionally, they are required to maintain records of drive times, routes, and vehicle maintenance.
Contact Mitch Grissim & Associates to Be Your Truck Accident Attorneys
Our Gallatin, TN, personal injury firm fights for justice on behalf of accident victims, ensuring that they are duly compensated for the pain and suffering caused by irresponsible truckers or companies.
We work on a contingency fee basis, so you owe us nothing unless we are able to secure compensation. Call us today at (615) 255-9999 or contact us online to schedule your free consultation.
