Scottsdale Truck Accident Lawyers
After a semi-truck collision in Scottsdale, passenger car occupants and other vulnerable individuals like pedestrians are likely to sustain life-altering injuries such as disfigurement, paralysis, or cognitive impairment. Further, the economic fallout of a Scottsdale truck accident claim can easily devastate a family’s finances, even if the truck driver or a third party was at fault for the truck crash. As Scottsdale truck accident lawyers, our team at Lerner and Rowe is prepared to meet this injustice head-on and pursue the compensation you deserve for your medical bills, lost wages, and other damages like emotional distress.
We encourage you to give us a call at 602-977-1900 to schedule a free consultation or complete a free online case review today. Our team of Arizona personal injury lawyers will evaluate your case to determine its worth and explain your legal options for seeking compensation.
Why You Should Choose Lerner and Rowe to Represent Your Truck Accident Lawsuit
At Lerner and Rowe, our team is familiar with just how catastrophic a Scottsdale truck accident can be, whether it was a jackknife accident on Loop 101, a lost load collision near the Costco on 44th Street, or an underride truck accident along the Shea Corridor. You can trust our team of expert personal injury attorneys to anticipate the long-term ramifications of your injuries and aggressively pursue compensation for your needs in a truck accident lawsuit.
Our team believes that a personal injury law firm’s success should be measured in more than just dollars recovered and awards received. Although we have secured billions in compensation total for injured clients and earned recognition for our work, for us the priority has always been ensuring client satisfaction.
We respect that our clients are effectively trusting us with their futures, and we consistently dedicate our skills, time, and efforts to ensuring that the claims process is as smooth and effective as possible for them. When you hire a truck accident attorney from Lerner and Rowe to represent you, you can feel confident that we are invested in the success of your claim.
Understanding Scottsdale, Arizona Truck Crashes
With a population of approximately 243,000, Scottsdale is a part of Arizona’s most-populated county of Maricopa. Due to Scottsdale’s proximity to Phoenix and several major feeders to highways, the area sees its fair share of truck accidents. Highways are typically considered safer for trucks, as there are fewer pedestrians, stop lights, and driveways, but Scottsdale’s location is convenient for truckers looking to stop for gas or food, increasing the risk of a collision.
Additionally, many of the city’s top employers, like medical facilities, spas, and a number of retailers also rely on regular truck deliveries to supply materials, increasing truck traffic on Scottsdale roads. As Scottsdale continues to expand, the volume of truck traffic is likely to increase along with it, putting Scottsdale’s families, snowbirds, students, and tourists in danger.
Truck accidents are known for their capacity to inflict devastating injuries and extensive property damage, and Scottsdale truck accidents are no exception. This can cost a county an extortionate amount. For example, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association estimates that a fatal truck accident costs $3.6 million, and a truck accident resulting in injuries typically costs $200,000. In 2021, Maricopa County sustained over $11 billion in economic damages from traffic accidents, no doubt bolstered by costly truck accidents.
Common Causes of Scottsdale, Arizona Truck Accidents
Semi-trucks are considered difficult to operate, to the extent that a Commercial Driver License is required by the Arizona DMV. Truck drivers must be able to demonstrate that despite the average 18-wheeler’s length and weight, they can safely navigate roads that were often designed with smaller vehicles in mind.
This can be a challenge, considering that a truck driver must account for the fact that semi-trucks need more space to turn and stop, they have large blind spots, and they have a higher risk of rollover due to their weight distribution. To avoid a collision, it takes more than simply applying truck driving skills. Truckers have to contend with long, lonely trips on unfamiliar roads.
These conditions can increase the risk that a truck driver will become distracted or fatigued, which can be incredibly dangerous for other motorists and road users if the trucker begins speeding or swerving. Truck accidents are most commonly caused by the actions of a reckless truck driver or the negligence of a third party, such as an employer who failed to hire a qualified driver. Examples of truck accident causes include:
- Distracted driving
- Drunk driving
- Drowsy driving
- Road rage and aggressive driving
- Reckless maneuvering
- Ignoring traffic laws
- Mechanical failures
- Poor road maintenance
Scottsdale Truck Accidents Can Inflict Devastating Injuries
Based on the weight discrepancy between a semi-truck and a passenger vehicle, the injury outcome for the car occupants is usually much worse as compared to the truck driver. The IIHS reports that of the 4,714 truck accident fatalities in 2021, 68% were riding in a passenger vehicle, while only 16% were truck occupants.
Even in a low-impact accident, car occupants can acquire injuries that necessitate a trip to the emergency room. A fully loaded semi-truck is capable of crushing most passenger vehicles, forcing them off the road, or even causing them to roll over. In these situations, passenger car occupants are at a high risk of sustaining life-threatening injuries. Typical Arizona truck accident injuries include:
- Traumatic brain injury
- Spinal cord injury
- Crush injury
- Fractured or broken bones
- Amputations
- Deep lacerations
- Contusions
- Severe burns
- Dental and facial injuries
- Whiplash injury
- Soft tissue injury
Survivors of Scottsdale truck accidents may never completely physically recover, despite treatment. The risk of permanent deficits and the likelihood of ongoing care costs reiterates the importance of seeking prompt medical treatment so that you have a better chance of recovering compensation for these losses.
Failure to pursue medical care soon after being injured in a truck accident can appear to an insurance company as though you are exaggerating the severity of your injuries or waiting for them to get worse to inflate your potential settlement.
What Damages Are Available in a Scottsdale Truck Accident Lawsuit
When evaluating compensatory damages in a Scottsdale truck accident claim, a personal injury attorney will collect evidence from pictures of the accident scene, expert witnesses, your medical records, and other sources to ensure that your economic and non-economic losses are documented.
Financial costs associated with truck accident injuries can be astronomical, as they may require long-term medical care, a leave of absence from work, and hiring outside help to take care of household tasks. Economic damages can be used to reimburse plaintiffs for these costs.
Additionally, plaintiffs may be eligible to receive compensation for their emotional losses that stem from their truck accident injuries in the form of non-economic damages. For example, a truck accident survivor who missed their child’s graduation while they were in the hospital and continues to suffer from chronic pain could claim these losses as non-economic damages in a Scottsdale personal injury lawsuit. The most commonly cited truck accident damages include:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Reduced earning capacity
- Car repairs or replacement
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of quality of life
- Wrongful death
Why You Need a Scottsdale Truck Accident Attorney to Negotiate Your Claim
For many plaintiffs pursuing Arizona truck accident claims, representing their own case is out of the question simply because their injuries are too incapacitating and they cannot afford the time commitment. Even if neither of those conditions applies, plaintiffs should still seek out the legal expertise of a reputable Arizona personal injury lawyer to negotiate their truck accident lawsuit.
Truck accident attorneys are knowledgeable about the evidentiary standards for proving liability, which can become complicated with the involvement of third parties. Additionally, they will be aware of the full extent of the damages available to you. Combined with their understanding of the legal process, the experience of a personal injury lawyer is extremely valuable.
An insurance company’s goal is to protect its profits from illegitimate or inflated claims, which means that its representatives will deconstruct your claim to ensure that there aren’t any inconsistencies they could use to justify a lower offer. A capable Arizona truck accident attorney will successfully leverage evidence to demonstrate the value of your damages and verify that the defendant is liable.
Frequently Asked Questions About Scottsdale, Arizona Truck Accident Claims
The most common scenarios involving employer liability would be if they were negligent in the hiring process or enforced dangerous rules on their drivers. For example, if they hired a truck driver with a history of DUIs without checking their driving record, and then the trucker injured someone after drunk driving, the employer would likely share liability.
Another instance where a truck driver’s employer could be found at fault for a collision would be if they set an unrealistic timeline for delivery and threatened a driver’s job unless they complied, or forced the trucker to drive for longer than the legal limit. This often leads to fatigued truck drivers that are at high risk to cause deadly truck collisions.
Arizona gives an injured party a period of two years after a truck accident to file a personal injury claim alleging negligence. This also applies to families pursuing wrongful death claims on behalf of a deceased loved one. If you do not file your truck accident claim within this window, the case can be dismissed and you effectively forfeit your opportunity to be compensated for your damages resulting from the defendant’s negligence.
A jackknife truck accident describes a situation where the trailer of the semi-truck is no longer in alignment with the cab to the point that it doubles back on itself, forming a “V” shape. If a truck driver is speeding, fails to circumvent a road hazard, brakes too hard, encounters a wet or icy road, or is transporting an unbalanced load, a jackknife truck accident may occur. There are a few ways that a jackknife truck accident can result in harm to other motorists or road users.
The swinging of the trailer can sideswipe adjacent vehicles, push them into other lanes, up against guardrails, or into oncoming traffic. Once the truck comes to a stop, drivers may not have enough time to anticipate this and hit the truck or slide under it. If the trailer overturns, with or without the cab attached, that can crush nearby vehicles or hit them hard enough to cause injury.
Contact the Scottsdale Truck Accident Attorneys of Lerner and Rowe
Navigating life after a Scottsdale truck accident can be painful, complicated, and overwhelming. Even if you desperately need the settlement, it can seem difficult to justify taking on the task of filing an Arizona personal injury lawsuit while you are struggling financially and trying to recover from your injuries. Our team of truck accident attorneys at Lerner and Rowe are the advocates you need in this time of crisis.
As Arizona personal injury lawyers with nearly two decades of experience, we are not intimidated by the prospect of negotiating a complex truck accident claim against a well-established insurance company. We believe that a Scottsdale truck accident caused by someone else’s negligence does not have to mean financial ruin and perpetual stress for your family. Our team will diligently protect your right to seek a fair settlement and negotiate to ensure that your losses are recognized.
The personal injury lawyers of Lerner and Rowe will stand with you to seek compensation for your medical bills, lost wages, and reduced earning capacity, as well as pain and suffering. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at 602-977-1900 to schedule a free consultation or complete a free online case review today. We will work tirelessly to maximize your compensation for your Scottsdale truck accident lawsuit so that you and your family can move forward with the financial relief you deserve.