Truck Accident

Driving a commercial truck requires exceptional patience, skills, and extensive commercial vehicle operator training. These drivers of heavy equipment are responsible for the safety of our children on school buses, our EMTs riding in or on large fire trucks, concrete mixer trucks, buses, vans that carry sixteen (16) or more passengers, or making a mobile home transport over our highways, via flatbed carriers of extremely heavy construction equipment.

These semi-truck single tandem or double tandem transport trucks can sometimes be seen traveling down our highways and streets. Plus, the exceptionally large tow trucks will be used to haul away buses and other disabled tractor-trailer cabs.

Due to the huge importance of interstate transport of goods and products to the American economy, interstate commerce must be regulated. Our economy thrives through transport of petroleum products, fresh vegetables and other produce, milk, the U S mail, Amazon packages, and an immense variety of other goods.

The Higher Risk of Severe Injuries or Fatalities in Crashes With Big Trucks

In fact, simply due to physics, the elevated risk of death and crippling truck accident injuries from collisions involving a CDL truck driver is a “given.” This risk of harm is so great that the federal government strictly regulates these big rig trucks, the companies that own the trucks, and the drivers behind the wheel.

This extra commitment to safety for these high-risk transports is controlled by a branch of the federal Department of Transportation. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is tasked with overseeing safety rules compliance of these drivers nationwide. In addition, only drivers with advanced road safety training can obtain a commercial driver’s license.

When Things Go Wrong, the Results Can Be Disastrous

Unfortunately, some commercial truck drivers and their trucking companies get “off schedule” and sometimes push “time of delivery” issues. Also, some owners have skirted the mandated, periodic safety checks of these vehicles that are obligatory on big rigs. For these, you need the legal services of a big truck accident attorney to demand justice for you.

In these cases, (following a SC truck collision) a truck wreck lawyer needs to be quickly retained to protect the integrity of the Greenville SC truck accident scene and vehicles. Not all law firms have fully trained professionals that know how to handle the job of being your 18-wheeler truck accident attorney.

As a result of non-compliance, catastrophic Incidents have occurred where the truck owner failed to repair or replace a faulty air-braking system on a commercial truck that resulted in a deadly crash. In other situations, a driver’s logbook was illegally altered to not show the true number of hours he was on the highway, without adequate rest. In other cases, a driver was using a cell device to observe pornography just before a deadly crash happened.

Using the federal agency’s website, these 2018 FMCSA statistics show the correlation to crashes with Large Trucks that are regulated by FMCSA:

Fatalities (all fact patterns and causes) 4,415

Non-Fatal Injury Crashes (all fact patterns and causes) 107,000

Property Damage only (all fact patterns and causes) 388,000

With this background information, you can see what a quick settlement offer from the trucker’s insurer might not address some, (or maybe not any) of these potential contributing factors to a serious truck accident. The three things our truck accident attorneys want to protect against are:

1. Being able to get into the case early, so our investigators can collect all relevant evidence;
2. Talking with police who were at the scene and getting any names of witnesses that police gathered immediately following the big rig crash; and
3. Within 48 hours to 72 hours of the incident, keeping our client from being questioned by insurance adjusters, agents, or attorneys, which can occur, in some cases. Plus, any police contact may be recorded on their body cameras, and our preference is to meet with truck accident clients ASAP after the crash.

Knowledgeable, Experienced Truck Accident Lawyers Near Me in Upstate SC

And when a truck accident happens, injuries can be severe due to the sheer size of a tractor-trailer, not to mention any hazardous cargo it might be hauling. At Price Law Firm in Greenville, our legal team has represented those harmed in accidents Greenville, SC involving 18-wheeler truck crash cases. Don’t risk full recovery of medical bills, lost wages to a novice South Carolina truck accident lawyer when accidents involving death or grievous bodily injury exist.

Our Price lawyers near me represent people who have suffered injury (or have lost a loved one to a wrongful death causes in a big truck wreck) in motor vehicle accidents through no fault of their own — including those who have been injured in a truck crash. Both of our truck accident wrongful death lawyers where trained by their late father, Chip Price (see photo below) who taught both of his children to make it their mission to provide aggressive, prudent advocacy for accident victims and their families.

Our Price & Price Legal Team Will Put in the Hard Work on Your Behalf

Insurance companies may seek to settle your claims quickly before you consult with a personal injury attorney. They might portray themselves as doing you a favor in that you might be able to receive compensation on a faster timeline than by consulting with a lawyer first. However, this is often not in your best interests, particularly for injury claims stemming from truck accidents.

Truck drivers must keep good records of their time spent on the road and getting maintenance done to their vehicle. The drivers are also responsible for verifying that their loads are stacked properly (not too high to be able to clear underpasses) and “battened down” with chains, ropes, or other tethering methods.

A commercial driver must make sure they have gotten the minimum amount of rest needed to legally operate his or her big rig. Additionally, trucking companies must maintain solid oversight of the vehicles and drivers they use. In this post-Covid pandemic era, a growing number of trucking companies are adding GPS 24/7 tracking and in-cab video cameras for use in keeping their drivers safe.

Let Our SC Attorneys Examine the Facts Surrounding Your Truck Accident Case

Why should I go with a truck accident lawyer Greenville if my case is in another upstate SC county? Our 18-wheeler truck accident attorneys have decades of experience in handling these complex truck accident cases, so we can advise you about what you might be in line to receive, depending on the scope and severity of your injuries.

By limiting our geographic scope to the nine (9) upstate SC counties surrounding I-85 through South Carolina, this allows us to capitalize on long-term relationships and connections to local court personnel. So, if you need an Anderson truck accident attorney or a Spartanburg semi-truck accident attorney, our legal team can assist you.

What a Truck Accident Lawyer From Our Firm Can Do for You

Our litigation attorneys handle all aspects of the injury case investigation and analysis of the evidence supporting your claim. This review includes the police report, your medical records, eyewitness testimony, securing the truck driver’s driving record, any in-truck video, any security camera video from the scene, photos of the accident scene, and possibly photographing your injuries.

Determining liability in a truck accident case can be complex, since more than person or company may be liable. This can include the truck driver, the trucking company, or the shipper who hired the trucking company, or a truck manufacturer, due to defective design or parts.

Our team will handle all communications with the other party, their lawyers, and the insurance companies, and negotiate for a fair settlement with the insurance adjuster. This process involves gathering all evidence in the case and documenting all your injuries.

Starting with the police report, our law professionals next collect your medical records, any eyewitness statements, any video evidence (possibly from a nearby premises cameras or surveillance video), plus obtain the truck driver’s log records that are required by the FCMSA. For serious accidents, special police teams often take photos of the accident scene, possibly even deploying drones to capture video or images.

If the insurance company refuses to settle, our legal team is prepared to take your case to trial. Our trucking lawyers will keep you updated on the progress of the case. By giving clients our cell numbers, we are available 24/7 to answer any questions or concerns that you may have.

In any of the upstate counties of South Carolina, contact a truck accident lawyer near me with Price and Price Attorneys. At no cost to you, a partner from our law firm will provide a lawyer consultation regarding our services to truck accident victims.

Call today to our Greenville law office at (864) 271-3535 or securely email your information. Our two South Carolina truck accident attorneys will review for you some of our prior recoveries but keep the identity of those clients completely confidential.