Have you or someone you love been seriously hurt in a commercial vehicle crash in St. Louis, MO? Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers has represented injury victims for more than 20 years. Call one of our St. Louis Commercial Vehicle Accident Lawyer at (314) 400-0000 for help with your case.
Traffic accidents involving large trucks are among the most serious. If someone else’s negligence contributed to your accident, you may be entitled to compensation for your pain and other damages.
Contact our law office for a free consultation with a lawyer who will fight for the full compensation you deserve.
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How Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help After a Commercial Vehicle Accident in St. Louis
An accident with a commercial vehicle can be traumatic, frightening, and life-changing. After such an experience, the last thing you need is an exhausting fight with insurance companies that care about their bottom line more than your pain and suffering. You need one of the best St. Louis car accident lawyers committed to going above and beyond to fight for you.
E. Ryan Bradley is the founding attorney of Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers. He began his career by defending insurance companies. He now uses this insight into how insurers evaluate and fight claims to build the strongest negligence claims possible. He has a 10.0 Superb AVVO rating and a prestigious AV Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell. He has also been admitted to the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum and the Top 100 Trial Lawyers.
Choose Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers to represent you in your St. Louis, Missouri commercial vehicle accident case, and we will:
- Perform a thorough investigation into your accident to identify avenues of compensation and gather evidence
- Work with experts in many fields to accurately value your damages and build your case
- Handle all administrative tasks, communications, and negotiations on your behalf
- Provide sound legal advice and guidance at every step
- Take your case before a jury to seek maximum compensation when the insurance company refuses a fair settlement offer
Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers is ready to help you fight for the full compensation you need. Call our law office today for a free case review with a St. Louis commercial accident lawyer to discuss how we can help.
How Common Are Commercial Vehicle Accidents in St. Louis, MO?
Fatal commercial vehicle accidents are on the rise across Missouri. In 2018, 146 people were killed in collisions involving commercial vehicles. That’s up 30% from 2014.
A rise in online shopping, an increase in the average miles commercial vehicles travel, and increasing rates of distracted driving all contribute to more frequent and more serious commercial vehicle crashes.
In 2018, the average daily mileage of commercial vehicles in Missouri was over 30 million miles, up from 27 million in 2014.
St. Louis County had more commercial vehicle accidents than any other county in Missouri. Between 2014 and 2018, there were 1,914 commercial accidents. The county isn’t just densely populated; it has several major industrial parks, products traveling on barges that are loaded onto trucks, and it’s a major trucking hub.
Nationwide, commercial vehicles account for just 4% of vehicles on the road but 13% of fatal accidents. When a large truck crashes with a passenger vehicle, 96% of fatalities involve car occupants, not truck occupants.
What Is My Commercial Vehicle Accident Case Worth?
All truck accident claims are unique. The value of your truck accident case can depend on a range of factors, most of which are highly personal and unique to your circumstances.
The following are just some questions we will answer to determine a fair estimate for your claim:
- Did you contribute to your crash at all? Comparative negligence rules can reduce your recovery based on your share of fault.
- What type of injuries did you suffer, and how severe were they? The more serious, long-lasting, painful, and/or disfiguring the injuries, the more your case may be worth in terms of non-economic losses.
- Did you suffer permanent impairment or disability? Lost or reduced earning capacity can increase your claim’s value as you deserve compensation for lost future earnings.
- How have your injuries changed your life? Your injuries may leave you unable to enjoy hobbies, perform daily tasks of living, or even be an active participant in child-rearing.
Additional factors may also affect your claim’s value, like the amount of insurance coverage available and the strength of your negligence claim. Our St. Louis truck accident lawyers can help you understand what your case may be worth. Contact Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers today for a free consultation.
What Kind of Damages Are Available to Accident Victims?
After a traumatic accident, you may be entitled to recover compensation for your economic and non-economic losses from the at-fault party. These types of damages compensate you for actual financial losses (and will suffer in the future), including lost earnings and medical bills. They also compensate for psychological, emotional, and physical harm that has no financial value.
These damages are hard to quantify but must still be assigned some financial value in a settlement or jury award.
You may be entitled to recover money for:
- Property damage to your vehicle
- Medical expenses, including the anticipated cost of future medical care
- Lost wages while recovering
- Reduced or lost earning capacity if your injuries leave you with long-term or permanent impairment or disability
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Disfigurement
- Mental anguish
If a loved one was killed in a commercial vehicle crash, you may be entitled to recover slightly different damages through a wrongful death claim. This type of claim compensates for the losses the surviving family suffers.
At Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers, it is our mission to seek maximum compensation for all the damages you sustained and from every available source.
Can I Recover Compensation if I’m Being Blamed for a Commercial Vehicle Accident in St. Louis, Missouri?
Many accidents involving trucks and commercial vehicles involve shared blame. You may have contributed to your accident in some way, but that does not mean you can’t recover compensation from the other at-fault party.
If you are being blamed for your crash, Missouri’s pure comparative negligence rule will be applied. This rule means negligence in an accident is shared.
You can recover compensation even if you are up to 99% to blame for the accident. Your share of fault directly reduces the amount of money you recover. If you suffered $100,000 in damages, but you are found 25% to blame, you can recover $75,000.
Insurance companies may use comparative negligence to shift blame. Do not allow an insurance company to unfairly blame you or increase your share of fault to escape liability. Our St. Louis truck accident attorneys will help you fight back against these attempts.
We’ll Fight to Recover Compensation for All of Your Commercial Vehicle Accident Injuries
A commercial vehicle collision often results in serious, life-changing injuries, especially for occupants of passenger cars. Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers is committed to helping you seek the maximum compensation available by law for all of the injuries you sustained.
We represent victims who have suffered:
- Brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Neck and back injuries
- Traumatic amputation
- Broken bones
- Seat belt injuries
- Internal organ damage
- Facial injuries and scars
- Joint injuries like knee injuries
- Crush injuries
- Road rash, bruises, and lacerations
- Soft tissue injuries
We recognize that you may face a range of injuries that extend beyond physical harm. You may be left with post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and other psychological harm. We will fight for fair compensation for all the harm you have suffered.
What Causes Most Commercial Vehicle Accidents in St. Louis, MO?
Commercial vehicle accidents can involve any type of large vehicle used for commercial purposes, not just trucks.
Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers represents clients who have been hurt in crashes involving:
- 18-wheelers, semi-trucks, big rigs, or tractor-trailers
- Delivery and box trucks
- Garbage trucks and dump trucks
- Tow trucks
- Tanker trucks
- Flatbed trucks
- Heavy haulers
According to the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), commercial truck drivers were not at fault in over 60% of crashes.
MoDOT found the most common factors in fatal commercial vehicle crashes were:
- Distracted driving
- Improper lane change or use
- Failure to yield
The Large Truck Crash Causation Study, a major nationwide study, found 87% of truck accidents are due to human error. About 10% of crashes are primarily due to a defective or bad vehicle component like brakes.
The study found the following to be the most common primary causes of accidents involving large trucks:
- Speeding
- Distracted driving
- Drunk driving
- Fatigued driving. Note that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has hours-of-service regulations for truck drivers.
- Brake issues
- Unfamiliarity with the road
Commercial vehicle crashes are complex for many reasons, including the fact that multiple parties may share liability. It is not just a matter of the drivers involved or even manufacturers of defective parts; trucking companies, loaders, and inspection companies can be liable.
How Do I Prove Negligence After a Commercial Vehicle Accident in Missouri?
Proving causation and negligence in a commercial vehicle crash is complicated. These accidents often require an involved investigation as there may be multiple injured parties, one or more people or companies at fault, and multiple insurance companies.
Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers will conduct an exhaustive investigation to determine how your accident occurred and identify all possible avenues of compensation. ‘
We will gather and assess evidence with experts that may include:
- Truck driver logs
- Truck maintenance and inspection logs
- Trucking company records, training procedures, hiring practices, and more
- Truck’s black box recorder data
- Drug and alcohol screening results for the truck driver
- Investigation reports from law enforcement and the NTSB
- Police reports
- Whether citations, arrests, or disciplinary action resulted from the crash
- Cell phone records if a driver was suspected of being distracted
- Witness statements
- Damage to vehicles
- Photos and video of the scene of the crash
Commercial vehicle accidents pose a number of challenges when it comes to investigation. However, these accidents also offer additional avenues for gathering evidence with GPS tracking and onboard vehicle speed data, company records, maintenance logs, and more. Commercial drivers are also highly regulated.
Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers will not rest in building the strongest negligence claim possible.
How Long Do I Have to File a Lawsuit After a Commercial Vehicle Accident in Missouri?
The Missouri statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits is five years. This means you will be barred from using the civil court system to recover money from the negligent party if you miss the deadline.
If a loved one was killed in an accident involving a commercial vehicle, you have just three years to file a wrongful death lawsuit.
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Contact a St. Louis Commercial Vehicle Accident Lawyer for a Free Consultation
A commercial vehicle crash can change your life forever. When you are facing financial uncertainty, a long road to recovery, and possibly life-long consequences, you should not need to fight an insurance company for a fair settlement. An aggressive St. Louis commercial vehicle accident lawyer at Bradley Law Personal Injury Lawyers will take over the fight for you.
Contact our law office in St. Louis, Missouri, for a free case review with a personal injury lawyer to discuss how we can help you.
