Lakeland Truck Accident Lawyer
Lakeland, Florida’s busy streets can quickly spell disaster for truck traffic through the area. Big trucks need more room to maneuver in the busy streets of Lakeland, which may prove difficult since the drivers of passenger vehicles often cut them off while rushing to their destinations. Not only that, truck drivers face challenges of their own: long hours on the road, disconnection from friends and loved ones, and challenges navigating the streets of Lakeland, especially when they may face unfamiliar circumstances.
All those threats may increase the risk of a truck accident. If you do have an accident with a big truck, you may sustain severe injuries that may leave a long-term impact on your life, including your ability to enjoy the activities you once did or even to care for yourself.
Did you suffer serious injuries in a truck accident? As your medical bills increase, you may find yourself in desperate need of compensation for your injuries. Frank and Jennifer Fernandez of Fernandez Firm Accident Injury Attorneys can help you learn more about your rights after a truck accident, including your right to compensation. Contact our truck accident lawyers in Lakeland today for your free consultation.
Fernandez Firm Accident Injury Attorneys Can Offer Support to Lakeland Truck Accident Victims
Big truck accidents may mean substantial injuries and considerable, ongoing suffering. When you suffer serious injuries in an accident with a big truck, you should not try to handle your claim on your own. Instead, contact Fernandez Firm Accident Injury Attorneys to put your Lakeland truck accident claim in the competent hands of Frank and Jennifer Fernandez, who can help as you pursue the compensation you deserve for those truck accident injuries.
At Fernandez Firm Accident Injury Attorneys, we have considerable experience dealing with a wide range of personal injury claims, including truck accident claims. We have recovered over $100 million in damages for our clients through both jury verdicts and settlements, and we continue to help our clients seek the compensation they deserve. We want to win—and we bring that desire to each personal injury claim we handle on behalf of our clients.
#1. We can lay out the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
Many truck accident victims have no idea how much compensation they really deserve for their injuries or how to pursue it. At Fernandez Firm Accident Injury Attorneys, we help break down compensation for truck accident victims in a way they can understand, and provide a clear assessment of how much compensation truck accident victims may deserve for their injuries.
Thanks to that knowledge, many truck accident victims have avoided low settlement offers that could have caused them to miss out on the compensation they really deserve.
#2. We investigate all the details of our clients’ claims.
Truck accident claims often involve a great deal more complexity than other car accident claims. Truck accidents not only require a comprehensive investigation of the accident itself, they may require an investigation into the truck driver’s record and driving history, the company’s policies, and even the driver’s logbooks.
That investigation can provide the evidence you need to establish your right to compensation as part of a personal injury claim or even identify other parties that may share liability for the accident, which may increase the compensation you can recover for the injuries you sustained in your Lakeland truck accident.
#3. We handle many dealings with the insurance company that covers the liable party.
Dealing with insurance companies can leave you with a massive headache—not to mention making you feel as though it may take way too much trouble to actually get the compensation you deserve for your injuries.
At Fernandez Firm Accident Injury Attorneys, we can take over many of those interactions with the insurance company for you, which can give you a better idea of what to expect as you move forward with your claim.
Lakeland Truck Accident Hazards
Many drivers have a hard time sharing the road safely with big trucks. They quickly get frustrated with the space those trucks occupy on the road, and the challenges they have to face as they work around them. Unfortunately, many truck drivers do not share the roads safely with others, which may raise the risk of an accident and endanger other drivers.
#1. Blind Spots
On the busy streets of Lakeland, big truck blind spots can pose an additional hazard. In heavy traffic, most truck drivers know that they need to look all around them before changing lanes or completing a turn. Sometimes, however, truck drivers may have a hard time keeping up with the movement of other drivers around them, raising the risk of an accident and making it very difficult for those drivers to navigate safely.
Big trucks have large blind spots on every side of the vehicle. When another vehicle drifts into those blind spots, especially in heavy traffic, inattentive truck drivers may quickly cause accidents that result in serious injuries.
#2. Roads in Poor Repairs
Some areas of Lakeland have roads that remain in poor repair despite the city’s efforts to maintain them. In some cases, the roads may receive little maintenance, if any. Unfortunately, bumpy, broken roads can pose particular dangers for trucks.
A tire blowout can cause a serious accident in the blink of an eye, while a bouncing trailer, especially in a turn, can swing free of the truck, resulting in a jackknife accident or even pulling the entire truck over in a rollover accident.
#3. Poor Road Flow
Lakeland has grown exponentially in recent years, with many people moving into the area in search of a community that focuses on safety. Some of the roads throughout Lakeland, however, do not have the infrastructure necessary to support the considerable traffic now moving regularly through the area.
Big truck drivers may face particular challenges when dealing with poor road flow, since they may have a harder time turning around, stopping, or even reaching their destination.
The Risk of Injuries in Lakeland Truck Accidents
Big trucks weigh much more than passenger vehicles. In an accident, that may mean that big trucks cause substantial damage to the other vehicle and serious injury to everyone in that vehicle.
#1. Traumatic Brain Injury
Truck accident victims may experience immense trauma to the head, which may result in traumatic brain injury. Victims with traumatic brain injury often have a long road to recovery ahead of them. They may have trouble with focus and concentration, memory issues, and even challenges regulating their emotions for months and years after the initial accident.
Even minor traumatic brain injuries can cause symptoms that linger a year or more after the truck accident, while more serious traumatic brain injuries may cause lifelong consequences and complications for the victim.
#2. Back and Neck Injuries
Lakeland truck accidents frequently cause immense trauma to the back and neck, which can lead to serious injuries for the victims. The spinal cord supports the weight and movement of the body. When a victim of a Lakeland truck accident suffers a spinal cord injury, the victim may permanently lose mobility below the site of the injury.
Complete spinal cord injuries can result in full paralysis. Other injuries to the back and neck, on the other hand, can result in ongoing pain for the victim.
Herniated discs, for example, can send pain shooting down the victim’s body and into a nearby limb. Whiplash can cause tension, stiffness, and pain.
Back and neck injuries often result in symptoms that linger long after the initial accident or that, in some cases, can permanently limit the victim’s ability to engage in normal activities of daily living, including work responsibilities and leisure activities.
#3. Amputation
Limb amputation following a Lakeland truck accident can permanently change the victim’s life. Many amputees initially suffer severe crushing damage in the accident. Due to decreased blood flow to the limb, they may later require amputation as the tissue grows necrotic.
Amputees often lose a great deal of independence in the immediate aftermath of the accident. They may have a hard time learning how to compensate for the missing limb. While prosthetic devices have made immense strides, many victims struggle with the ongoing cost of prosthetics, since those devices typically require replacement every 3-5 years.
#4. Burns
In addition to the risk of fire in a serious accident, which may increase in a truck accident because truck accidents often involve a great deal of force, some truck accidents involving tanker trucks pose an additional hazard: the risk of chemical burns.
Burns can cause serious scarring and immense pain for the victim. Worse, because burns strip away the protective layer of skin that helps keep out infection, burns have a high risk of complication.
#5. Broken Bones
A single broken bone can interfere with an individual’s ability to work or engage in general self-care tasks, especially if that individual requires surgery to set the bone. Multiple broken bones can pose even more challenges.
Many victims with multiple broken bones have a hard time getting around. They may need extensive physical therapy to regain strength and mobility in the affected area of the body. Multiple broken bones can prevent victims from working and make it difficult for them to engage in their normal activities with friends and family members, which can result in a loss of relationships or an overall loss of enjoyment of life.
Determining Liability Following a Lakeland Truck Accident: Things to Consider
The driver of the truck that caused your accident due to his negligence bears primary responsibility for his actions behind the wheel. In many cases, those truck drivers bear liability for the accident, and you will file a personal injury claim through the driver’s insurance company. Sometimes, however, other factors may contribute to the truck accident.
#1. Did the truck driver’s employer contribute to the accident?
The truck driver’s employer might not sit in the cab of the vehicle, but the employer nevertheless has a substantial impact on what happens in the truck.
Sometimes, trucking companies may push their truck drivers to work long hours, including spending more time on the road than federal law mandates as the maximum for truck drivers.
Other times, trucking companies might fail to complete needed maintenance on their vehicles or push drivers to drive in unsafe circumstances. Trucking companies may also have hiring practices that do not take into account the safety of others who must share the road with their drivers.
If the trucking company failed in its duty of care, it may share liability for the accident.
#2. Did a mechanical failure contribute to the Lakeland truck accident?
Sometimes, mechanical failure can contribute substantially to truck accidents and truck accident injuries. If a mechanical failure leads to the accident, the trucking company, a mechanic that recently worked on the vehicle, or the manufacturer may bear liability for the accident.
What Compensation Can You Recover After a Lakeland Truck Accident?
Compensation matters to you after you suffer serious truck accident injuries. Fernandez Firm Accident Injury Attorneys cannot guarantee the compensation you will receive for your Lakeland truck accident injuries.
However, in general, compensation for truck accidents falls into these key categories.
- Compensation for your medical bills. Most often, medical costs will form the foundation of your truck accident claim, so keep track of all your medical bills so you can report them accurately.
- Compensation for the wages you lost due to your inability to work after your truck accident. The longer you had to stay out of work, the harder it may prove to deal with those lost wages.
- Compensation for the pain and suffering you faced as a result of your Lakeland truck accident injuries.
Do You Need a Lakeland Truck Accident Lawyer?
Did you suffer serious injuries in a Lakeland truck accident? Do not try to handle your truck accident claim on your own. Instead, contact Frank and Jennifer Fernandez of Fernandez Firm Accident Injury Attorneys today at (863) 230-8361 for your free consultation.