Personal Injury Firm
Did you get injured in a truck accident in Evansville? Was it the result of unsafe passing by the truck driver? If so, you should contact Chapman Injury Lawyers to discuss your options for pursuing financial compensation.
When commercial trucks and smaller vehicles share the road, they need to follow traffic laws to ensure everyone stays safe. Truck drivers must pay special attention to their large blind spots and take extra precautions when they’re passing someone to their right or left. If they don’t use their turn signal or fail to pass another vehicle responsibly, the result can be devastating.
If you were injured in an unsafe passing truck accident, the Evansville attorneys at Chapman Injury Lawyers will do everything in their power to secure the full and fair compensation you need to cover your lost wages, pain and suffering, and never-ending medical expenses.
We are highly skilled in truck accident cases, and we’ll dedicate ourselves to making you whole again. Call us today at (812) 461-6598 so you can learn more about your rights at our free consultation.
Unsafe passing is when a driver fails to pass another vehicle in a way that reasonably prevents harm. Truck drivers need to be particularly careful when they’re attempting to pass another vehicle, especially if it’s a small car. When an 80,000-pound truck collides with something a fraction of its weight, the result is traumatic.
Unsafe passing occurs when a commercial driver:
Unsafe passing is a form of negligence you can use to justify pursuing compensation from the truck driver. If you can prove the trucker passed you in a way that directly led to your injuries, you could potentially win the maximum settlement available.
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Anyone driving a commercial truck must have experience and a commercial driver’s license. They also have to go through education and training to ensure they understand trucking regulations and how to react in dangerous situations. Unfortunately, some truck drivers shouldn’t be behind the wheel for various reasons.
The common reasons for unsafe passing accidents include:
In addition, some truck drivers simply lack the training and experience needed to perform passing maneuvers safely, and shouldn’t be driving a large commercial truck.
If you get into an accident with a truck and sustain any injuries, you should follow the steps below to ensure you’re able to pursue a personal injury claim for your damages:
There are also some things you should avoid doing after getting injured in a truck accident. They include the following:
Our Evansville unsafe passing truck accident attorneys will investigate why your crash occurred and how to prove negligence. Accidents involving commercial vehicles are often more complicated than a collision between two small cars. Fortunately, Chapman Injury Lawyers understands truck accident cases and has the resources to perform a thorough investigation.
Multiple factors could have contributed to the crash. While unsafe passing may seem like the main reason, there can be several little reasons that led to the driver dangerously passing you. Things like fatigue, texting and driving, and excessive speeding can cause a truck driver to pass another motorist unsafely.
When you hire us, we will immediately get to work and try to find the evidence that proves the trucker’s unsafe passing caused your accident and that they should be held responsible for damages. We’ll request copies of their cell phone records to check if they were on their phone at the time of the crash. We’ll also analyze their driver logs and toll charges to determine how long they were on the road and if drowsiness impaired their judgment.
We can review maintenance records to check that the truck was running correctly, and certain parts, such as the brakes, didn’t fail while the trucker was passing your vehicle. We’ll also review the truck’s black box that records information right before an accident, such as its speed and whether the driver used the brakes.
Most people don’t realize that the truck driver isn’t the only party they can go to for financial compensation after an accident. Even if the driver’s actions directly led to your injuries, there’s another party that could be involved in some way: their employer.
If a trucking company negligently hires a driver and causes physical harm to someone, they could face legal ramifications. Some situations that an employer could be held liable for include the failure to:
Whether you decide to pursue action against the truck driver or trucking company, you’ll be able to file an insurance claim with the liability carrier. Liability policies have bodily injury limits that pay for an injured individual’s expenses after an accident. Depending on the limits available, you could potentially recover full compensation for your total damages.
Indiana laws allow victims of vehicle accidents to recover their economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages include out of pocket expenses, such as medical bills. Non-economic damages are losses you suffer that don’t come with a monetary value, such as physical pain.
Typical damages injured parties pursue after a collision caused by a commercial truck include:
When an insurance adjuster is reviewing all your damages to determine the compensation you deserve, they will add up your economic damages and multiply it by a specific number to come up with the value of your non-economic damages. Typically, the number multiplied by the total economic damages is anywhere from one and a half to five.
The adjuster will also have to consider circumstances related to the accident, your injuries, and any resulting consequences, including:
The main difference between an insurance claim and a lawsuit is that a lawsuit gets resolved through the civil court system, while a claim gets resolved through the at-fault party’s insurance company.
Whichever you choose to pursue is up to you and your Evansville unsafe passing truck accident attorney. We will explain the difference between the two and advise which option we believe is your best chance at winning a financial award.
Typically, victims of truck accidents will start with an insurance claim to negotiate a full settlement from the truck driver’s liability insurance. If that doesn’t work, they will then file a lawsuit to get the insurance company or trucker to pay for their expenses directly.
Both options have their challenges, and a positive outcome isn’t guaranteed. Whether or not you win your case depends on the severity of your injury and the total damages you incurred. If you only suffered a minor injury and took one month to recover, you’ll receive a much smaller settlement from an insurance claim than if you damaged your spine and needed surgery and physical therapy.
If you or your loved one were the victim of an unsafe passing truck accident in Evansville, contact us today to schedule your free consultation. We can review the details of your case and guide you in the right direction. Even if you choose not to hire us, you won’t have to pay us for our time.
We allow our clients to have complete access to us at all times. Instead of calling the office during normal business hours, you can text us on our cell phones when it’s convenient for you. At Chapman Injury Lawyers, it’s important to us that our clients receive the attention and service they deserve.
Call (812) 426-0600 to find out how one of our Evansville truck accident attorneys can help you recover the compensation you deserve after getting injured in a commercial vehicle crash.
Don’t face this alone.
NEIL CHAPMAN, LAWYER
8124632110 
