Every day thousands of large commercial trucks drive on Florida roads. These trucks deliver goods and supplies to businesses and consumers across the south. These large trucks can easily weigh 80,000 pounds when fully loaded. In comparison, the average motor vehicle weighs just 3,000 pounds.
As you might imagine, when an accident occurs, the occupants in the passenger vehicle are the ones who suffer the majority of the injuries. These injuries are often severe and result in a lifetime of pain, suffering, and disability.
For these reasons, truck accident survivors need a law firm on their side that understands the complexities of these cases. After all, truck accident cases are different from other types of personal injury cases.
As such, injury firms must investigate these cases from multiple angles to identify all the parties that bear responsibility. This can take a considerable amount of time and resources. It also takes experience handling truck accident cases specifically.
At Nicoletti Accident Injury Lawyers our Port Richey truck accident attorneys have helped truck accident survivors in Port Richey and beyond. Our law firm offers free initial consultations so you can review your legal options.
We take your case seriously and we work tirelessly to protect you and your rights after a serious truck accident.
Experience Matters
When a truck accident occurs, you need someone on your side who understands the issues you may face. Truck accident survivors often face an uphill battle when trying to collect compensation after an accident. That’s because trucking companies have large teams on their side working around the clock to reduce their liabilities. That is why you need a law firm on your side that can tackle these cases aggressively from the start.
At Nicoletti Accident Injury Lawyers, our lawyers understand the complications that often surround truck accident cases. We know how to hold negligent truck companies and truck drivers accountable for their mistakes. Our lawyers are not afraid to go toe-to-toe with these large companies and their insurers and we know how to win.
Our track record of success speaks for itself and is a major reason why so many injured Florida trucking accident survivors choose Nicoletti Accident Injury Lawyers to represent them.
Here are just a few of the injured Port Richey accident survivors we helped.
- $3.68 million for a truck accident resulting in back injuries
- $3.3 million for a truck accident resulting in multiple orthopedic fractures
- $1.25 million for a truck accident resulting in brain injuries and TMJ
- $900,000 for a truck accident that resulted in long-term brain injuries
- $880,000 for a truck accident that resulted in back and neck surgery
Truck Accidents in Port Richey
An estimated 32,000 truck accidents occur on Florida highways every year, according to the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles report. These accidents result in significant injury and death to thousands of Floridians, many of which live in Pasco County.
In Pasco County alone, more than 500 commercial trucking accidents occur on roads and highways, killing nearly a dozen people and injuries over 200 more a year. Trucking accidents most frequently occur on U.S. 98, U.S. 19, SR 52, and SR 54. U.S. 98. In fact, U.S. 98 is one of the most dangerous highways in the United States.
Port Richey truck accident survivors often find their lives turned upside down after a crash. Insurance companies may even turn a cold shoulder to victims after they suffer an injury, constantly pointing the finger of blame elsewhere. That is why Port Richey accident survivors need a lawyer from Nicoletti Accident Injury Lawyers on their team. They need someone who can hold insurers accountable and who can level the playing field from the start. Even before you call your own insurance company, reach out to Nicoletti Accident Injury Lawyers to help.
Causes of Truck Accidents in Port Richey
When a truck accident occurs, the cause of the accident is not always apparent. That is because multiple causes may factor into a serious truck crash. Identifying what caused the accident is an important step in determining who may bear responsibility for the crash.
Some of the most common causes of truck accidents in Port Richey include:
- Distraction. Distracted driving is on the rise and even truck drivers can find themselves tempted to engage in distractions while driving. Texting, talking on phones, eating, and drinking while operating a large commercial vehicle can have deadly consequences.
- Fatigue. Truck driver fatigue is a serious issue. The FMCSA tried to reduce the instances of truck driver fatigue by implementing stricter rules and regulations. While these regulations helped, truck driver fatigue still causes 13 percent of all trucking accidents.
- Inexperience. Trucking companies may feel pressured to get their goods delivered quickly to turn a profit. As a result, they may put inexperienced truck drivers out on the road. Inexperienced drivers may not react appropriately in emergencies or may make critical errors while driving.
- Driving under the influence. Unfortunately, drug use and alcohol use is still prevalent in the trucking industry. Illicit, prescription, and OTC medication use caused more than 30 percent of all trucking accidents in the U.S. In addition, drivers with a BAC level of 0.08 or higher cause 3 percent of all trucking accidents.
- Speeding. Large commercial trucks are difficult to control. When driving over the speed limit, they can become even more difficult to operate safely. Speeding is the cause of more than 23 percent of all truck driving accidents.
- Poor roads. City, county, and state governments must properly care for the roads in their communities. This involves fixing potholes, broken side rails, and making sure that the roads are safe to drive on. When they fail to do this, poor road design or maintenance can cause serious and catastrophic trucking accidents in Port Richey.
- Improper maintenance. Trucking companies must properly maintain their vehicles to keep them safe. When trucking companies fail to properly maintain their fleet, trucks can break or fail suddenly on the road. This can lead to deadly trucking accidents.
- Inclement weather. Poor weather can make it even harder to control a large big rig on the road. Icy, snowy, and wet roads may cause a truck driver to slip or slide on the road. When this happens, they can jackknife or run off the road and into other vehicles.
- Improperly loaded trucks. Shipping companies must properly secure loads inside cargo beds and trucks. When they fail to properly secure loads, these loads can suddenly shift, causing serious accidents.
- Defects. Trucking companies and truck part manufacturers have a responsibility to ensure the safety of their products. When parts contain defects, they can cause horrific truck accidents. Tire defects, braking defects, and steering component failure can result in deadly crashes.
Proving Liability After a Truck Accident in Port Richey
After a truck accident in Port Richey, accident survivors need a law firm on their side from the start. Proving liability is the key to collecting the compensation you need. In many truck accidents, multiple parties share liability. As such, your attorney needs to investigate all angles of your accidents.
Some of the liable parties in a truck accident include:
- Truck driver
- Trucking company
- Truck manufacturer
- Truck part manufacturer
- Shipping company
- Third-party maintenance company
How could multiple parties share liability? Suppose a speeding truck driver caused your accident. At first glance, it may look like the truck driver is completely to blame for the crash and your injuries. However, the investigation revealed that the shipping company failed to secure the loads inside the truck properly. These unsecured loads caused the truck driver to lose control when traveling at faster speeds. As such, both the truck driver and the shipping company may share liability for the accident.
Truck Accident Injuries and Damages in Port Richey
Unfortunately, the vast majority of truck accidents result in serious and catastrophic injuries. These injuries are often life-threatening and result in a lifetime of pain and suffering, as well as disability.
Some of the most common truck accident injuries include:
- Traumatic brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Back and neck injuries
- Fractures
- Amputations and disfigurement
- Abrasions and lacerations
- Internal organ damage
- Burns
- PTSD
Injured truck accident victims often need extraordinary amounts of compensation to help pay for their injuries. This includes compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, loss of future earnings, pain and suffering, and emotional distress. Compensation should also include any money needed to repair property, and vehicular damage.
Depending on the injury, truck accident victims may need millions to put their lives back together again. For example, brain injury survivors may need between one and three million just to help them throughout their lives. Any compensation you receive must take into account how your injuries impact your present, as well as your future.
Filing a Truck Accident Lawsuit in Port Richey
Florida is one of 12 states that operate as no-fault states. That means that you do not have to prove fault to collect compensation for your injuries. Instead, you must turn to your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance policy to help you pay medical expenses after an accident.
In Florida, drivers carry $10,000 in PIP protection. As such, they can obtain up to $10,000 to help them cover initial medical expenses after a crash. However, this policy is quickly exhausted after a serious truck accident.
When you exhaust your PIP policy, you can then file a personal injury lawsuit against the negligent parties. To do this, it is important to contact an experienced Port Richey truck accident attorney at Nicoletti Accident Injury Lawyers.
We Get to Know You
Our lawyers will begin by meeting with you in a free initial consultation. We want to get to know you and your case. In addition, we want you to get to know us, so you feel supported every step of the way. Every truck accident case in Port Richey is different. That is why we meet with you and examine your case closely. In our meeting, we can review your legal options with you, so you can choose the one that is best for you and your family.
We Investigate Your Truck Accident
Once we begin building your case, we investigate your accident carefully. This often involves reviewing police reports and medical records, as well as interviewing eyewitnesses and medical experts. It may also involve examining crash sites, requesting black box data, and preserving vital evidence. In some cases, we may need to employ accident recreation experts and forensic teams to build your case. Through an extensive investigation, we can identify all negligent parties and begin filing claims against them.
We Fight For You
After we investigate your accident, we then begin fighting aggressively for you and your future. This may involve aggressive negotiations with insurance companies and their agents. To do this, we work with your medical team to accurately determine how your injuries will affect your life and your future. If necessary, we are not afraid to go to trial to obtain the money you deserve. Our experienced Port Richey litigators have won large trucking awards for our injured truck accident clients.
Port Richey Truck Accident FAQ
Here in Port Richey, truck accidents cause serious injuries—and even death. Injury victims have the legal right to receive compensation for all the losses they sustain as a result of a driver’s negligence. It is important to protect these legal rights with the help of an experienced Port Richey truck accident attorney. At Nicoletti Accident Injury Lawyers, we have helped many truck accident victims protect their legal rights and get the compensation they deserve. Call (727) 845-5972 to schedule your free consultation.
It is difficult for anyone to know what to do in the chaotic aftermath of a truck accident. Unfortunately, this leads some injury victims to say and do things that can hurt their legal claims. Our attorneys have prepared this guide to help you know what to do after being involved in an auto accident. Of course, we cannot answer every question here, and we cannot give you information that is specific to your unique case. Be sure to schedule a free consultation with one of our truck accident lawyers to protect your legal rights.
What should I do after a Port Richey truck accident?
Whenever any type of auto accident occurs, your first priority should be the health and safety of everyone on the scene. Call 911 right away. Be sure that anyone who needs medical attention gets it as soon as possible. If it is safe to move, get out of the way of oncoming traffic.
Many traffic accidents and injuries result in secondary collisions from drivers who are “rubbernecking” to see the accident scene or who simply aren’t paying attention to the obstructions in the roadway. This is why it is important to pull your vehicle over to the side of the road. If your vehicle is not driveable, you should get out and find a safe place to wait on the side of the road, well out of the way of traffic.
Help others get out of the way as well. If you are not sure whether you can safely move someone, ask the 911 operator. They will give you advice on how best to keep everyone safe.
Once any immediate medical needs are taken care of, the officers who respond to the scene will begin collecting evidence. They will ask each involved driver (or motorcycle rider, or bicyclist, or pedestrian) to tell them what happened leading up to the accident. These statements will help the officer prepare an official report of the accident. This is important because the police report is usually a critical piece of evidence that the insurance companies rely on to make decisions about who was at fault for causing the accident.
The police will also facilitate the exchange of insurance information. This, too, is important because the other driver’s insurance policy is usually the primary source of compensation for accident victims. You should also get information about the driver’s employer.
What should I NOT do after a Port Richey truck accident?
It is important to know what to do after an accident, but it is equally important to know what not to do. You should not discuss what happened with other drivers or parties who were involved in the accident. Ask if anyone needs medical care, and coordinate the exchange of insurance information (if the officers have not already done this), but do not talk about what happened. You must also be very careful not to admit fault. Even simple statements like “I didn’t see you!” can be used against you later. Be very careful about what you say on the scene of a car accident.
You should also not worry about gathering evidence if it is not safe to do so. If your medical condition allows, and you will not be in the path of traffic, feel free to get photos or video footage of the accident scene. Pictures of the damage to the vehicles can be helpful, as can a video of the entire accident scene. But your health and safety is the priority. So if you need to go to the hospital, or if the vehicles are in the way of traffic, do not worry about gathering this type of evidence.
Who is liable for a Port Richey truck accident?
The person who is “at fault” (liable) for causing a truck accident also has a legal obligation to compensate you for your injuries and losses. This is why it is important to determine who was at fault. It is also important to find all potential defendants since, in many cases, liability is split between more than one driver or assigned partly to the pedestrian or bicyclists.
A company might also be liable for truck accident injuries, even if they were nowhere near the scene of the accident.
Common examples include:
- The transportation company that owns or operates the truck
- The company that employs the negligent truck driver
- A truck manufacturer that sold a defective vehicle
Liability can quickly become a complicated legal issue. If there are multiple liable parties, their insurance companies will often try to blame the others to get out of paying. The negligent trucker’s insurance company might even try to put the blame on you and claim that you caused your own injuries. That's why you need to work with our experienced truck accident attorneys. Nicoletti Accident Injury Lawyers has handled many complicated issues of liability. We know how to identify all potential defendants and prove their liability to ensure that you have access to the compensation you deserve.
How do I get my vehicle repaired after a Port Richey truck accident?
A negligent driver who is at fault for an accident must compensate for all your losses—including property damage. Once the insurance company accepts liability, they will arrange for repairs to your vehicle. You can also seek compensation for a rental car or the loss of use of your vehicle if you choose not to rent a vehicle.
While this process goes smoothly in many cases, it is not always easy to get the insurance company to accept liability and pay for your damages. This is where an attorney can help you.
If the insurance company is taking too long to accept liability, your attorney can help prove that their client was at fault for the accident. (This must happen to process your Port Richey truck accident claim, as well.) If the insurance company has accepted liability but is not getting back to you about scheduling repairs or getting you a rental car, your attorney can work to avoid further delays.
Insurance companies have a legal obligation to process claims in a timely and reasonable manner. When they know that you have a lawyer who is holding them accountable for following these rules, they are more likely to get things done.
What should I say to the insurance company?
The short answer is as little as possible! Any information you give the insurance company could work against you later. If you say something as simple as “I’m feeling fine,” the insurance company might dispute your medical bills. If you say, “I could see the truck speeding toward me,” the insurance company might try to claim that you were at fault for failing to get out of the way to prevent the accident.
Do not allow them to turn your own words against you. Once the insurance company learns that you have a lawyer, they are no longer allowed to contact you about the accident. All communication must go through your attorney’s office. This protects you from saying anything that could hurt your claim.
Your attorney can open the claim for you. But if you choose to open the claim yourself, be alert that many insurance companies will ask to take a recorded statement about how the accident happened. You do not have to do this. In fact, you should decline to do this and tell the insurance company that you want to speak with your attorney first.
Insurance companies often use these recorded statements to attack liability, your injuries, your property damage, or even your credibility as a witness. Insurers use these statements to help their own cause—not to help you get the compensation you deserve under the law.
How will I know when I am done with my medical treatment?
You should follow all recommendations from your medical providers. If you do not, the insurance company could claim that you made your own injuries worse by ending your treatment too early. Of course, the insurance company may also try to claim that you spent too long getting treatment—especially if you are receiving physical therapy, chiropractic services, or other treatment that relies on subjective indicators of pain and discomfort.
Your injury lawyer will handle the insurance company. Your job is to work with your providers to get the treatment you need. Work together to create a discharge plan. Once your providers sign off on the end of treatment, you will have documentation that you followed their instructions. This is also important for your health—if you end treatment against medical advice, you could make your own injuries worse and endure unnecessary pain and suffering.
What compensation do I deserve after a Port Richey truck accident?
Several broad categories of compensation are available to truck accident injury victims.
Truck accident claims usually include compensation for:
- Property damage (including damage to your vehicle and any personal items)
- Medical bills (including future medical treatment you will require due to the accident)
- Lost wages (including any future lost wages due to your injuries)
- Pain and suffering
How are my lost income and medical bills compensated after a Port Richey truck accident?
Your attorney and legal team will work to get documentation of the time you missed from work and the cost of your medical bills. In many cases, this happens before your attorney negotiates a settlement of your claim, so you know the exact value of these tangible losses. But long term injuries can result in future losses.
If, for example, you have permanent disabilities, you might only return to part-time work. The defendant is responsible for compensating you for the difference in your full-time wages before the accident and your part-time wages after the accident. You are also entitled to compensation for the projected future medical expenses you will incur throughout your life as a result of these permanent injuries. Your attorney will hire expert witnesses to project and prove the exact value of these future financial losses.
How much is my pain and suffering worth?
Pain and suffering is often a major component of a Port Richey truck accident award. This means the insurance companies are likely to attack it and try to pay you as little as possible. Unfortunately, pain and suffering is a subjective experience that is very different for every accident victim.
Your medical records will prove how you were physically affected by the accident. It can be far more difficult to prove how you were emotionally affected by a truck accident. Luckily, our Port Richey truck accident lawyers are skilled in doing just that. The experienced truck accident attorneys at Nicoletti Accident Injury Lawyers know how to prove your subjective pain and suffering to a claims adjuster or jury.
This compensation covers intangible losses such as:
- The physical pain of your injuries
- Missing out on major life events (like a graduation or wedding ceremony)
- The loss of pride in a job you can no longer perform
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Impaired relationships with your family members due to your injuries
There are many, many intangible losses that you could suffer due to a truck driver’s negligence. Our skilled injury lawyers know how to prove these losses in a way that resonates with a jury. For example, you might demonstrate the physical pain of your injuries with evidence that you can’t sleep, play sports, or go to work because you were in too much pain.
Jurors understand the importance of life events like birthdays, graduations, weddings, and other family gatherings. If you testify that you couldn’t attend—especially with images of the event you missed—jurors will understand just how painful these intangible losses have been for you. Our lawyers work hard to prove all your losses and give you the best possible access to compensation for losses to which the law entitles you.
Contact Our Port Richey Truck Accident Lawyers
If you suffered an injury in a truck accident in Port Richey or anywhere in the state of Florida, you need an experienced law firm on your side from the start. Our Port Richey truck accident lawyers can help you obtain the money you need and hold negligent trucking companies and drivers accountable.
We know you need money now to pay for medical expenses and damages. That is why we work quickly to help you obtain the compensation you deserve.
Call us at (727) 845-5972 or fill out our confidential contact form. We offer free consultations to help you explore all your legal options. Call us today and let us show you how we can help you as you navigate this difficult time.
To learn more about your rights after a truck accident, contact our experienced Port Richey personal injury attorneys.