Charlotte Truck Accidents

Attorneys Serving Tractor-Trailer Crash Victims in the Charlotte Area

As a major hub of the Carolinas and one of the largest cities in the South, Charlotte is a major thoroughfare for truck traffic. At any given time, I-85, I-485, and I-77 are clogged with semi-trucks and other commercial vehicles making their way toward downtown or en route to make local deliveries. While trucks represent an important component of the North Carolina economy, they also present other motorists (as well as passengers and even pedestrians) with many challenges. Big trucks need more room to navigate and take significantly longer than passenger vehicles to come to a stop. Accidents happen frequently, injuring and even killing people in smaller, more vulnerable vehicles with alarming regularity. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a tractor-trailer crash, an experienced Charlotte truck accident attorney at Maurer Law can help you with the process of trying to hold the negligent trucker liable.

Truck accident lawsuits follow the same general principles of negligence as car and motorcycle accident cases in most situations. Negligence cases require the plaintiff to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the defendant owed a duty of care to the plaintiff, that the duty was breached, that the plaintiff suffered injuries and damages, and that these were proximately caused by the defendant’s careless actions. A breach of a duty of care may happen in a variety of ways, such as when a trucker gets behind the wheel while overly fatigued, drives drunk, fails to check a blind spot, overloads the truck, or executes an improperly wide turn.

It is important that a family who has been affected by a truck crash seek legal counsel from a knowledgeable truck accident attorney in Charlotte as soon as possible. When a truck is involved in a crash, the trucker’s insurance company is often on the site investigating the accident – and preparing to defend a lawsuit brought by victims – within a few hours. It is important to act with just as much alacrity when you have been hurt.

Distinctive Issues in North Carolina Motor Vehicle Collision Cases

Since North Carolina is a “contributory negligence” state, one of the main things that an insurance company will be seeking is proof that the plaintiff was at least partially at fault for the crash. This is because, under North Carolina law, a plaintiff who is even marginally at fault is barred from recovering damages from the party who was mostly to blame. (This contrasts with the more lenient rule of comparative negligence in most states.)

Sometimes a trucking company was also negligent in causing a crash, or it may be held liable under a legal theory of vicarious liability. This is based on the relationship between the employer and its driver, if the driver is an employee. Trucking company liability also may arise directly when a trucking outfit fails to properly vet its truckers (a “negligent hiring” theory), does not properly maintain its fleet (a “negligent maintenance” theory), or refuses to abide by state or federal regulations aimed at preventing fatigued driving accidents by limiting a trucker’s working hours.

Talk to a Knowledgeable Truck Accident Lawyer in the Charlotte Area

Insurance companies that represent negligent truckers and trucking companies fight hard to avoid liability whenever possible and to limit payouts when liability cannot be avoided. To have a chance at receiving fair compensation, it is essential that the injured person (or the family of someone killed in a fatal truck accident) seek out quality legal representation and get started on the litigation process as soon as possible. A Charlotte truck accident attorney should start working on the case before evidence becomes subject to spoliation and before insurance adjusters begin to mold the facts through witness interviews and interactions with first responders. To schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with a results-oriented personal injury lawyer, call Maurer Law at 704-243-9292 or contact us online today. We represent truck accident victims throughout the state of North Carolina.