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The most populous borough in New York City, Brooklyn is a very convenient place to live and work – Brooklyn is connected to the rest of New York by eight bridges, three subway tunnels (18 subway lines), and one vehicular tunnel. Some of New York’s most famous neighborhoods are in Brooklyn, such as Bedford-Stuyvesant, Flatbush, Bensonhurst, Brighton Beach, and Park Slope, to name just a few. This borough has thousands of small businesses, support businesses for major Manhattan corporations, high-tech industries, and a variety of manufacturing. The world-famous Coney Island is in Brooklyn, as well as some of New York’s best arts and cultural organizations and New York’s most famous parks.
Accidents of kinds will happen in such a fast-paced and densely populated environment. Tens of thousands of businesses large and small, as well as residents of Brooklyn, require and expect deliveries. Naturally, the more trucks navigate the roads, the higher the chance for truck accidents to occur. Many of these accidents will be serious. If you or a member of your family is involved in a serious accident and the driver, the trucking company, or another party is to blame, you deserve to be compensated for your injuries and expenses.
In the event you or someone you love is hurt or killed in a truck accident, you will need an experienced truck accident attorney to recover damages from the party responsible for the accident. Professionals who have years of successful experience getting compensation from truck accident victims can assist you the best.
Many people have the idea that when truck accidents occur, the truck driver is always at fault. Wrong! In many truck accident cases, other parties may be responsible and held accountable for the damages, injuries, or wrongful deaths that resulted. Among these parties, we can count the trucking company, the manufacturer of the truck, the company that conducts periodic maintenance and repairs on the truck, and even the municipality. We’ll cover each one of these parties with some concrete negligence examples in the section below.
Negligence in a truck accident refers to the failure of the party involved to exercise reasonable care, resulting in injuries to other motorists or pedestrians, as well as damages to their vehicles or other forms of property.
To establish negligence in a truck accident case, certain elements must be proven. Among them, we can count duty of care owed by the responsible party, breach of that duty, causation (showing that the breach directly caused the accident), and resulting damages. Negligence claims in truck accidents often involve complex investigations, considering factors like driver logs, maintenance records, witness statements, and expert analysis to determine liability. That’s why, if you want to file a truck accident claim, it is critical to work with a Brooklyn truck accident attorney.
Negligence in a truck accident can take many forms. Here are a few examples:
Distracted driving. Just like other motorists, truck drivers often use their phones for texting, talking, watching videos, or performing other activities while behind the wheel. This creates a huge potential for truck accidents.
Fatigue. According to the FMCSA, a commercial truck driver may drive a maximum of 11 hours after 10 consecutive hours of off-duty time. Unfortunately, many truck operators violate their legal working hours due to various reasons. Accumulated fatigue can lead to impaired reaction times and even falling asleep at the wheel, which can lead to truck accidents.
Speeding. When it comes to reckless driving, speeding is almost always top of the list. Due to its huge mass, a truck can take considerably longer stopping times, if the truck driver fails to adhere to the required speed limits.
Violating traffic rules. Along with speeding, violating other traffic rules creates enormous circumstances for Brooklyn truck accidents. If a truck operator fails to yield the right of way, tailgates someone, or runs red lights, the consequences can be devastating.
Substance intoxication. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs significantly impairs a truck driver’s judgment, coordination, and reaction time, which can result in accidents.
Negligent employee screening and training. If a truck company hires a driver with insufficient experience, a history of drug and alcohol abuse, poor driving records, or fails to train them properly, it can be held liable for a truck accident.
Poor vehicle maintenance. One of the big responsibilities that trucking companies have is making sure that their vehicles are properly maintained. Failing to conduct routine inspections or repairs can cause a truck to malfunction and lead to truck accidents.
Violation of safety rules. Trucking companies must adhere to federal and state rules and regulations. If, for example, a company fails to maintain driver’s logs or disregards cargo weight limits, it can be held liable for an accident.
Defective truck parts. If a truck manufacturer produces and installs defective parts in their vehicles, such as brakes, tires, steering systems, navigation systems, etc., and these lead to an accident, the manufacturer can be held responsible for it.
Poor design or engineering. If a truck comes with severe design flaws like an improperly designed suspension system, or a high center of gravity, it can lead to instability when the truck is in transit, which can create circumstances for truck accidents.
Failure to provide correct usage guidelines. Truck manufacturers have a duty to provide accurate and concise warnings, usage instructions, and safety guidelines for the usage of their vehicles. Failing to do so can be considered negligence, and can also lead to accidents.
Poor road maintenance. The New York City municipality has the responsibility to properly maintain and repair roads. Not many people are aware that if their car accident was caused by a pothole in the road or poorly defrosted roads, they may recover damages from the local municipality. This also applies to trucks and truck accidents.
Poorly designed roads. Negligence can arise if the New York City municipality designs or plans roads in a way that creates unsafe conditions for trucks. Examples include sharp turns with inadequate warning signs, improper lane widths, or poorly designed intersections that increase the risk of accidents involving trucks.
If you sustained injuries from a truck accident or other type of vehicle accident in Brooklyn or the other New York City boroughs, these are some of the most important rights that you should be aware of:
At Hill & Moin, we can’t stress enough that you shouldn’t wonder too much about your rights if you have been injured in a truck accident due to someone’s negligence. Call our experienced Brooklyn truck accident attorneys as soon as possible, and we will explain your rights and options.
If a truck accident occurs and it is clear that the truck operator, the trucking company, or other parties have breached their duty of care, all the injured parties can hold them accountable and seek compensation for the harm they have suffered. If you have been injured in a Brooklyn truck accident, the damages that you can seek compensation for typically fall into three main categories. These are:
If a truck driver, trucking company, or other party that was responsible for the accident has acted extremely recklessly or egregiously, a court may award punitive damages. These normally don’t benefit the injured party in any way; they are not compensatory. Their sole purpose is to punish the at-fault party and deter them from engaging in similar behavior in the future.
An important aspect to note here regards New York’s comparative negligence rule. This means that if you are found partially at fault for a truck accident or other type of traffic accident, your final compensation amount may be reduced by the percentage of fault attributed to you. Nevertheless, a Brooklyn truck accident lawyer can protect your interest and ensure that you will be awarded the compensation you deserve.
The Brooklyn personal injury attorneys at Hill & Moin are professionals at obtaining the maximum compensation for victims of serious traffic accidents, including truck accidents. Our seasoned truck accident lawyers are committed to your best interests; our goal is to get you the compensation you need and deserve so that you are able to concentrate on healing and having your life back.
Here are several ways a Brooklyn truck accident lawyer at our law firm can help you after an accident:
Please examine some of the results our Brooklyn personal injury attorneys have secured for car and truck accident victims over the years:
If you were hurt in a truck accident in Brooklyn, you can rest assured that our truck accident attorneys will harness the full power, resources, and expertise of our law firm to help you secure the compensation you deserve.
If you or someone you love sustained an injury or passed away in a Brooklyn truck accident contact the compassionate Brooklyn truck accident lawyers at Hill & Moin. You have the legal right to pursue financial compensation from the negligent parties who are responsible for your injuries.
At Hill & Moin we pride ourselves on treating our New York City clients like family. We are always here when our clients have questions about their truck accident cases, and we want to help each person every step of the way. If you are worried about hiring a personal injury lawyer to hold the property owner accountable, come to the personal injury law firm that cares. You deserve professionalism that gives you the confidence to pursue legal action to secure a better future for yourself and your family.
Don’t wonder about your rights! Contact us at (212) 668-6000 for a free consultation. Learn about your Personal Injury Recovery SolutionsⓇ.