The aftermath of a truck accident can be terrible. If you faced serious injuries, you may be laid up in the hospital, unable to work while bills pile up. Even if your accident was not quite that bad, you still face expenses you should not have to cover if someone else caused your accident.
Our lawyers can help you bring insurance claims and lawsuits against negligent truckers and the companies they work for. We will investigate your rights under the relevant insurance policies, calculate your damages, and bring the claims to court if needed.
For a free evaluation of your case, call Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C.’s truck accident lawyers at (201) 777-1111.
Who Do You Sue in a Commercial Truck Accident Case?
Liability can rest with different parties, depending on the facts.
Suing the Driver
Responsibility for an auto accident typically rests with the driver who caused the crash. If that is the trucker, they may be liable directly if there is no one else to hold responsible.
If that is another driver, they can also be held responsible.
In any auto accident case in New Jersey, you do need to be aware of our choice no-fault rules. Drivers with “limited right to sue” policies need to have “serious injuries” before they can sue; otherwise, their claim would just be with their own insurance.
Suing Trucking Companies for Driver Negligence
When an employee causes an accident in the course of their work duties, the employer can be held responsible in their place. This principle applies to virtually any kind of negligent accident, so it should apply to most truck accidents when the commercial driver is an employee of the trucking company.
If the trucker works as an independent contractor or other self-employed trucker, this might not work. The liability would then stop with them – though they should still have insurance to pay for the accident.
Suing Trucking Companies for Their Own Negligence
Sometimes the trucking company is responsible for the accident in its own right, instead of just being the negligent trucker’s boss. This can happen in a few ways:
- Negligent Hiring or Retention: The trucking company hired or kept on a driver they should have known was dangerous.
- Regulatory Violations: The trucking company violated trucking rules, putting you in danger.
- Equipment Issues: The truck they own had issues that made it dangerous.
There may be other grounds you can use as well, but these are the most common.
How Much is My Truck Accident Case Worth?
There are four major factors that set the value of your case:
Your Actual Damages
Any injury claim is based on the harm you actually suffered. There is no one-size-fits-all approach, and every truck accident victim should have their truck accident lawyer claim the specific values they suffered for
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Auto damage
- And other damages.
Insurance Coverage
New Jersey’s insurance rules prevent lawsuits unless you either have a “serious injury” or an “unlimited right to sue” policy. If either of these is missing from your case, then you have to use your own no-fault/personal injury protection (PIP) and other first-party coverages instead of suing the defendant.
These coverages cannot pay for pain and suffering, meaning that area of damages would be excluded if you cannot sue.
Policy Limits
When you sue the other driver, their insurance policy limit might also dictate how much you can possibly win. However, trucking companies typically have very high policy limits and may be able to afford much higher damages out of pocket if you pass the policy limit.
Commercial drivers should also have high policy limits even if they are self-employed.
Degree of Fault
New Jersey law allows multiple parties to share fault, including the potential of laying some fault on the victim. Each defendant only pays their share of damages in most cases, meaning you may get some of the money from each defendant, each with their own policy limits.
If the court finds you partially liable, you lose your percentage of the damages. You lose your case entirely if your fault is higher than the defendant’s (or defendants’) total fault.
FAQs for Truck Accident Injury Cases in Union City, NJ
Whose Insurance Covers the Accident?
In NJ, our no-fault insurance system means each driver needs their own insurance to cover their own injuries. However, this insurance does not cover pain and suffering.
If you have the right type of policy (unlimited right to sue policy) or serious injuries, then you go after the other driver’s insurance or sue them. That can pay for pain and suffering along with your other damages.
What Happens if I Settle?
If you take money from or sign a settlement with the other driver, that often ends your case against them entirely. Always review settlement offers with your lawyer, and never sign or accept anything until you speak with a lawyer.
If you receive money from your own insurance (e.g., PIP), this usually does not function as a settlement. However, your insurance company may be able to take back the money they paid if the defendant later reimburses you again for expenses your insurance already covered.
What is a Serious Injury in NJ?
New Jersey’s insurance rules prevent lawsuits without “serious injuries” unless you have a higher-premium insurance policy with an unlimited right to sue.
Serious injuries include all kinds of permanent or disabling injuries, along with displaced broken bones, facial scars, and lost pregnancy. The death of a loved one also counts as a “serious injury,” allowing you to sue for deadly crashes.
Do Trucks Cause More Serious Accidents?
Because trucks are so big, they inevitably cause more damage than the average vehicle would. Crashes involving commercial trucks or 18-wheelers often total the other vehicle and cause serious injuries to the people in other cars, while the trucker often walks away with minimal injuries.
Things are much worse if there are brake failures, if the trucker is tired, or if the trucker is speeding.
Call Our Truck Accident Lawyers in Union City, NJ Today
Call (201) 777-1111 for a free case review from the truck accident lawyers at Agrapidis & Maroules, P.C. today.