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Trucking Accidents Can Lead to Devastating Results
If you have ever been in a car accident, you can understand how scary and frustrating the aftermath can be. The results can quickly become even more devastating if a truck is involved.
Trucks, whether fully loaded or not, are much heavier than standard vehicles, and making an impact with one of them is almost sure to lead to significant damage to the vehicles and substantial injuries.
When involved in an accident, the drivers exchange contact and insurance information, tend to their injuries and property damage, and pursue legal actions as necessary to recover damages.
When a government vehicle is involved, the rules are different and may be challenging to understand.
What Types of Government Vehicles Are Common?
Government vehicles are often leased or owned by several entities, whether at the city, state, county or even federal level. Common examples of government vehicles are listed below;
- Ambulance
- Police cars/SUVs
- Mail delivery vehicles
- City or School Buses
- Garbage Trucks
- Fire trucks
- Military trucks
Time is of the Essence
In many cases, if you are in a car accident and wish to pursue damages, the statute of limitations in South Carolina for personal injury is three years from the date of the collision. This timeframe can feel reasonable as you are likely tending to your injuries, communicating or negotiating with insurance companies to learn how much you may receive as compensation to make you whole again and more.
If a government vehicle is a party to the accident, you have a much shorter time period to pursue legal options. The timeline concerning government vehicles following an accident in South Carolina is 180 days, barring a few exceptions.
What’s important to note here is that if you surpass the statute of limitations threshold, your case may be denied, regardless of its validity and warrant.
It’s crucial to reach out to your personal injury attorney today to ensure that your case is brought to the courts promptly so you have the best chance of recovering damages.
Who Are the Liable Parties?
The complexities of truck accidents involving government vehicles are vast. If a truck is involved, the parties liable can be multiple, as the truck’s driver may not only be responsible but also the owner of the company the driver works for. Companies are tasked with ensuring that the drivers are correctly trained and not pushing drivers to fatigue levels when operating or pushing deadlines that may lead to speeding or other traffic violations. Drivers are held to a federal standard for safety, including hours of operation, regular inspections, and more, through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
The manufacturer of the truck, if malfunction with brakes, tires, or other complications were the issue, may also be liable. Similarly, maintenance companies of the trucks may be liable if they were scheduled to do regular maintenance and there was an oversight. Even those in charge of loading the trailers on trucks can be liable if the load isn’t secure and shifted during transit, leading to an accident.
Who is liable in the government? While pursuing multiple parties following an accident can be frustrating, pursuing a government entity may be even more frustrating as some drivers will have immunity or added protection through the government entity they are employed by. However, this fact should not deter you from pursuing legal options, as your experienced personal injury attorney can review your case and provide a legal strategy to follow as needed.
What Types of Damages May Be Available Following an Accident in South Carolina?
Several categories of damages may be available for you to pursue following an accident in South Carolina. One of the most common and easy to establish is the medical expenses associated with your injuries. The medical bills you receive are tangible; you can keep all documentation for any treatment you received, prescriptions needed, surgeries or other procedures, and more.
Compensation for lost income is another angle to consider. If you missed work due to being in the accident while taking time to attend to your injuries or had to miss to continue with a physical therapy regimen following the accident, you may be entitled to recover the wages you missed.
Pain and suffering damages may also be an option. It’s never easy to recover physically after injuries, and if there are emotional damages that are present and persistent, you may wish to pursue damages in this area as well. Your quality of life may have diminished as a result of the accident. You may have trouble sleeping, concentrating, or enjoying activities that you once did. You may also now experience anxiety or depression as a result of the accident.
You don’t have to suffer alone and without help. Speak with your attorney to help you calculate the damages you rightfully deserve and pursue them accordingly.
Contact Us Immediately For the Advocacy You Deserve
Dealing with the aftermath of an accident can be challenging at best, and you shouldn’t have to deal with that while you are watching medical and other bills pile up and missing work while you heal. Let your experienced personal injury attorney take the load off your shoulders and handle things like communication with the other parties, insurance companies, and more.
They can also thoroughly investigate the events that lead up to the accident to help establish fault accurately. They can reach out to eyewitnesses, determine all liable parties, and more.
Contact our office today at (803) 855-1012 to learn more. We work tirelessly for our clients to ensure they have the best strategy in place to pursue what is rightfully theirs.
