Denver Truck Accident Lawyer
At ELKUS & SISSON, P.C., our team of seasoned professionals brings a wealth of experience to navigating complex legal challenges with precision and dedication.
The fallout of a single truck accident can be enormous. There may be millions of dollars in property damage between totaled vehicles, lost cargo loads, and damage to public property. These accidents are more likely to cause severe injuries, which are also incredibly expensive to treat. Knowing this, it should come as no surprise that truck companies and insurers fight tooth and nail to avoid paying fair settlements after these accidents.
That’s why you need to work with an experienced and aggressive truck accident attorney in Denver. The team at Colorado Accident Attorneys is here to guide you through this process—just call us at 303-567-7981 to get started.
Common Causes of Truck Accidents in Denver
Truck accidents are relatively rare. Trucking companies are generally very careful about who they hire and how they enforce hours of service regulations, which allows them to minimize accident rates and keep people safe. However, when these accident do occur, it’s often due to one of the following issues:
- Distracted driving
- Fatigued driving
- Driving recklessly in inclement weather or heavy traffic
- Undertrained or inexperienced truck drivers
- Driving while impaired
- Speeding
- Insufficient maintenance on trucks
- Hours of service violations
- Inadequate hiring practices
Some of these causes are unique to the trucking industry. Truck drivers put in long hours, and the nature of their work puts them at an elevated risk for fatigued and distracted driving. Inexperienced drivers may not know just how tiring and mentally draining this work can be, so they fail to take proper steps to protect against fatigue.
Consequences of Truck Collisions
Truck collisions have a ripple effect on everything around them, causing a wide range of negative consequences. They include:
- Injuries and fatalities: Truck accidents are more likely to cause severe or fatal injuries than other types of collisions, due to the size of tractor-trailers. These injuries are generally suffered by occupants of passenger vehicles.
- Lost cargo: When a truck rolls over or crashes, it’s not uncommon for it to lose its entire load of cargo. This cargo becomes worthless the moment it sprawls across the highway. This puts the trucking company in significant financial distress, as it must pay for the damage caused by their driver and cover the cost of the lost cargo.
- Explosions and fires: Some tractor-trailers are approved to transport hazardous materials. When crashes occur, these dangerous chemicals and materials may interact with fuel or other substances on the roadway. These interactions may lead to fires or explosions that cause further injuries and fatalities.
- Damage to public property: Guardrails, roads, medians, signs, and other pieces of public property often suffer significant damage during a severe truck accident.
- Closed-down roadways: Truck accidents often shut down major roadways for hours at a time, forcing hundreds or thousands in the Denver area to find new routes.
- Loss of employment: When a truck driver causes an accident, there’s a good chance they will lose their license if they were negligent enough.
Who’s Liable for Truck Accidents?
Liability often rests with one of the drivers. If the truck driver is responsible for the crash, their employer or employer’s insurance company is typically forced to pay compensation to injured victims. However, the rules are slightly different for owner-operators and contractors, so it’s important to talk to a lawyer.
In some situations, the trucking company is actually responsible. This generally occurs when they force drivers to work beyond their hours of service limits or do not take appropriate precautions when hiring drivers.
How Colorado Truck Accident Attorneys Can Help
The devastation caused by a truck accident is unmatched. Victims are often left reeling and unsure of their next steps. Trucking companies often have their own legal teams for this very situation, and they get started immediately. Their goal is to limit the company’s liability and protect them from lawsuits. If you don’t have someone advocating for you in the same way, you could be left with a paltry settlement—or no settlement at all.
We know how negligent drivers or trucking companies can cause catastrophic damage. Our team begins investigating your crash right away to figure out what caused the crash and who is liable. From there, our goal is to build a case that holds the liable party accountable and forces them to pay a fair settlement. Should your case go to court, we are ready to fight for you there.
Reach Out Today to Start Your Denver Truck Accident Claim
If you or someone you love has been hurt in a truck accident, it’s time to find out if you’re entitled to compensation. Take the first step now by reaching out to Colorado Accident Attorneys. Just call us at 303-567-7981 or send us a message online to set up a free consultation.