Were you hurt in a truck accident in Kendall, FL?
Because a truck crash often involves more than one responsible company, The Andres Lopez Law Firm investigates every source of liability to recover full compensation for injured people in Kendall.
If a commercial truck hit you in Kendall, the driver is only one of the parties who may owe you compensation. Federal regulations, a carrier’s records, and several large insurance policies all shape what a truck claim is worth, which is what separates these cases from an ordinary collision. Our Kendall, FL truck accident lawyer works out which companies bear responsibility and secures the records that prove it before a carrier’s investigators close the file. Contact us for a free consultation about the crash and the companies behind the truck.
Truck Accident Lawyer Kendall, FL
A truck accident claim is a personal injury case brought after a crash with a commercial truck, such as a semi-truck, a box truck, or another large vehicle used for business. Because a loaded truck can weigh many times more than a car, the people hurt in these crashes are usually in the smaller vehicle, and their injuries are often severe. The federal government treats large trucks differently from cars for this reason, setting rules for how they are driven, loaded, and maintained.
Federal data shows large trucks were involved in about 114,000 injury crashes in a single recent year. In Kendall, commercial trucks travel the same roads as everyone else, from the Florida Turnpike and the Palmetto Expressway to Kendall Drive and US-1, where a crash at highway speed can cause lasting harm. Kendall sits near several major freight routes, so residents share the road with heavy commercial traffic every day. The people most seriously hurt in these crashes are rarely the truck drivers, who sit high above the road in a heavy, reinforced cab.
Types of Truck Accident Cases We Handle in Kendall
Truck crashes happen in several ways, and each raises its own questions of fault. We handle claims that include the following:
- Car accidents. Much of a truck’s danger falls on the occupants of the passenger vehicles it collides with. The car and its occupants absorb the force that the truck’s mass carries into the collision.
- Rear-end collisions. A loaded truck needs far more distance to stop than a car, and a driver following too closely can strike the vehicle ahead with tremendous force. The weight behind the truck turns even a moderate-speed impact into a severe one.
- Jackknife accidents. When a trailer swings out of line with the cab, it can sweep across several lanes and pull other vehicles into the crash. Sudden braking, high speed, or an unbalanced load can all cause a jackknife.
- Underride accidents. A smaller vehicle can slide beneath the rear or side of a trailer, which often produces the most severe injuries of any truck crash. Missing or damaged guards on the trailer frequently make these crashes worse.
- Blind-spot accidents. A truck has large blind spots on every side, and a driver who changes lanes without seeing a nearby vehicle can cause a serious collision. Trucks are required to account for these blind spots, and failing to do so is a form of negligence.
- Pedestrian accidents. A person on foot struck by a commercial truck has no protection against its size and weight. In a city setting, a truck making a wide turn can strike a pedestrian in a crosswalk.
- Motorcycle accidents. A rider caught in a truck’s blind spot or forced off the road by a wide turn has nothing to absorb the impact. Injuries in these crashes are often permanent when they are not fatal.
- Bicycle accidents. Trucks turning right across a bike lane are a persistent danger to cyclists, who can be pulled under the trailer. Mirror use and the truck’s approach speed are usually central to these claims.
- Scooter accidents. A scooter rider in the curb lane sits well below a truck driver’s line of sight. A truck merging toward the curb or turning at an intersection can strike a rider who had no room to move.
- Catastrophic injuries. The weight behind a commercial truck produces injuries that do not fully heal, from paralysis to amputation. Claims like these have to account for care and lost earnings across a lifetime.
Why Choose The Andres Lopez Law Firm as my Truck Accident Lawyer in Kendall, FL?
Handling the Complexity of Trucking Cases
Trucking cases are different from other injury claims, and Andres Lopez has handled them across South Florida since he began practicing here in 2009. He founded The Andres Lopez Law Firm after earning his undergraduate and law degrees at the University of Maryland, and he belongs to the Florida Justice Association and the Broward County Bar Association. Because a truck case can involve a driver, a carrier, and their insurers at once, a personal injury lawyer in Kendall, FL has to know where responsibility lies and how to prove it.
Results That Reflect Serious Cases
The firm’s results feature millions of dollars recovered for injured clients, and Mr. Lopez’s place in the Million Dollar Advocates Forum reflects that record.
- $1,000,000, wrongful death settlement
- $250,000, motor vehicle policy limits
- $174,500, auto accident policy limits
Understanding Truck Accident Cases
Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Truck Accident Cases
The damages in a truck accident case are usually larger than in a car crash, because the injuries tend to be more severe and longer-lasting. The most serious injuries, including head trauma, spinal damage, and internal injuries, can require surgery, long rehabilitation, and ongoing care. A claim can recover:
- Past and future medical treatment
- Lost income and reduced earning capacity
- The cost of long-term or in-home care
- Pain, suffering, and the loss of everyday activities
When more than one company shares fault, a full claim identifies every insurance policy that applies, since the total available coverage often decides what can actually be recovered. Every category of loss must be documented, from the medical records that show the extent of the injury to the wage records that establish what the person can no longer earn.
Non-economic harm belongs in that accounting as well, including chronic pain and the loss of the ability to work or enjoy daily life. Fault is then applied to the total: Florida’s modified comparative fault law still permits a recovery when the injured person is partly to blame, but it shrinks by that percentage and vanishes above 50 percent.
What Are Important Aspects of a Truck Accident Case?
Preserving evidence is the most urgent task after a truck crash, because a commercial carrier controls much of it and is not required to keep it forever. The truck’s electronic logging device and event data recorder capture speed, braking, and hours of driving, and that data can confirm or contradict a driver’s account. The driver’s logs, the maintenance records, and the cargo documents fill in the rest of what went wrong.
Federal rules govern how long a driver may be on the road, how a truck must be maintained, and how cargo must be secured, and a violation of those rules can be strong evidence of negligence. A life-altering injury adds another reason for patience, since a claim settled before the long-term prognosis is clear can fall short of what the injury actually costs. The number of parties involved, from the driver to the carrier to a maintenance or loading company, is one of the main reasons these cases are more complex than a typical car accident, and a truck that crossed into Florida from another state can add out-of-state companies and federal jurisdiction to the investigation.
What Is the Truck Accident Case Timeline?
The first hours and days after a truck crash matter, because the trucking company begins its own investigation immediately and important evidence can be lost. We move quickly to secure the vehicle data, the driver’s records, and any camera footage, and we identify each company that may share responsibility. As the treatment progresses, we document the injuries and their long-term effect, then present the claim to the responsible parties and their insurers.
More parties, more insurance policies, and more evidence all make a truck case slower than a two-car claim, and we walk the client through each stage as it arrives. The deadline to bring most injury claims in Florida is two years from the date of the crash, and if a fair settlement is not reached, we will pursue the case in court.
What Should You Bring to Your Truck Accident Consultation?
The following help us evaluate a truck accident claim:
- The crash or police report
- Photographs of the vehicles, the scene, and any truck markings or company name
- The truck’s license plate or DOT number, if you have it
- The names and contact details of any witnesses
- Your medical records and bills to date
- Any correspondence you have received from the trucking company or its insurer
Meeting with us costs nothing, and we can start working out which company put that truck on the road.
Reach Out to The Andres Lopez Law Firm to Schedule a Consultation
Acting quickly after a truck crash protects the evidence a claim depends on, and the sooner a lawyer is involved, the stronger a case tends to be. Our Kendall truck accident lawyer is paid only out of a recovery, never up front. Contact us to discuss the crash at no charge.