Your Trusted Personal Injury Lawyers in Waterford, CT
When a commercial truck hits a car, the results can be catastrophic for the occupants of the smaller vehicle. Even a local delivery truck outweighs a standard sedan by thousands of pounds, and an 18-wheeler can weigh up to 80,000 pounds. If one of these trucks runs a red light and t-bones your vehicle at an intersection, you can suffer serious injuries, or worse.
Side-impact truck accidents in New London occur when a truck collides with the side of another vehicle. These often occur when the other car is turning or crossing an intersection. If you are the victim of one of these collisions, a truck crash attorney from Polito & Harrington LLC could help you get compensation for your injuries.
Side-impact accidents most often happen at intersections. In many cases, one driver believes they have the right of way, either because the light is green or they think they can “beat the light” before it turns red. In uncontrolled intersections where drivers must wait for oncoming traffic to clear, cars can get stuck in the middle of the street, and vehicles going the other way can hit them.
Commercial vehicles have the additional handicaps of being large and difficult to stop. At highway speeds, a fully loaded big rig can take more than 500 feet to stop. If a driver is not paying attention or is distracted, they can blow through an intersection, striking a car waiting to make a left turn and causing a side-impact tractor-trailer wreck in New London.
Although the driver is responsible for an accident, liability in commercial vehicle crashes can be more complicated than that. The trucking company can be liable under a vicarious liability theory if it was negligent in hiring or failed to train or monitor their drivers.
Connecticut uses a pure comparative negligence rule under Connecticut General Statutes § 52-572h when determining fault. That means that if you were partially responsible for your accident, you could still recover damages in your claim. It also means the court can apportion damages among all parties. For instance, you could be 10 percent responsible for your injuries, the trucking company could be 80 percent responsible, and the driver 10 percent responsible.
These complex rules make it essential that you consult a personal injury attorney when making your insurance claim. A New London broadside semi-truck collision attorney could help you gather the evidence you need to make your case and discuss your next steps in making a legal claim.
Victims of side-impact truck accidents in New London need legal advice when filing insurance claims and getting the compensation they need for their injuries. The attorneys at Polito & Harrington LLC could explain your legal rights and assist you in gathering the evidence you need to file your claim. When it is time to go to court, our local attorneys will be there to fight for the settlement you deserve.
After a serious collision, you may need time to recover and get your life back on track. An attorney could handle the details of your legal case and negotiate a settlement so you can focus on getting well. We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay nothing until we settle or win your case. Call us today for a free and confidential case review.
We are committed to provide personalized attention to each and every client’s case – no matter how large or small– because that is each client’s only case. We are proud of our firm’s reputation of combining integrity and compassion with an unflinching dedication to getting the right result. We will do what we say.
