Have you been seriously injured in a truck accident in Largo, FL? You may be entitled to compensation for the injuries you have suffered.
There may be multiple parties who share liability for your accident with several options for recovering the compensation you deserve for your damages.
Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers has decades of experience representing Largo residents injured in serious commercial truck accidents.
Contact our law office today for a free consultation at (727) 787-2500 with a Largo truck accident lawyer who can help you.
How Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help with Your Truck Accident Case
When your life is changed by a commercial truck accident, you should not be left fighting with insurance companies to recover fair compensation.
With medical bills mounting, unpaid time off work, psychological trauma, and an uncertain future, you deserve a compassionate Largo personal injury lawyer who will serve as your advocate.
Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers has represented injury victims in Largo, Florida since 1996 with a compassionate approach to helping accident victims and their families. Our AV-rated law firm has two Board Certified Civil Trial attorneys with extensive courtroom and negotiation experience we will put to work for you.
We have gained national recognition for our track record and recovered more than $100 million to date for our clients.
When you choose Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers to represent you, you can depend on our team of aggressive personal injury lawyers to:
- Guide you through every step of your claim and answer your questions
- Offer sound legal advice at every stage
- Conduct a thorough investigation into your truck accident to determine causation and liability
- Accurately value your claim
- Gather evidence to strengthen your claim
- Work with medical and accident reconstruction experts
- Fight any attempts by the insurance company to shift blame or minimize your damages
- Negotiate for a fair settlement on your behalf
- Present your case to a jury if negotiations fail
Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers is here for you. Call us today to set up a free case review with an experienced Largo truck accident lawyer to put Tampa Bay’s Top Trial Lawyers on your case.
Florida Truck Accident Statistics
Truck accidents are typically more serious than car accidents due to the sheer weight of a large commercial vehicle. Trucks weigh up to 30 times as much as normal passenger vehicles with a higher ground clearance which can allow passenger vehicles to be pushed under a truck in a crash.
In 2018 alone, 4,136 people across the United States were killed in accidents with large trucks. Of these fatalities, 16% were truck occupants, 67% were passenger vehicle occupants, and 15% were motorcyclists, bicyclists, or pedestrians.
Between 2014 and 2018, 1,354 people were killed in truck accidents in Florida alone according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In 2018, Florida truck accidents resulted in 39 fatalities, 421 non-incapacitating injuries, and 129 incapacitating injuries.
In 2018, 52% of fatalities in large truck accidents occurred on major roads and 32% happened on interstates and freeways. Not surprisingly, most truck accidents involve major roadways and high speeds which increases the risk of serious injury.
What Causes Truck Accidents in Largo?
According to the groundbreaking Large Truck Crash Causation Study, speed, fatigue, and drunk driving were the three top causes of truck accidents. However, the top ten factors that contribute to commercial truck accidents include:
- Interrupted traffic flow
- Unfamiliarity with the roadway
- Insufficient surveillance
- Speeding
- Illegal maneuvers
- Inattention
- Fatigue
- Illness
- Falsely assuming another driver’s actions
- Distracted by a person or object in the vehicle
It is not just truck drivers who cause truck accidents, however. Drivers of passenger vehicles may cause an accident in several ways:
- Improper merging which causes a truck to swerve or brake too hard
- Driving in the truck’s blind spots
- Changing lanes abruptly and cutting off a truck
- Unsafe passing or passing on the truck’s right
- Driving erratically near large trucks
The following are some of the most important factors involved in Largo commercial truck accidents.
Drunk Driving
Truck drivers have lower rates of drunk driving than other drivers thanks to strict government regulations and very stiff penalties if convicted of a DUI. However, 3.6% of commercial drivers had a BAC of 0.01 or higher after a documented accident in 2017. Only 2.5% of drivers had a BAC of 0.08 or higher.
Distracted Driving
Truck drivers and passenger vehicle drivers can cause an accident when distracted. One study by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration found that truck drivers are 23.2x more likely to be involved in a crash when distracted. Dialing with a hands-free device alone increases the probability of being in a crash by 600%.
Speeding
Speeding plays a role in a large share of traffic accidents and it’s a factor in 1 out of every 3 fatal traffic accidents. About 21% of large truck drivers who were involved in a fatal collision had at least one previous speeding citation. Speeding is always dangerous, but it’s even riskier when a commercial truck is involved as trucks are very heavy and take longer to slow down and stop than passenger vehicles.
Driver Fatigue
This is a common problem among commercial truck drivers who may be working outside regulations designed to limit the number of hours on the road. Up to 13% of truck drivers are fatigued at the time of an accident, according to the Large Truck Crash Causation Study by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Commercial drivers are more likely to be fatigued than other drivers.
Liability for Largo Truck Accidents
Truck accidents are often complicated and may require accident reconstruction and expert testimony to determine the precise cause of the accident and who is liable. It’s common for multiple parties to share liability in these types of accidents in which case responsibility for compensation can be shared.
Depending on the cause of your accident, you may be entitled to recover compensation from:
- The truck driver
- The trucking company
- The truck leasing company
- Anyone responsible for maintaining or inspecting the truck
- An at-fault party in a multi-vehicle accident
- The manufacturer of a faulty truck part
- The party responsible for loading the cargo
If the truck driver is found at fault, you may be entitled to recover compensation from the driver and their employer. Trucking companies generally have commercial truck insurance which has much higher coverage limits than those usually offered for passenger vehicles.
Compensation Available After a Truck Accident in Largo, FL
A truck accident can leave you with serious and life-changing injuries. After your accident, your truck accident attorney will work to investigate your accident and identify liable parties and assess the full value of your losses.
You may be entitled to many forms of compensation for:
- Medical expenses, including future medical bills associated with your injuries
- Property damage
- Lost wages
- Lost future earnings or disability
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Emotional distress
- Disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Wrongful death
Because Florida is a “no-fault” state, you will first turn to your own auto insurance policy to make an injury claim for damages. However, your insurance will only pay up to your policy limits. Florida Statutes Section 627.737 allows you to pursue a lawsuit against the at-fault driver if your injury is serious enough to pass the “injury threshold.”
This injury threshold depends on the details of your accident, but many truck accident victims qualify for damages from an at-fault truck driver, trucking company, or another negligent party.
Statute of Limitations for Filing a Truck Accident Claim in Florida
It’s important to pursue your injury claim as soon as possible after a truck accident. Commercial truck accidents often require extensive investigations to determine how the accident occurred and who is at fault. You also have a deadline to bring your claim to court.
Under Florida law, you typically have two years from the date of your truck accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. This deadline used to be four years, but the law changed on March 24, 2023 to provide less time to legally act. Accordingly, if your Largo truck accident happened after this date, you have two years to file your lawsuit.
This may sound like a long time, but delaying your claim can allow crucial evidence to be lost. It can also make it challenging to prove liability and the extent of your damages. Contact an experienced injury attorney in Largo as soon as possible to protect your claim.
Contact a Largo Truck Accident Lawyer for a Free Consultation
Has your life been changed by a serious truck accident in Largo? The last thing you should be worried about is fighting an insurance company for the compensation you deserve. Roman Austin Personal Injury Lawyers is here to fight for you and help you protect your rights.
Contact our law office today to schedule a free case review with a compassionate Largo truck accident lawyer. We work on a contingency fee basis which means you pay no out-of-pocket costs and no attorney’s fees unless we are successful in recovering compensation for you.
