Nashville Truck Accident Lawyers

Due to their size and weight, when a trucker or commercial vehicle operator’s negligence causes collisions on the road, they often lead to devastating and catastrophic injuries, such as:

• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Death
• Internal injuries
• Facial injuries
• Permanent scarring
• Amputation
• Broken bones
• Spinal cord injury

The Importance of Hiring a NASHVILLE Semi-truck Attorney Right Away

Going up against an insurance company and/or trucking company in Nashville is no small feat. Insurance and trucking companies have extensive resources available to fight liability and dispute injury claims, including top attorneys. One of the best ways to protect your rights during a semi-truck accident claim is to hire a Nashville semi wreck attorney of your own right away.

Delaying could leave enough time for the trucking company or its insurer to take advantage of you. Our office takes the step necessary to protect your rights and preserve your claim, including:

Investigation: Our firm has connections to investigators who can revisit the scene of your accident, look into the trucking company and take other steps to get to the bottom of who or what caused your crash. A thorough crash investigation could shed light on liability, damages and your options as a survivor.

Evidence gathering: Our attorneys move to preserve important evidence right away, such as the crashed truck’s black box information or a truck driver’s cellphone records at the time of the collision. Waiting too long to hire an attorney could mean the loss of key evidence. If you do not ask the trucking company or insurance carrier to preserve the evidence quickly, they will either dispose of it and/or move to get their truck back on the road as soon as possible. We can collect evidence and build a claim to damages on your behalf.

Determining fault: Fault can be confusing in a truck accident case. For example, the at-fault driver may not be liable for your damages, but the trucking company may be vicariously liable instead. Many lawsuits involve shared fault divided among multiple parties. In trucking injury cases, multiple parties could be held liable for your injuries. An experienced Nashville semi-truck wreck attorney can help you find all the negligent parties and seek full compensation for your injuries.

Hiring a Nashville truck and commercial vehicle accident lawyer as soon as possible after a crash can preserve your rights and strengthen your case from the very beginning. Your attorney can counsel you on important processes, such as how to properly negotiate an insurance settlement.

Your Nashville truck accident lawyer will help you avoid common mistakes such as trusting an insurance claims adjuster, giving a recorded statement or accepting the first offer. Hire an attorney from our firm before you accidentally make a mistake that could hurt your odds of obtaining compensation.

Why Choose Our NASHVILLE Semi-Truck Accident Lawyers?

• We represent clients with care, passion, and commitment to their particular needs.
• Our team has secured satisfactory results in court on behalf of the injured for more than four decades.
• Our legal team has recovered tens of millions of dollars for our clients.

Trucking Company Negligence

Trucking companies typically oversee dozens, if not hundreds or thousands of trucks and drivers, as well as operations such as cargo loading and ground traffic control.

Many Nashville truck accident cases involve the negligence of the trucking company itself rather than a truck driver.

In addition to complying with state traffic laws like all other drivers, commercial trucks and drivers are heavily regulated by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The FMCSA regulations are designed to promote highway safety and reduce truck wrecks by addressing many categories of the trucking industry that apply to:

• Hours of service operations
• Drug and alcohol testing
• Securing Cargo
• Vehicle inspections
• Requirements for Licensing

Truck companies can be negligent in many different ways that ultimately lead to accidents, often in the name of profitability. It is our mission to hold negligent trucking companies accountable for their actions.

When it comes to Large Truck Crashes in Tennessee, the Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security list the following top causes regarding Truck Driver Actions:

1. Lane Departure
2. Following Improperly
3. Improper Lane change
4. Failure to yield
5. Improper backing
6. Inattention
7. Improper Turn
8. Swerved/Avoided
9. Careless/Erratic
10. Speed too fast

The Tennessee Department of Safety also list the following Driver Conditions as contributing to crashes:

1. Driver Asleep
2. Drinking
3. Fatigued
4. Sick (medical condition)
5. Illegal drug use

Damages Available In your Nashville semi-Truck or Commercial vehicle wreck

Full compensation could mean an award for each of your economic and noneconomic damages relating to your Nashville collision.

The Law Firm of Flora Templeton Stuart’s attorneys can help you understand what types of damages you may be eligible to receive based on the specifics of your accident case.

Although each claim is unique, state laws in Nashville allow accident victims to seek the following categories of compensation:

• Economic damages: Hospital bills, ambulance fees, medical bills, and other treatment that is medically necessary for the injuries sustained. This can also include future medical expenses if the injury causes permanent disability or requires long-term treatment. There is no cap on non-economic damages in Tennessee.

• Non-econonmic damages: Pain and suffering. You are entitled to receive damages for pain and suffering related to the injuries you sustained. Unfortunately, the state of Tennessee has capped non-economic damages at $750,000 for most injuries. C.A. § 29-39-102(a)(2).

• Lost Wages: In Gallatin Tennessee, parties may recover lost income compensation if the collision requires them to miss work for a period of time. This may also include future lost wages if the injury is permanent or significant enough to keep someone from working in the future.
• Property Damage: This can include repair or replacement cost to the damage caused to your vehicle, as well as damages caused to personal property within the vehicle that were damages as a result. You may also recover damages for expenses for rental cars or tow fees.

• Punitive damages: These are non-economic damages that a jury may award to a Plaintiff for punishment of the defendant’s behavior. These damages are only awarded if the jury finds that the defendant acted “maliciously, intentionally, fraudulently or reckless.” Punitive damages may be collected in certain circumstances, however in most instances the Tennessee legislature has capped the amount of punitive damages that injured parties may recover from the negligence of another party. Simply put, punitive damages are generally limited to $500,000 or two times the compensatory damage award, whichever is more. There are exceptions to that cap in instances where the defendant was under the influence of drugs or alcohol or where the defendant intentionally caused the injury to the victim.

A lawyer from the Law Firm of Flora Templeton Stuart can help you maximize your payout during a semi-truck or commercial vehicle accident claim using proven negotiation strategies.

How Long do I Have to File Suit After a Semi-Truck or Commercial Vehicle accident?

In Tennessee, you generally have one year to file suit after any semi-truck or commercial vehicle accident. If the accident involved a fatality, the statute is generally only 1 year to file suit on behalf of the victim’s estate and family.

If you or a loved one has been hurt in a big-rig collision, we urge you to contact our Nashville accident lawyers immediately so we can get started working on your case immediately. If you wait, the evidence could be destroyed. Don’t miss your chance to get the compensation you deserve for your Nashville injury case. Call us at (888) 782-9090 to speak to a truck accident attorney today!

Nashville Commercial Vehicle Collisions

A commercial vehicle, or company vehicle, can be any kind of vehicle that is owned and operated by a company to be used by employees or agents of that company.

Commercial trucks are in the business of transporting merchandise and are generally more dangerous than regular vehicles, as they are typically larger and heavier in size, causing more injury. Commercial vehicles can include:

• Garbage trucks
• Semi-trucks
• Delivery trucks like UPS or FedEx
• Dump trucks
• Farm trucks
• Cement mixer trucks
• Logging trucks
• Tanker trucks

Commercial vehicles generally are not owned by the person driving them, but the company they work for. These Commercial vehicles have insurance policies that are typically much larger and provide better coverage than the state minimum policies that common motorist have.

In Nashville, some commercial vehicles are governed by the same rules and regulations that large semi-trucks are governed by. Under the Federal Rules, vehicles traveling within Tennessee and outside of the state, with a total weight over 10,001 pounds, will have to abide by the Federal Statutes.

What Should I Do if I Have Been Injured by a Commercial Vehicle Through No Fault of my Own?

If you have been injured in a Nashville commercial vehicle or semi-truck accident, seek medical attention immediately. The police should come to the scene of the accident and file a report. If possible, get names and contact information of witnesses and take photos of the vehicles and scene (such as damage to vehicles, skid marks, road signs, or anything that might have contributed to the wreck).

This is especially important in commercial truck accidents as trucking companies sometimes work quickly to destroy vital evidence. Get the name, contact information, license number, trucking company name and insurance details from the truck driver.

Write down details of the wreck including date, time, location, what happened to cause the accident and other details while they are fresh on your mind. Notify your insurance company of vehicle damage and injuries you sustained. Do not discuss the accident with the at-fault party’s insurance company before consulting with a semi wreck attorney.

How do I Pay for a Nashville Attorney in a Commercial Vehicle or Semi-Truck Accident Injury Case?

The Law Firm of Flora Templeton Stuart works on a contingency fee basis. That means we only get paid if you get paid in your truck wreck injury case. Call Nashville attorney Flora Templeton Stuart at (888) 782-9090 for a free initial consultation twenty-four hours a day/seven days a week.

If you or a loved one has been injured, don’t wait. Contact an experienced Nashville semi-truck and commercial vehicle accident lawyer immediately. When we receive a call from a client who has been injured, our attorneys go to work immediately to protect their rights to full and fair compensation. Our law firm goes the extra mile, using our 40-plus years of experience to right the wrongs and make our clients whole again.

If you’ve been injured, contact us now. Call Flora Templeton Stuart at (888) 782-9090 or contact us online today.

I am Injured and Can’t Travel, Will You Meet Me at My Home or Another Location?

If you have been injured in a commercial vehicle or trucking accident and can’t come to us, we will meet you at your home, in the hospital, or another location that is convenient for you.

We have offices in Tennessee and Kentucky, and we travel throughout Tennessee to meet with our injured clients. If you have been injured in a big-rig collision or commercial vehicle collision, call semi-truck wreck lawyer Flora Templeton Stuart at (888) 782-9090 twenty-four hours a day/seven days a week.