Avondale Truck Accident Lawyer

Commercial truck crashes often cause extensive, even life-threatening injuries for those in passenger vehicles. In addition to a lengthy recovery, victims may be facing financial difficulties caused by expensive medical costs.

If you have suffered serious harm in a truck accident due to another’s negligence, we encourage you to seek legal help from one of our licensed Avondale truck accident lawyers as soon as possible to learn if you may have a valid case. There are no upfront costs for our services because we are not paid unless we recover compensation. Your initial consultation is free and there is no obligation to hire our firm.

Phillips Law Group has a proven track record, recovering more than $1 billion in compensation on behalf of our clients in Maricopa County and throughout Arizona. Our award-winning founder Jeff Phillips is a member of the Trucking Trial Lawyers Association ”“ Top 10 and the Motor Vehicle Trial Lawyers Association ”“ Top 25.

Have questions? Call our firm to set up your free legal consultation today: 1-800-706-3000 .

Do I Have a Valid Case?

This is a complicated question because of the many factors involved, such as:

  • How the crash happened
  • Damages you suffered
  • Whether the driver or another breached a duty of care
  • Whether the breach of duty of care can be directly linked to the cause of your injury
  • If federal or state trucking regulations were violated by the driver or another party

If you set up a free consultation with one of our Avondale truck accident lawyers, we can review what happened to help determine if you may have a valid claim for compensation and how we may be able to assist you.

What is Your Case Worth?

There are many types of damages that may result from a commercial truck accident. Typically, the two major categories that damages fall under are either economic and non-economic.

Economic damages are the tangible, out-of-pocket expenses victims face, such as past and future medical costs. Victims may have bills for things like:

  • Surgical procedures
  • Ambulance transportation to the hospital after the crash
  • Appointments with doctors
  • Physical therapy
  • Wheelchair
  • Crutches
  • Prosthetics
  • Medications for pain management

Other out-of-pocket expenses include bills for repairing your car, lost wages and loss of earning capacity.

Non-economic damages refer to the harder-to-quantify physical and psychological effects of a serious injury, such as physical pain and emotional suffering, loss of companionship, and lost enjoyment of life.

Punitive damages are a rarely awarded form of compensation that may be available after a serious truck crash. These are for cases that involve extreme, malicious or intentional acts of negligence. Punitive damages are not connected to damages you suffered. They are meant to serve as punishment for the negligent party and to discourage others from engaging in similar behavior in the future.

Call Phillips Law Group today to learn more about your claim’s potential value: 1-800-706-3000

How Long do I Have to File a Claim?

Motor vehicle accident cases are often resolved through insurance claims. Each insurance company may have its own deadlines for filing claims. This is why it is important to contact an attorney as soon as possible so he or she can determine if you have a valid case and start the legal process.

Sometimes, it is necessary to file a lawsuit to attempt to obtain fair compensation following an accident, such as when the insurance company offers a settlement that is far less than the total of your damages. If you file a personal injury lawsuit in Arizona, the statute of limitations gives you two years from the date of your accident to file a claim. Failing to file within that two-year window means you may lose the right to file a lawsuit.

There can be exceptions to the two-year deadline, so it is important to discuss the situation with an experienced attorney as soon as possible. The clock may already be running on your time to file a case.

Why risk losing the opportunity to recover your damages? Call our firm today: 1-800-706-3000

How an Attorney May be Able to Help You

Our Avondale truck accident attorneys are prepared to manage the entire legal process for you, leaving you and your family free to focus on medical treatment and recovery. Those are the things that are most important during this difficult time.

Our firm has the resources, team and experience to launch a thorough investigation to help us build a strong case on your behalf. This means doing things like:

  • Visiting the scene to collect photographic evidence
  • Reviewing your medical records
  • Consulting medical experts
  • Taking steps to preserve evidence
  • Seeking out available video footage
  • Investigating the driver’s history for past instances of reckless driving, drug use or illegal behavior
  • Evaluating applicable insurance policies

While many cases are resolved through out-of-court settlements, sometimes a settlement is not possible. That is why our Avondale truck accident lawyers are always prepared to go to trial to recover the compensation you need. Sometimes being ready to go trial causes insurance companies to give in and offer a fair settlement to avoid the time and expense of a courtroom battle.

Call Phillips Law Group to learn more ways we may be able to assist you. 1-800-706-3000

What if the Insurance Company Calls?

Insurance companies typically contact accident victims soon after a crash. Insurance adjusters are trained professionals who know how to sound like they are on your side to get you to relax. They may offer you a quick, lowball settlement or attempt to trick you into saying something that could devalue your claim.

This technique also makes it easier to get you to make statements minimizing the severity of your injuries or to agree to provide a recorded statement. They may even tell you that it will speed up the processing of your claim.

It is important to be mindful that an insurance company is a for-profit organization and as such, will strive to pay out as little on a claim as possible. This is why we recommend that you are cautious about what you say to insurance adjusters who call. Help protect the full value of your claim by sticking to basic facts about the crash. Avoid providing any specifics about your injury or signing or agreeing to anything.

Alternatively, you have the option of referring the insurance company to your lawyer to defend your claim. Our attorneys have decades of combined experience dealing with insurance companies and know how to defend claims.

Liability for a Truck Crash

Drivers are often held liable for truck accidents because of negligent behavior behind the wheel, such as tailgating, speeding, driving drunk, violating traffic laws or falling asleep behind the wheel.

Other parties may share liability or be fully to blame for a crash. These other parties could include:

  • Trucking companies
  • Companies that load cargo into the trailer
  • Owner of the truck
  • Owner of the trailer
  • Company that leased the truck or trailer
  • Manufacturer of the truck or trailer

Our firm has the resources to launch a comprehensive investigation of your accident. We are prepared to determine all of the parties that may be liable and seek to hold them accountable for the damages they have caused. We also want to recover maximum compensation for damages.

Call us anytime, 24/7 to set up your free legal consultation: 1-800-706-3000

Insurance Coverage for Commercial Truck Crashes

Commercial trucks may have various insurance policies providing compensation after an accident. Under state law, truck drivers operating in Arizona must have the following amounts of liability coverage:

  • $300,000 for transporting household goods
  • $750,000 for transporting general cargo
  • $1,000,000 for carrying oil
  • $5,000,000 for hazardous materials

These are minimums for coverage, so some drivers and trucking companies may have purchased higher amounts of coverage.

There are also federal insurance requirements for trucks that cross state lines. These are set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. For instance, the minimum is $750,000 for trucks carrying non-hazardous cargo with a gross weight of 10,001 pounds or more. Coverage may go up to $5,000,000 for hazardous goods.

As there are often hundreds of thousands of dollars in coverage for these accidents, trucking companies and other at-fault parties will be focused on paying out the least amount possible.

Hiring an experienced attorney can help level the playing field. Our Avondale truck accident lawyers have detailed knowledge of the legal process, including trucking regulations, insurance policies and other factors. We also have the resources and staff to take on trucking companies and other at-fault parties.

Those who hire an attorney often recover more compensation than those who do not.

Regulations That Often Apply to Truck Crash Claims

Our licensed attorneys are prepared to review your situation in a free consultation to determine if trucking regulations may have been violated. We have the resources and legal team to gather evidence and carefully review federal and state regulations, such as regulations on the number of hours drivers can be behind the wheel:

  • 11-hour driving limit after being off duty 10 straight hours
  • 14-hour driving limit after 10 consecutive off-duty hours
  • No driving unless eight hours or less have passed since the end of the last off-duty period that lasted at least 30 minutes

Drivers must also be tested for drugs and alcohol at certain times, such as after accidents that involves serious injury or death, or if there is reasonable suspicion they were under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

There are limits on the maximum weight of the trailer, both in the state and federally. For instance, trucks with five or more axles cannot weigh more than 80,000 pounds.

Call for legal help today. Zero risk. No obligation. Free consultation. Ph: 1-800-706-3000 .

What Should You Do After an Accident?

Seeking medical treatment is the most important thing you can do after a truck accident. Call 9-1-1 so emergency responders can come to the scene, assess your injuries and investigate the scene.

When possible, and when it is safe to do so, victims should take pictures at the scene. Try to capture your injuries, vehicle damage, road debris and weather conditions. Other helpful aspects of the scene could also include pictures of the area, including landmarks and anything else you think may be relevant. There is no such thing as too many pictures.

If there are witnesses, ask them about what they saw. With their permission, you can record a video of your conversation. Get their contact information as well, so your lawyer can contact them later if necessary.

If you can, note identifying information on the truck and trailer, including the name of the company on the side of the trailer. Exchange insurance information, names and contact details for all involved parties.

Make sure to follow doctor’s orders about limits on physical activity and continued treatment. Not following prescribed care could hurt the value of your claim. The insurance company may question the severity of your injuries.

Causes of Truck Accidents

Truck accidents are often caused by driver negligence, such as:

  • Falling asleep at the wheel
  • Distracted driving
  • Speeding
  • Tailgating
  • Driving with an overloaded trailer
  • Poor training
  • Lack of experience

These and many other forms of negligence can lead to many types of commercial truck crashes that result in serious injuries, such as:

  • Jackknife accidents
  • Rear-end crashes
  • Underride crashes
  • Head-on collisions
  • Wrong-way crashes
  • T-bone accidents

Contact an Avondale Truck Accident Lawyer with Your Questions

Talking to an experienced attorney can be an important part of the recovery process after a serious truck accident.

Victims often need long-term medical treatment that can quickly become costly. Lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages can also be devastating to families. By talking to an attorney, you can find out if you may be eligible to seek compensation for these damages from the at-fault party.

At Phillips Law Group, we have extensive knowledge of the legal process, including relevant laws and legal theories and how to build a robust case on behalf of accident victims. We have recovered hundreds of millions in compensation on behalf of our clients. Founder Jeff Phillips has recovered verdicts in several Arizona counties.

The consultation is free and comes with no legal obligation. We also do not charge upfront fees for our legal services.

Contact us for legal help by phone anytime, night or day: 1-800-706-3000