Springfield Truck Accidents

Legal Representation for Personal Injury Claims in Springfield

Springfield, White House, and Millersville are tranquil small cities located in an agricultural region in Robertson County, Tennessee, which was named after a general who founded the Cumberland Settlements. Springfield is the county seat of Robertson County. Its population has risen over 16,000, and its median household income is more than $33,000. Although Springfield is currently the largest of these communities, White House is expected to eventually surpass it in size. As with other regions in the United States, tractor-trailer crashes in this area can cause serious injuries to others on the road. If you are hurt in a truck wreck near Springfield, you should consult a knowledgeable attorney who has significant experience litigating these types of cases. Springfield truck accident lawyer Matt Hardin is skilled in all areas of injury law, including car, truck, and motorcycle accidents, wrongful death, medical malpractice, slip and falls, defective products, and nursing home negligence.

Seek Compensation Through a Negligence Lawsuit

In some cases, a victim harmed by the carelessness of a commercial driver or trucking company may want to file a claim based on negligence per se. If an injured person is able to establish that this rule applies, he or she will be entitled to a rebuttable presumption that the defendant was negligent. This may make it easier to recover damages than when pursuing an ordinary injury lawsuit.

The doctrine of negligence per se requires a victim to prove that the defendant violated a statute or ordinance that was intended to protect a certain type of person or the public. It is also essential to show that the injured individual was within the group of people that the legislative body wanted to protect by enacting the law. Finally, the violation of the statute must have directly caused the accident in which the victim was hurt, and he or she must have incurred actual damages as a result. A Springfield lawyer with experience litigating truck accident cases can discuss whether this doctrine may apply in your situation.

For example, truck drivers are not permitted to operate their vehicles under the influence of alcohol or drugs. A trucker who is intoxicated may not brake properly, for example, and may lose control of his or her big rig in a way that causes a serious crash. If the driver is caught with a blood alcohol concentration of .04 or higher, a victim may allege negligence per se. This is because the trucker violated a statute created for the benefit of the public, hurt someone who was supposed to be protected by the law, and proximately caused the accident because of the behavior that violated the statute.

You may have more options to explore if your Springfield truck accident attorney discovers that the driver’s employer knew of previous occasions when he or she had gotten behind the wheel while intoxicated. A trucking company is required to conduct background checks on its employees and maintain a detailed personnel file. An employer that fails to perform the appropriate level of investigation or knows that its worker is negligent and routinely violates federal or state laws may be held liable under multiple theories. Some of these may include negligence per se, negligent hiring, negligent retention, negligent supervision, and vicarious liability. Trucking companies typically carry more insurance than their drivers. An experienced attorney will sue all potentially responsible parties and try to hold them accountable under any valid legal theories that may be available.

Consult a Springfield Attorney After a Truck Accident

Tractor-trailer drivers must follow many state and federal regulations. If you are hurt by a collision with a commercial vehicle, your injuries are likely to be catastrophic due to their weight and size. Therefore, it is critical that you pursue the full amount of compensation to which you are entitled. A dedicated lawyer familiar with truck crash cases is more likely to spot any violations by the driver and his or her employer, which can make it easier for you to recover. Consult Matt Hardin by calling 615-200-1111 or sending a message through our online form.