Truck Accident Lawyer Baldwin County, AL | Whit A. Thomas, Attorney at Law

Collisions involving commercial vehicles are often more devastating than other types of motor vehicle crashes, due to their sheer size, weight, and power. If you’ve been hurt in a truck accident for which someone else was at fault, you may feel anxious and uncertain about your options. The financial burden that often accompanies the recovery process can deepen the stress of the situation unless you take legal action against those who were responsible for your injuries. Whit Thomas is a capable big rig crash lawyer who will zealously advocate for your rights and help you seek all of the compensation that is fair for your situation. We take great pride in representing individuals from Foley and other areas of Alabama, and you can expect the utmost compassion and professionalism. . We make sure to inform our clients about the full range of options available to them so that they can make decisions accordingly.

Hold Negligent Drivers and Companies Accountable for Your Injuries

Large trucks are complicated vehicles to handle, which is why their drivers must undergo extensive training to be qualified to drive them. Truckers are required to obtain a special license to legally operate their big rigs. Moreover, trucking companies have an obligation to supervise their employees and create procedures to make sure that each of them is following the regulations governing this industry. The rules created by the United States Department of Transportation Federal Motor Carrier Safety Association (FMSCA) require regular testing for drugs and alcohol, daily updates to a driving log, limits on the number of hours a truck driver can stay behind the wheel without a break, restrictions on the weight that their vehicles can carry, and much more.

Inexperienced or careless commercial drivers can make mistakes that cause harm to others on the road. These actions, which often violate regulations, can potentially form the basis of a negligence claim. A victim may bring this type of lawsuit when another person or company fails to take reasonable care when doing something and exposes those around them to unnecessary hazards as a result. Someone who prevails in a negligence claim against a truck driver likely will have shown the following elements:

The defendant driver had a duty of care;
The defendant breached this obligation by driving carelessly or recklessly;
The breach was the direct and proximate cause of the accident; and
The victim suffered quantifiable damages as a result.

All truckers have a duty to operate their vehicles safely and in accordance with the regulations imposed on them. Any behavior that does not meet this standard can constitute a breach, such as getting behind the wheel when too exhausted to drive, overloading a vehicle, or swinging out of a lane recklessly on a wide turn. To meet the causation element, a victim must show that he or she would not have been hurt if the breach had not happened, and that the accident was a reasonably logical result of careless conduct by the trucker or the trucking company.

A compensation award after a successful negligence claim can account for both economic and non-economic forms of harm, such as medical expenses, the costs of future treatment, property damage, lost wages, and pain and suffering. In some cases, an injured person may be able to seek damages from a trucking company that employs a driver whose carelessness caused a crash. This is based on the doctrine of vicarious liability, under which an employer is held accountable for the conduct of an employee who was acting in the scope and course of the employment relationship at the time.

Consult a Foley Lawyer After a Truck Accident

If you have fallen victim to a truck accident near Foley or elsewhere in Alabama, Whit Thomas will investigate the facts of your case to determine whether you may have a claim for compensation. With years of experience handling injury lawsuits, we understand the nuances of this area in the law, and you can trust that we will spare no effort in trying to maximize your recovery. We recognize the severe emotional, physical, and financial strain that any motor vehicle accident can bring, not just for you but also for your family. For a free and honest case evaluation, contact us online or call us.