An Overview of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Bigger trucks mean bigger accidents. When an accident involves a large truck, there’s a much higher chance of death or a life-altering truck accident injury. Here are a few of the primary reasons why a truck accident claim can result in a much larger settlement amount than other types of auto accident injury. 

High Death Rate

A large truck is defined as any vehicle weighing over 10,000 pounds. Most passenger vehicles only weigh around four thousand pounds. When a large truck collides with a smaller vehicle, the size and weight increase the chances of a deadly outcome. 

Between 2010 and 2019, the rate of fatal truck crashes in the U.S. increased by 29 percent. 

When a truck crash results in death, the family of the deceased can file a wrongful death lawsuit. These are intended to provide compensation for the loss of life. Wrongful death lawsuits can have significant payout amounts, especially if the deceased had dependents or was the primary wage earner. 

In those cases, a settlement amount can aim to cover the anticipated income the deceased would have provided for a family for many years to come. 

Wrongful death settlements can also be significant even when the deceased was not a family’s primary wage earner. 

Truck accidents that result in the death of a child can have a high case value, as the settlement amount aims to provide compensation to parents for the emotional damage that comes from losing a child, like loss of enjoyment of life and emotional anguish. 

Severe Injuries

When a motor vehicle accident injury involves a large truck, the outcome can be grim. Truck accidents frequently result in serious, life-altering injuries. These naturally come with higher medical bills. 

Common serious injuries that come out of a truck accident include:

• Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
• Spinal injury
• Nerve damage
• Paralysis
• Fractures
• Loss of cognitive function
• Loss of fertility or sexual ability
• PTSD and other conditions

Serious injuries can bring many thousands of dollars worth of medical bills. It’s common for truck accident victims to need ongoing medical care and repeated surgeries. Some may need the help of expensive specialists or require the long-term use of assistive devices. 

Sometimes, even serious injuries can end with a full recovery. Other times, serious injury results in life-altering conditions like paralysis or TBI. When this is the case, there’s a high likelihood of paying for the expense of an assisted living facility or in-home care for the rest of the injured person’s life. 

This level of care comes with a high cost. When a person survives severe brain injury, the lifetime cost of care can exceed four million dollars. 

If an irresponsible truck driver is liable for injuries, their insurance can be made to pay out to sufficiently cover medical bills and the estimated costs of medical care for years to come.  

Reduced Standard of Living

Truck accidents can bring much larger settlement amounts because of how drastically they can alter a person or family’s standard of living and quality of life. 

When a truck accident ends in a fatality, lives change radically. No amount of money can replace the void left behind when a parent, child, or other loved one dies. This sort of unexpected and avoidable death brings great emotional pain and permanently alters the quality of life of the family members left behind. 

When this happens, loved ones can seek compensation for things like: 

• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Mental anguish
• Loss of companionship
• Loss of consortium

Settlement amounts for claims like these can be very high. These same items can be sought in a case when serious injury has occurred. 

Even when a loved one survives a serious truck accident can alter their life forever. When a truck accident results in a coma or brain injury, the victim may be alive, but is no longer the same person they were before the accident. 

Even when no other serious physical injuries are present, a traumatic brain injury can cause personality changes or have a huge impact on areas like cognitive function, memory, and empathy. 

In many cases, a serious truck injury can lead to partial or full paralysis or other forms of disability. In addition to the high financial costs of medical care, these types of injuries can result in the inability to work or fulfill other essential roles in the family and personal life. 

When a truck accident leads to the inability to work, the compensation amount can be very large. 

A truck accident settlement can be factored to provide the primary wage earner’s expected annual income from the time of the accident until the anticipated retirement age. It can also cover aspects like an individual’s inability to assist in areas like childcare. 

Commercial Liability

One final reason truck accidents can bring higher settlement amounts is because of insurance coverage. Commercial trucks can pose a huge danger when an accident occurs, and commercial trucking insurance aims to provide coverage for this liability.

Laws exist to ensure that truck drivers and trucking companies carry insurance policies with high coverage limits in the event of a serious accident. If a truck driver’s insurance policy doesn’t adequately cover damages, the trucking company should have additional coverage. 

Depending on the accident details, it’s also possible to hold the trucking company responsible for negligence. When companies hire drivers who are young, inexperienced or have poor driving records, they may be liable for negligence by choosing to place an unfit driver behind the wheel of a large truck. 

Every truck accident comes with a unique set of circumstances. A truck accident attorney can assess all details of an accident and find areas in which liability brings the possibility of additional compensation. 

A Traffic Accident Injury Attorney Can Help with Compensation

If your life has been significantly altered by a truck accident, help is available. Money can’t restore health or a lost loved one, but it can make a serious difference in the quality of life. Whether a truck accident has caused death, injury, or medical debt, a truck accident attorney can work to build a case and gain compensation to help relieve the burden after a truck accident causes significant loss. 

TruckingAccident.com is a free resource and guide for those who have suffered an injury caused by a traffic accident and don’t know how to receive compensation.

Complete an online form or call (919) 341-0059 to schedule a free, no-obligation, confidential consultation with an attorney.