Truck Accident Lawyers Serving Columbus

At Bressman Law, we have over 30 years of legal experience. We can recover compensation for your medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost wages if you were hurt in a truck accident.

We offer free case reviews to people who want to explore working with us. You can start one today.

Causes of Truck Accidents

Your truck accident lawyer serving Columbus will need to determine the cause of your truck accident to pursue compensation. There are numerous reasons behind truck accidents, from operator errors to poor truck maintenance. One small misstep or oversight can set off a chain of events that changes a life forever.

While the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that 94% of all collisions are due to driver error, many factors can cause an accident, like:

Driver error, including texting, drug use, fatigue, and distracted driving
Driver inexperience in handling a 40-ton truck
Weather or road conditions
Mechanical failures
Poor maintenance, such as tire wear or defective steering
Improper load distribution and improper trailer attachment

No matter the reason behind the crash, the results can be life-shattering. Victims face costly property damage to their vehicles, injuries that could impact their health and financial security in the long term, and in the worst-case scenario, the loss of life.

Compensable Truck Accident Damages

The truck accident lawyers at Bressman Law serving Columbus can help secure compensation for your injury-related losses, including:

Lost Wages

Your truck accident may have required you to take time off work. However, we can factor in the following losses to your case’s overall value:

Tips
Commissions
Employee benefits
Bonuses
Hourly wages
Promotions
Salary

Your injuries may have permanently affected your ability to work in certain fields. If you need vocational training to help you take a new job, we can include those losses in your claim, as well.

Healthcare Expenses

Your injuries may have required intensive treatments, hospitalization, and around-the-clock nursing care. Some other healthcare-related expenses that we can pursue compensation for include:

Medications
Rehabilitative care
Wheelchairs, crutches, and in-home modifications
Physical therapy
Doctors’ appointments
Imaging scans and other lab tests

We can also review how your health insurance policy applies to your damages.

Property Damage Expenses

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) says that the average commercial truck can weigh over 40 tons. The standard passenger vehicle weighs only two tons.

Because of the weight disparity between these vehicles, your car could have been damaged or even destroyed. We can look up the value of your car and determine how much its replacement (or repairs) are worth.

Pain and Suffering

We can use your employment records, personal testimony, and statements from people close to you to learn about the value of your pain and suffering.

Funeral Expenses

If you lost a loved one in a truck accident, you could recover damages for the following:

The casket
Cremation
The burial plot
The venue

You could recover other associated costs related to laying your loved one to rest as well.

How a Truck Accident Lawyer Serving Columbus Could Help You

Bressman Law has one goal: to recover compensation for your economic and non-economic damages. We can resolve your case by:

Gathering evidence. We can use the accident report, truck’s black box data, and dashcam footage to learn more about how your collision happened.

Negotiating a settlement. We will file your claim with the liable insurer and negotiate a settlement on your behalf. We can file a lawsuit if the insurer refuses to settle fairly or play by the rules.

Interviewing witnesses. We can get statements from economists, accident reconstructionists, and doctors to give us information about your condition, damages, and accident.

Filing your case within the statute of limitations. Ohio Revised Code (ORC) §2305.10 generally grants you two years to file your lawsuit. If litigating your case could award you compensation, then we will do it.

Determining fault. The truck driver and the company they work for could be held accountable for your losses.

We can also determine liability, calculate the cost of your damages, and handle all communications with the liable insurance company.

Truck Accidents are On the Decline

Fatal truck accidents involving tractor-trailers are on the decline due to the work of advocacy groups, the families and victims of truck accidents, and truck accident attorneys like those at Bressman Law.

Because of their efforts to make the roads safer, laws have become stricter, punishments for distracted driving more severe, and operator training more stringent.

Truck Accidents Have Fatal Consequences

However, the FMCSA reports there were still more than 3,341 fatal truck accidents in the U.S., stealing the lives of 3,757 victims and injuring more than 88,000 victims.

According to the Ohio Department of Public Safety, one out of every eight traffic fatalities is caused by a large truck.

In the majority of cases, it’s the innocent victim, not the driver, who suffers the most. While truck accidents are on the decline, they are often the deadliest accidents on the road due to the size and weight of most trucks.

More Information About Truck Accidents

Other truck accident statistics according to the FMCSA include the following:

Large trucks represent 8 percent of all vehicles in fatal crashes.
The top five driver-related factors in fatal truck accidents were speeding, distracted driving, impairment, failure to keep in the proper lane, and obscured vision.
2.5 percent of operators involved in a truck accident have alcohol in their system.
72 percent of fatal truck crashes involve a collision with another motor vehicle.
Faulty brakes and tires account for more than 50 percent of truck accidents caused by maintenance issues.