About 500,000 truck accidents occur every year in the United States, with about 5,000 fatalities resulting from these crashes. Around 98 percent of the time, these fatalities are from passengers in other vehicles. One out of every eight traffic accidents involves a truck, and they are more likely to be involved in fatal multi-vehicle wrecks than passenger cars or motorcycles. However, only about one percent of all accidents involving trucks are due to one of the parties driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.

Trucking accidents are more likely to occur in rural areas. Sixty-eight percent of trucking accidents occur in rural areas, and 66 percent occur during the daytime. Additionally, 78 percent of trucking accidents occur on weekdays. For those truckers that have been involved in accidents, just over one-fourth of them have previous convictions for speeding.

When trucking accidents are examined on a state-by-state basis, the numbers can be revealing. Texas has the most fatal truck crashes per state, with 432 in 2003. In Oregon, 1,134 trucking accidents occurred in 2004 that resulted in vehicular damage, injuries or fatalities. Of these crashes, 621 were due to the truck, and 596 were due to negligence on the part of the truck driver. While around 400 people were injured in these crashes, only 6 of the truck drivers died as a result of those injuries. In three percent of these cases, the trucker was hauling hazardous materials.

While overall fatal vehicular crashes tend to decline each year, despite more cars and trucks being on the road, truck-related fatalities stay at around 5,000 each year. About half of these accidents occur on the front side of the truck, and 720 involved the rear end of the truck; the rest occurred on the left or right sides, usually while the truck was turning. In around 600 cases, the truck rolled over, leading to an accident.

These statistics show that more measures must be taken in order to ensure truck safety, including driver training and alertness, as well as keeping trucks well-maintained and operable.

This article is provided as information only and not intended as legal advice in any means or manner whatsoever, Attorneys Searcy, Denney, Scarola, Barnhart, and Shipley P.A. provide focused legal counsel and representation related to Truck Accidents, and has provided this for informational purposes only.

Filing Requirements for Government Personal Injury Claims

Like with most types of personal injury claims, a personal injury claim against a government entity can only be filed within a specific period of time.  This timeframe is called the statute of limitations, and the length of time that it encompasses can vary greatly from state to state – being as long as several years in some states, but typically averaging around two years.  After the statute of limitations has passed for you to file your personal injury government claim, you lose your rights to file.  With cases involving personal injury against the government, however, special rules apply.  If you have been wronged, harmed, or injured and a government entity is liable or at fault, you typically have around sixty days to file what is known as a “notice of claim”.  Being awarded compensation if a notice of claim is not filed within sixty days is improbable.  In addition, many government entities are considered to be immune from being held liable in personal injury lawsuits.  The government has essentially waived legal liability in most instances.  So while it is possible to bring about a personal injury lawsuit or claim against the government, the claim must be filed timely and appropriate to have a shot at being successful.

What You Should Do Now

If you have been injured and you feel that you have grounds for a personal injury lawsuit, and the government or a government employee or representative is liable or responsible, it is important to act immediately.  Your first step should be to contact a reputable personal injury lawyer who has expertise in dealing with personal injury claims against the government.  Because of the sixty day time limit on filing a notice of claim, acting within the first day or two of injury is important to get “the ball rolling” in your favor.  This notice of claim is your personal injury attorney’s way of alerting the government that you have received an injury, and that you believe them to be responsible. A notice of claim is typically sent to all of the government agencies that could be responsible for your injury, even if you don’t sue them all.  This opens up the opportunity for the government entity to respond to the notice before an actual personal injury lawsuit is filed.  The government will then accept the claim or deny it; in most cases an official notice of denial will be issued and your personal injury lawyer will proceed to file a personal injury lawsuit on your behalf.

Filing a Medical Malpractice Claim

Malpractice suits are not just about people anticipating to make a fast buck. Almost all personal injury medical claims are quite severe.  Every time personal injury lawyers get involved in a potential case, there must have been a life-threatening violation in how a medical doctor, nurse, or hospital has treated the patient. In a few lawsuits it has been as drastic as someone losing their life.  When you are treated by a surgeon or a doctor and have been harmed by them as a consequence of them diverting away from the set medical practices, you quite possibly could have a legitimate injury claim.  If you have a loved one or family member that has passed away because of the fault of second-rate care by a doctor or at a hospital, you most definitely have a lawsuit.

Finding a Personal Injury Lawyer to Handle Medical Malpractice

It is not, however, as simple as asking the doctor or staff to hand over their money.  You must first retain services of an experienced licensed lawyer.  Personal injury lawyers are extremely well versed in the particular personal injury laws of the state that they are licensed in, and know precisely to what degree a medical professional can ultimately be held liable for in such a case.  Even if you think that you know how the laws for personal injury work, you still need a lawyer.  You need a lawyer for the basic reason that the physician or the hospital’s insurance will have several qualified lawyers who will be resolved to prove to the courts that their client was following standardized medical procedures.  In cases of gross negligence, many physicians and hospitals will more than likely want to settle out of court in order to avoid the influx of bad publicity.  Your qualified personal injury attorney will advise you on the approximate amount of money that you should receive for a settlement and finalize the paperwork.  Insurance for medical malpractice is designed to protect nursing staff, hospitals, and doctors from medical injury claims.  If by chance, the doctor let their insurance expire, the lawyer for the injured party can and will go after the physician’s assets.  Having monetary reimbursement may not help you feel better if you have been seriously injured, but is most certainly will make the medical community stand up and take notice to the guilty party.  A medical malpractice lawsuit could end up costing the doctor his or her medical license if it was shown that he or she ignorantly or intentionally injured you.