Helping Victims of Semi-Truck Accidents in Baton Rouge
According to The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), there were nearly 500,000 large truck accidents in 2021 alone.
More than 5,100 caused fatalities, and around 110,000 caused serious and life-altering injuries. In Baton Rouge, these kinds of accidents are particularly common, especially along I-10, I-12, and major commercial corridors like Airline Highway and Port Allen Highway.
If you or a loved one was injured or killed in a truck accident, an experienced Baton Rouge truck accident lawyer can help you obtain justice and recover the compensation you will need to cover your medical expenses, make up for lost wages and income, and for your pain and suffering.
Common Causes of Truck Accidents in Baton Rouge
Commercial truck drivers are only human, just like all of us who drive vehicles every day. However, the consequences become more dangerous when drivers put themselves behind the wheel of a large truck or 18-wheeler. Common causes of truck accidents include:
- Distracted Driving: Includes cell phone use, GPS adjustment, eating, or other activities that take attention from the road
- Driver Fatigue: Includes violating hours-of-service regulations or driving while exhausted, a common cause of accidents for drivers traveling through Baton Rouge on long-haul routes between Texas and the East Coast
- Drunk Driving: Operating commercial vehicles under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Improper Loading or Overloading: Unbalanced or excessive cargo that affects vehicle stability; this can be especially hazardous given the heavy industrial loads commonly transported through Baton Rouge’s petrochemical corridor
- Driver Errors: Poor judgment, inadequate training, or failure to follow traffic laws
- Hazardous Road Conditions: Failure to adjust driving for weather, construction, or road hazards
- Speeding: Driving too fast for conditions or exceeding posted speed limits
Equipment problems can also cause a truck accident, whether it’s a failure of the vehicle’s parts or poor maintenance. Inexperience and insufficient training also influence a truck driver’s reaction to situations, which can lead to serious accidents.
Types of Truck Accidents
Large truck accidents occur in several distinct patterns, each presenting unique dangers and typically resulting in specific types of catastrophic injuries. Understanding these accident types helps victims and their families comprehend the severity and complexity of truck accident cases.
- Jackknife Accidents: In which the trailer swings out at a 90-degree angle, sweeping across multiple lanes and crushing vehicles in its path. These accidents are particularly dangerous on Baton Rouge’s elevated highway sections like the I-10 Mississippi River Bridge and the I-10/I-12 interchange/College Flyover Ramp.
- Underride Accidents: In which smaller vehicles slide underneath truck trailers when standard safety features are defective or missing, often causing fatal injuries.
- Override Accidents: In which trucks run over smaller vehicles, creating crushing forces that are often fatal due to the massive weight difference.
- Blind Spot Accidents: In which large trucks change lanes or turn without looking for vehicles in their blind spots, causing sudden, violent collisions.
- Wide Turn Accidents: In which trucks making right turns swing wide, trapping and crushing vehicles, pedestrians, or cyclists between the truck and curb.
- Tire Blowout Accidents: In which truck tire failures cause drivers to lose control, sending these 80,000-pound vehicles careening across traffic lanes unpredictably.
- Rear-End Collisions: In which trucks strike smaller vehicles from behind due to inadequate stopping distance or excessive speed, causing severe whiplash and spinal injuries.
- Head-On Collisions: In which direct frontal impacts between commercial trucks and passenger vehicles often result in fatalities due to combined impact forces.
These accident types demonstrate why truck crashes are so much more devastating than typical car accidents. The massive size and weight of commercial trucks, combined with their operational limitations, create scenarios where even minor mistakes can result in catastrophic injuries or death for occupants of smaller vehicles.
Federal and State Trucking Laws
What makes a truck accident different from a car accident is that the trucking industry is heavily regulated at the federal and state levels. Through the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the federal government has enacted several regulations that apply to commercial motor vehicles that operate in interstate commerce.
These regulations cover a variety of things, from driver qualification requirements to hours-of-service limitations that limit how long drivers can drive in a single stretch. There are also regulations on the maintenance and inspection of vehicles, drug and alcohol testing, and many other safety-related topics.
Anytime somebody is involved in a tractor-trailer accident, it’s very important to consult with an experienced personal injury attorney who:
- Has handled many truck accident cases before
- Knows federal and state trucking regulations and how they impact liability in your case
- Can evaluate whether any trucking industry regulations apply
- Can determine if any regulations have been violated
Common Truck Accident Injuries
Injuries commonly sustained in truck accidents include:
- Amputation and loss of limb
- Back and neck injuries
- Broken bones
- Burn injuries
- Brain injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Whiplash and soft tissue injuries
- Scarring and abrasions
- Wrongful death
Some injuries don’t manifest until well after the accident. However, if the injured party waits too long to seek medical attention for an injury, they may be unable to pursue legal compensation for the medical care needed to treat the injury. That is why truck accident victims need to get checked out by a doctor even if they feel fine, then retain the services of a truck accident lawyer who can help preserve their right to compensation for their injuries.
What To Do After a Truck Accident in Baton Rouge
After an accident with a semi-truck or commercial vehicle, it’s often difficult to know what to do. Injured victims should keep these steps in mind to protect themselves physically and legally:
- Remain at the scene of the accident. Leaving the scene for any reason before authorities arrive could jeopardize the evidence for your case or even be viewed as a hit-and-run.
- Call Emergency Services. Dialing 911 is the safest choice whenever a serious accident with another vehicle occurs, especially with large trucks and commercial vehicles.
- Call the police. Police are typically dispatched with a 911 call. But even if emergency services are not required, the police should still be called to create a police report and assist with gathering accounts from witnesses.
- Take photos, videos, and audio recordings. If you can, record images and video of the damage to all vehicles, the location, and the skid marks or damage on the road. Every detail captured could help prove liability in the case.
- Exchange information. Be sure to gather important details of the other drivers involved and any witnesses. Be sure to collect names, contact information, vehicle registration information, insurance coverage details, and physical descriptions of the vehicles involved.
- Avoid making statements of any kind before seeking legal advice. It is essential to wait to give a formal written or spoken statement until after consulting with an experienced truck accident lawyer in Baton Rouge.
- Seek medical attention, attend all medical appointments, and follow the doctor’s advice. A failure to seek prompt medical attention or attend doctor appointments could give the appearance that the victim is not as badly injured as they claim. Local emergency medical services include: Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, Baton Rouge General Medical Center, and Ochsner Baton Rouge.
- Consult with a Baton Rouge truck accident lawyer. An attorney who specializes in truck accident cases can help collect evidence, advance all the financial costs for the case, attempt to negotiate a fair settlement with the opposing insurance companies, file a lawsuit if necessary, and assist with recovering compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other related damages.
Who Can Be Liable for a Truck Accident?
When a person is negligently injured or killed in a truck accident, the obvious parties that may be liable for the truck accident are:
- The driver
- The trucking company
However, if the analysis of liability ends there, key players in the arrangement that led to that truck being on the road may be overlooked. Other parties that may be held liable for a truck accident include:
- The shipper and loader – Parties responsible for improperly loading or securing cargo
- The truck or parts manufacturer – When defective equipment or design flaws contribute to accidents
- The government agency or contractor – Entities responsible for the road’s design, construction, maintenance, etc.
The most effective way to determine who is liable for a truck accident is to hire a lawyer who has a thorough understanding of the case law involving truck accidents in Louisiana. The right lawyer can then hire transportation experts, accident investigators, and other experts who can help establish liability for the accident.
Evidence Needed for a Baton Rouge Truck Accident Lawsuit
Preserving evidence after a truck accident is critical. The required evidence may include something as simple as the telephone numbers of witnesses or photographs of the vehicles. Or it can be as complex as downloaded data from the truck’s electronic control module or black box.
Photographs or videos of injuries is evidence. In addition, dashboard cameras, audio recordings, and blood or breath test results must all be gathered. Furthermore, in cases involving a defective product claim against an automobile manufacturer, the vehicle itself needs to be preserved so that it might be reviewed by an engineer.
Federal regulations require truck drivers and companies that employ them to maintain many different types of records:
- Driver logs
- Driver qualification files
- Driver employment applications
- Maintenance records
- Electronic control module (black box) data
Many of these records are only required to be maintained for specific periods of time, after which they may be destroyed. Therefore, a thorough investigation of the accident must be performed before any crucial evidence is lost, tampered with, or destroyed.
Our firm often uses local traffic camera footage from the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development systems, surveillance footage from businesses along major Baton Rouge truck routes, and coordinates with Louisiana State Police accident reconstruction teams to help collect evidence for your case.
Damages Recoverable After a Baton Rouge Truck Accident
The types of compensation recoverable after a truck accident are divided into two categories:
Special Damages
Special damages are compensation for current medical bills, predicted future medical expenses, any income the victim lost while healing from their accident-related injuries, and vehicle repair/replacement costs. The victim may also be entitled to compensation for loss of earning capacity if their injuries will impact their ability to earn money in the future.
General Damages
General damages are compensation for harms and losses, like loss of full function of the body or mind, physical or mental pain and suffering, emotional distress, and scarring and disfigurement.
Why Hire a Truck Accident Lawyer?
The truck accident lawyers at Dudley DeBosier are well-versed in how to handle truck accident cases from start to finish. We have the resources to battle major trucking companies, and we consult with experts, use specialized investigators, analyze the truck’s black box data recorder, and review driving logs so that liability can be clearly established.
Our lawyers are familiar with the federal and state regulations that truck drivers and the companies that employ them must follow. Furthermore, we understand how important it is to consult with qualified experts to document the totality of loss, including future medical bills and future lost income.
Our Baton Rouge office has experience with accidents involving industrial truck traffic from local petrochemical facilities, and we maintain relationships with medical specialists at local hospitals who understand the unique challenges of treating severe truck accident injuries.
Call Dudley DeBosier Today for a Free Case Evaluation
If you or a loved one has been injured or killed in a truck accident, call Dudley DeBosier to consult with an experienced truck accident lawyer Baton Rouge residents trust. We begin by evaluating your case at no charge and if we choose to move forward, we will investigate your truck accident case and assist you and your family with recovering the compensation you deserve.
At Dudley DeBosier, every prospective plaintiff gets a free case assessment. We treat our clients as if they are family—with respect and compassion. Contact us today to schedule your free consultation.
