Eighty percent of fatal truck accidents occur on the highway, according to Virginia’s Department of Motor Vehicles. This is an eerie statistic considering how much traffic flows through populated areas of Virginia, such as Virginia Beach.
Getting into a truck accident on the Virginia Beach Expressway is not only a terrifying experience — it can also leave you with serious injuries. With so much at stake, it is worth trying to get as much compensation as possible. Contacting a truck accident attorney as soon as possible after an accident can help you get the money you need to help pay for your medical bills, lost wages, and other accident-related expenses.
Montagna Klein Camden is a leading truck accident law firm serving Virginia Beach. Our personal injury attorneys have a long history of preserving the rights of our clients and proving the liability of the drivers responsible for their injuries. At the Montagna Law firm, we will work hard to recover the maximum compensation for your truck accident claim. To obtain a free consultation, call our law office today at (757) 622-8100.
Virginia Beach Truck Accident Statistics You Should Know
In 2020, commercial vehicle crashes accounted for 4.1% of all traffic crashes. There were a total of 4,296 accidents involving commercial motor vehicles. Ninety-three of those crashes were fatal. More than 80% of fatal CMV crashes occurred on the interstate. That number jumps up to 93.8% of crashes if you only include large trucks (trucks weighing 10,000 lbs. or more).
In 2015, the Collegiate Times named First Colonial and Virginia Beach Boulevard as the ninth most dangerous intersection in Virginia. Virginia Beach residents traveling long distances should be careful when driving on I-64 and I-95 as those are both popular trucking routes. Since Virginia Beach is located at the end of I-64, drivers may be more prone to making errors, leading to catastrophic injuries for their victims.
What Types of Truck Accidents Does Montagna Law Handle in Virginia Beach?
Montagna Law handles all types of personal injury cases.
Many types of cases fall under the personal injury umbrella, and you need to work with a law firm that has experience working with them all. Montagna Law has decades of experience working with various personal injury cases.
Our accident lawyers have represented clients in numerous personal injury accidents over the past several decades. Clients who come to us can rest assured that our personal injury attorneys offer legal representation in any truck or car accident case, regardless of the circumstances involved.
The following are the most common types of vehicle accidents we see.
Head-On Collisions
Head-on collision accidents involve two vehicles whose front parts collide with one another. These crashes are often fatal, depending on the speed of each of the moving cars, and, tragically, often lead to fatal injuries. We can help you with a personal injury or wrongful death claim.
Read-End Accidents
Rear-end accidents often occur when one motor vehicle rams into another from the rear. In cases like this, the driver in front may have braked a little too suddenly, or the driver at the back may have had a problem braking and bringing their car to a halt. Such a car accident like this can cause whiplash, sciatica, and other kinds of injuries. According to current statistics, there are about 1.7 million rear-end accident cases reported annually in the United States.
T-Bone Collisions
T-bone collisions are often common at intersections. These types of automobile collisions occur when an oncoming vehicle rams into the side of another. This accident may sometimes be due to speeding, wanting to beat the traffic light, or failure to yield the right-of-way to another driver. Sadly, T-bone collisions are a type of car accident that often leads to fatal injuries. Our personal injury lawyers are familiar with cases like this and will help you file a wrongful death claim.
Sideswipe Accidents
Sideswipe crashes occur when one vehicle brushes another sideways. For this kind of accident, both vehicles have their sides scratching against one another. This is a common kind of accident in instances where drivers fail to maintain their lane on the road, which big rigs and even smaller commercial vehicles often tend to do, running into smaller vehicles due to truck blind spots.
Chain Reaction Crashes
These are also known as multiple crashes. This occurs when one car causes others to hit the cars before or after them. Usually caused by a huge force of impact that sends multiple vehicles into one another. Victims may suffer injuries like whiplash, concussion, neck pain, and other severe injuries.
Single Vehicle Accidents
Single-vehicle accidents typically occur when a single vehicle is involved in an accident. The crash may be because it slid off the road or because it hit a standing object. Such an accident may be caused by excessive speeding, loss of vehicle control, problems with the braking system, and more. Our personal injury attorneys are ready to work with you to ensure that you get the right help and are more than happy to offer our legal services to you if you collide with a semi-truck or another commercial vehicle.
Our Truck Accident Settlement Victories
At Montagna Law, we pride ourselves on maintaining a high standard of commitment to our clients. Over the years, our personal injury attorneys have represented thousands of injured clients, recovering several million dollars for them. Examples of previous settlements and lawsuits we have won for our clients include:
- $750,000, car accident
- $995,000, truck accident
- $500,000 car accident
- $1,000,000, slip and fall
- $600,000, premises liability
- $1,900,000, industrial accident
Our law firm never backs down from a fight. Be it in the negotiating room or in the courtroom, until we recover every possible dollar for you to help offset your losses, challenges, and pain a tractor-trailer or other truck accident caused you and your loved ones to experience.
How Do Truck Accidents Differ From Car Accidents in Virginia Beach?
If you have been in a car accident before, you might assume that a truck accident claim proceeds in a similar fashion as it does for car accidents. However, the average commercial freight truck weighs about 80,000 pounds or more; this is 20 times the weight of a passenger car. As such, there is a much greater chance of severe injuries and several other critical differences between auto accidents and truck accidents.
As a general rule of thumb, the more serious the resulting injuries, the more complex and expensive the claim. Truck accidents often involve complex medical evidence and high-pressure insurance tactics that make them much more challenging than conventional auto accidents.
For example, carrier companies and their insurance providers are well aware of how high the stakes can be in a truck accident case. They are prepared to defend aggressively. Our experienced truck accident lawyers are crucial to protecting your best interests and leveling the playing field.
Increased Severity of Damage
Financial damages can quickly add up to tens of thousands of dollars, not to mention immense emotional pain and suffering.
More Serious Injuries
Injuries sustained after a truck accident can be severe and come with intensive medical care and bills. Injuries following a truck accident are often life-altering, especially ones such as traumatic brain injury, since these cells do not regenerate to heal themselves.
Larger Insurance Policies
Truck drivers’ insurance policies can be up to 50 times larger than car accident insurance policies. Because of this, these insurance companies will do everything within their power to prove the drivers and companies they represent are not charged with accident liability.
Larger Medical Bills
Victims of truck accidents tend to spend much longer in the hospital for their injuries than car accident victims.
Greater Chance of Fatalities
An accident with a large commercial truck is significantly more likely to result in death than a crash involving two cars.
What Are Common Causes of Truck Accidents in Virginia Beach?
Most of the truck accidents that occur in Virginia Beach involve some level of negligence, recklessness, or simple carelessness. Unfortunately, this means many truckers cause accidents in the greater Hampton Roads area, which are easily preventable if the drivers, owners, and other third parties put safety instead of profits first.
Driver Fatigue
Drivers are often put under tremendous pressure to move their loads as fast as possible. As a result, their bosses may pressure them to break rules to get their deliveries and pickups done quickly to save money. Independent drivers may work longer hours to generate more profits.
Whatever the motivation, drivers get tired and need to follow federal and state requirements when it comes to hours spent on the road each day. The bottom line is fatigued drivers are unsafe drivers. Imagine a scenario with an exhausted commercial truck driver who weaves I-264 and slams into another vehicle, causing a significant pileup. This would result in tragic consequences.
Drunk or Distracted Driver
Drunk and distracted drivers are simply acting recklessly and need to be held accountable for their behavior. Distracted driving is one of the top causes of any type of motor vehicle accident, with DUIs not too far behind. Sadly, both are entirely preventable, yet every year people are hurt or killed due to these irresponsible behaviors.
Equipment Failure
Equipment failure unfortunately occurs, and due to this lack of maintenance, trucks and other commercial vehicles may not operate correctly. For instance, vehicles parked at beaches for extended periods of time develop rust due to salt and sun exposure. Over time, this can lead to severe corrosion and cause vehicles to not operate safely.
Cargo Loaded Incorrectly
Most trucks carry some sort of cargo. When shipments are not correctly loaded, it creates a dangerous situation for everyone else using Virginia Beach’s roadways. For instance, if cargo spills, this creates hazards for other drivers, whether by leaving debris on the actual road or by it flying onto the windshields of other vehicles.
Lack of Training
Before truckers can operate legally on their own, they are required to complete a designated number of training hours. With driver shortages occurring in recent years, motor vehicle operators of large trucks may not have the experience needed to safely operate an 18-wheeler or even a commercial van. Sometimes, they even lie on their applications, which constitutes negligence.
What Kind of Compensation Can I Get From a Truck Accident Claim?
Every truck accident is different, and the amount of compensation a victim can recover depends on the circumstances of the accident, the relevant insurance policies, and the nature of your injuries, among other considerations. For instance, a big rig barreling down the interstate is likely to cause a pileup or other serious accidents. Yet, even a truck traveling at slower speeds along the oceanfront or near the boardwalk can still seriously injure pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists.
A truck accident lawyer is absolutely essential to your case and recovering the most damages to pay for your medical expenses. Our Virginia Beach truck accident lawyers not only ease the stress and anxiety that is natural in the aftermath of a truck accident but also determine the at-fault party in the accident and what compensation should come from it.
What Factors Impact Truck Accident Claims?
Several factors impact the ability to successfully file a truck accident injury claim. You will need to prove negligence, liability, and the extent of your economic and non-economic losses. Working with a skilled personal injury attorney can make the difference between an insufficient settlement or adequate compensation to cover your losses caused by a truck crash.
The Presence of Negligence
If you have sustained injuries in a commercial truck accident, proving the accident was a result of negligence can be key to the process of recovering maximum compensation for your losses. In truck accidents, negligence can be any behavior or act that may be considered a breach of duty on the truck drivers’ part according to their duty of care.
Under the regulatory process imparted by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), truck drivers are responsible for following certain rules and regulations while on duty, including:
- Maintaining a log of hours driven
- Driving no more than 10 hours per day
- Documenting rest and service breaks
- Non-use of drugs or alcohol
- Precise cargo loading
- Adhering to legal service and maintenance requirements
If you are involved in an accident with a truck driver who has failed to follow these regulations, you may be able to prove negligence on their part.
Liability Factors
Commercial trucking accidents are viewed differently, largely because truck drivers are generally employed by a trucking company. As the employer of the truck driver involved in or who caused the accident, the legal responsibility may fall on the trucking company. Other parties who may be liable in the case of a trucking accident include:
- Commercial vehicle manufacturers
- Vendors used by the trucking company
- Cargo owners
- Local government (in the case of poor road design, lacking signage, etc.)
The Extent of Damage and Severity of Injuries
A truck accident claim also requires a comprehensive examination of the extent of damage and the severity of the sustained injuries. To build a sustainable truck accident claim, one must take all the resulting expenses and factors into account.
Without a trusted truck accident attorney by your side, it can be extremely difficult to recoup all of the economic and non-economic losses sustained during a truck accident. Here at Montagna Law, we partner with you to ensure that you are compensated for all of the trouble you have undergone during and following your truck accident.
Be sure to contact us before Virginia’s two-year statute of limitations runs out. You should call even if you think you are no longer eligible because there are exceptions to this rule. Our attorneys vet your case and determine your eligibility.
Montagna Law Will Fight For You and Your Loved Ones!
For over 50 years, Montagna Law has represented victims of truck accidents in Virginia Beach. Our caring and compassionate personal injury lawyers are committed to fighting for Virginia Beach injury victims, one accident at a time. Sadly, truckers traveling through the Hampton Roads area often do not drive as carefully as they should. As a result, truck accident victims get caught in the crossfire of their negligence and suffer because of it.
Our law firm firmly believes this should not be the case. We promise to fight those responsible and hold them and their insurance companies accountable for their reckless behavior. By working with Montagna Law, you can rest assured you will get the maximum chances of obtaining a settlement or verdict to recover any losses due to your injuries and ensure you have enough money to maintain the income you lost due to negligence.
To learn more about how the Montagna Law legal team can help you, call us today for a free case evaluation at (757) 622-8100 or contact us via our online contact form.
