Louisville truck accident lawyer.

A truck crash is not a big car crash.

An 80,000-pound tractor-trailer does catastrophic damage to a passenger vehicle, and the claim that follows is different in kind. There are more responsible parties: the driver, the motor carrier, the company that loaded the trailer, the owner of the tractor, sometimes a maintenance contractor. There are federal safety rules on hours of service, inspections, licensing and drug testing that create obligations a passenger driver does not have. And there is far more evidence, much of it in the trucking company's hands.

The evidence that decides trucking cases

Modern commercial trucks record what happened. The engine control module logs speed and braking. Electronic logging devices record the driver's hours. Dash cameras, dispatch messages, GPS pings, fuel receipts and the driver's qualification file all tell a story. The trucking company and its insurer know this, which is why they send investigators to the scene immediately and why some of this data is not retained for long. One of the first things Justin does is send a preservation demand so it cannot quietly disappear.

Who can be held responsible

• The driver, for speeding, fatigue, distraction, impairment or improper lane changes.
• The motor carrier, for negligent hiring, unrealistic schedules, poor maintenance or pressure to violate hours-of-service limits. Carriers are also generally responsible for their drivers' negligence on the job.
• Shippers and loaders, when an improperly secured or overweight load causes the crash.
• Manufacturers, when a brake, tire or coupling failure is to blame.

Identifying every responsible party matters because commercial policies are larger than personal auto policies, and catastrophic injuries need that coverage.

Injuries in truck collisions

Traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, crush injuries, burns, multiple fractures and, too often, death. These cases require life-care planners, vocational experts and treating physicians to establish what the future will cost. Justin builds that record before any number is discussed.

Kentucky law on truck accident claims

Kentucky's no-fault rules and pure comparative fault standard apply to truck crashes as they do to any motor vehicle accident, and the two-year filing deadline for motor vehicle claims generally governs. Federal motor carrier regulations do not create their own lawsuit, but violations are powerful evidence of negligence, and Justin uses them that way.