Virginia Beach Truck Accident Injury Lawyers

When it comes to road accidents, collisions involving commercial trucks tend to result in more serious injuries compared to those involving personal passenger cars. These incidents are capable of causing significant long-term harm, such as traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), which can impact cognitive processing, memory, speech and bodily functions. In some instances, invasive medical procedures or even surgeries might be required to address these injuries. Smaller vehicles, like compact passenger cars or small SUVs, colliding with larger commercial vehicles such as delivery trucks, dump trucks, box trucks, or 18-wheelers can have catastrophic consequences due to the significant difference in size between the vehicles.

Injuries May Include:

These damages cover various expenses and losses, including:

• Head Injuries: These include traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and concussions, which can interfere with the central nervous system and affect different bodily functions.
• Spinal Injuries: Catastrophic spinal injuries can have a major impact on mobility, home life, work, and employment, family relationships, and may require constant care.
• Fatalities: Sadly, approximately 97% of individuals killed in collisions involving a large truck in 2021 were passenger vehicle occupants. If you’ve lost a loved one due to an accident, you may have a valid wrongful death claim.

Truck Accident Injury Compensation

When an individual is involved in an accident with a tractor-trailer, the repercussions can be severe and distressing. People who are injured in tractor-trailer and commercial truck crashes are likely to be burdened with numerous questions regarding what steps to take after a tractor-trailer or commercial truck crash and what types of compensation they may be entitled to.

Our Virginia and North Carolina attorneys are adept at assisting individuals involved in truck accidents in seeking compensation for:

• Medical Expenses – Past and Future
• Lost Wages and Lost Income
• Future Income Losses
• Pain and Suffering
• Rehabilitation Costs
• Scarring or disfigurement

Your legal well-being and financial recovery are our top priorities, and we are here to guide you through this challenging process.

Why Choose Slaughter & Lupton Law

In the aftermath of a crash involving a tractor-trailer or fleet vehicle, the trucking company or its insurance carrier often immediately sends their attorneys and investigators to the site of the accident. These agents of the defense start working immediately to gather information and start developing a legal strategy. To ensure that your rights are protected, you must contact one of our experienced Virginia and North Carolina tractor-trailer and commercial truck accident lawyers.

Our dedicated team is prepared to vigorously advocate on your behalf, delivering the legal representation you rightfully deserve.

We have a deep understanding of the intricacies surrounding truck accidents, including:

• Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act (FMCSA) regulations;
• Electronic data, including vehicle data logs;
• State commercial motor vehicle laws;
• Truck driver’s hiring and employment;
• Hazardous Material Regulations;
• Corporate Liability
• Telemetrics;

Promptly hiring Slaughter & Lupton Law, PLLC to gather critical information, identify responsible parties, investigate the cause of the crash, send spoliation letters and take other actions to secure evidence before it may be destroyed, and assess the surrounding circumstances before evidence is lost due to delays in investigation.

Your legal well-being and recovery are our top priorities. Contact Slaughter & Lupton Law, PLLC today for a free consultation.

Who Could Be Liable in Virginia or North Carolina?

If you have been injured in a commercial truck or tractor trailer accident, it’s important to know your rights and seek compensation from the responsible party or parties. In Virginia and North Carolina, an at-fault system is in place to provide legal recourse for victims. The person, or persons–and their employer if the driver was driving for a company–causing the injuries are liable in tort for the driver’s negligence. Insurance carriers provide coverage for the drivers and trucking companies who often have a large liability insurance policy providing coverage and may also have a self-insured retention.

However, navigating the legal system can be overwhelming, particularly with multiple defendants and potentially including the trucking companies themselves, common carriers, contractors, and brokers with each of their insurance companies involved.

Don’t worry: our experienced team is here to help you navigate the process and safeguard your rights. But don’t wait! Contact Slaughter & Lupton Law, PLLC today for a free initial consultation.

Recovering Compensation Despite Contributory Negligence

Remember that fault (responsibility) is critical in Virginia and North Carolina accidents.
An injured person must prove fault before damages can be assessed. If you have been in an accident, the applicable law applied to your facts is critical. In addition to proving wrongful conduct by the person causing an accident, state law also sets out rules governing how injury claims may proceed and whether an injured person can recover for their losses. Virginia and North Carolina are “contributory negligence states.” Virginia and North Carolina are two of only four states in the United States where negligence by an injured person that is a proximate cause of an injury will bar their recovery. Both states, however, have a last clear chance doctrine, which applies differently in North Carolina than Virginia.

All other forty-six states follow a comparative negligence or modified comparative negligence system allowing for recovery by an injured person even if the injured person was negligent and their negligence was a proximate cause of their injury. In Virginia and North Carolina, if you share responsibility for causing the accident and your injuries, you may not be able to recover. However, in both states, the wrongdoer or insurer must prove that the injured person’s negligence was a proximate cause of the accident and their injuries. Insurance carriers are acutely aware of contributory negligence and may try to blame the injured person in an attempt to either escape responsibility for payment or as an argument to reduce the amount of any offer.

Our team is here to help counteract any unfounded tactics aimed at shifting blame and ensuring that you receive the compensation you deserve.

The Clock is Ticking

In Virginia, for most injury cases, you have two (2) years from the date of your car accident to file suit against the persons, or businesses, who wrongfully hurt you.. In North Carolina, in most injury cases, you have three (3) years from the date of your injury to file suit against the wrongdoer. In both Virginia and North Carolina, the deadline for filing a lawsuit for wrongful death is two (2) years from the date of death in most cases. In certain types of injury claims, there are additional deadlines–some as soon as six (6) months from the injury date! Don’t miss your deadline! If the injured party misses a statute of limitation deadline, it may be fatal to their injury claim.

Don’t wait too long to retain an experienced and competent attorney to protect your rights!