Distracted driving truck accidents in Winston-Salem can lead to serious injuries that require extensive medical treatment and impact your ability to work. Victims frequently face long-term physical, emotional, and financial challenges from these collisions.
If you were involved in such an accident, a trusted truck crash attorney could investigate the events that led to your wreck and identify which party (or parties) may owe you compensation for your losses. We could help you recover compensation for a wide range of past, present, and future losses stemming from the driver’s negligence. Contact our firm today to schedule a consultation.
Distracted driving can cause devastating truck crashes in Winston-Salem and is considered a violation of the driver’s duty of care to operate a commercial vehicle safely. There are three categories of distractions. Visual distractions, such as checking a GPS, cause a driver to take their eyes off the road. Manual distractions, such as reaching for a drink, require a driver to take their hands off the wheel. Cognitive distractions, such as phone conversations, take a driver’s focus off driving. Even a few seconds of distraction at highway speeds can cause a truck to travel hundreds of feet before the driver sees a hazard, making them legally responsible for the resulting impact.
Trucking companies may be liable for the negligent acts their employees commit within the scope of employment. If a driver causes a distracted driving accident while on a delivery, the company—and its high-limit insurance policy—is typically responsible for paying damages to victims. A trucking company may face independent liability in situations where it ignored a driver’s history of distracted driving citations or used dispatching software that required drivers to interact with screens while the vehicle was in motion.
Our legal team could use cell phone records to match text and call timestamps to the exact second of the crash, obtain electronic logging device records of sudden braking or lane deviations, and secure any in-cab video footage that shows the driver looking down or away from the road. Strong evidence can maximize your compensation, and we could work to secure the highest possible recovery in your case.
Tractor-trailer collisions caused by distracted driving in Winston-Salem can lead to life-altering injuries, such as:
In North Carolina, if you can prove the truck driver was 100 percent at fault due to distraction, you could recover damages for your injuries. Victims have three years from the date of the collision to file a lawsuit in court.
Our injury attorneys could help make sure your claim includes the costs of emergency room visits, surgeries, hospital stays, and future medical care, such as home modifications or long-term nursing. You may also be entitled to compensation for the time you missed at work while recovering.
If your injuries prevent you from returning to your previous career or working at all in the future, we could help you calculate the total value of your lost earning capacity. We could also incorporate other costs, such as property damage, pain, suffering, scarring, disfigurement, and emotional distress, into the final value of your claim.
Truck companies often move fast to repair trucks or overwrite digital logs, which can hinder the collection of vital evidence after distracted driving truck accidents in Winston-Salem. However, our attorneys could take prompt action to legally freeze all evidence and safeguard your right to compensation if you were affected by such an accident.
Contact McMinn, Fradin, Gray & Logan today for answers to your questions about starting a claim. We could review your case and explain your legal options in a confidential case consultation.
