If you see a truck listing on the road, your first thought likely doesn’t have much to do with the truck’s cargo. In reality, the way a truck’s cargo gets stacked can impact how difficult the truck is to navigate. Unsecured cargo can lead to serious roadway accidents.
Unsecured cargo accident survivors might not always understand why their accidents occurred, but an attorney can. If you’ve recently been in an accident with a semi-truck that you feel you can’t explain, bring your concerns to Oklahoma truck accident lawyer. Our unsecured cargo accident attorneys in Oklahoma City can investigate your accident and fight for your right to legal action.
Unsecured Cargo Can Destabilize a Semi-Trucks
No truck driver manages their trailers alone. Most truck drivers collaborate with professional cargo loaders at some point on their trip. It’s these loaders’ jobs to ensure that a client’s cargo gets appropriately stored in a truck’s trailer. If a cargo loader doesn’t do their job, the cargo may reach its final destination in terrible condition.
What’s more, unsecured cargo can destabilize a truck’s trailer. If a truck driver has a more difficult time than usual compensating for their trailer, they may more easily lose control on the road. That loss of control can lead to severe, sometimes fatal, roadway accidents.
When you bring your truck accident losses to our team, we investigate your case from all angles. This means that while we can name a truck driver liable for your losses due to roadway negligence, we can also investigate cargo packers and determine whether or not unsecured cargo impacted a truck driver’s ability to operate safely on the road.
Our Team Is Here To Assist You Every Step Of The Way.
SPEAK TO AN ATTORNEY TODAYYour Right to Legal Action After an Unsecured Cargo Truck Accident
You have the right to pursue civil action after an unsecured cargo accident, provided that you can defend your assertions of fault as well as your case’s estimated value. What’s more, you must submit a completed complaint to your local civil court within Oklahoma’s personal injury statute of limitations per Oklahoma Statutes §12-95.
The aforementioned statute gives you no more than two years to work out who to hold liable for your losses and what damages to request. You cannot file a personal injury claim after this deadline passes.
Naming the Right Parties Liable for an Unsecured Cargo Accident
Contracts can make assigning fault in a traditional truck accident difficult. When you add cargo packers into the mix, matters grow even more complicated.
For example, if a truck driver works as an independent contractor and employs their own packers, who do you hold liable for your losses? That depends on the packers’ contracts. Independent contractors take on responsibility for their own oversights, but packers that a truck driver represents as employees default responsibility for an accident to that driver.
Similarly, if packers work for a corporation as employees, you can hold that corporation liable for your losses. If the packers work as independent contractors, though, then said contractors are liable for their own misconduct and thus responsible for your post-accident expenses.
You do not have to wade through the contract law complexities without professional assistance. When in doubt, turn to an Oklahoma City unsecured cargo accident lawyer for guidance. We can speak with all of the parties possibly involved in your accident, sort out what contracts exist between them, and assign fault based on our discoveries.
Entertaining Conversations About an Unsecured Cargo Accident Settlement
If it’s clear that the distribution of cargo contributed to your accident, the company responsible for loading a truck’s trailer may reach out to you while you’re still in recovery. In addition to expressing their concern for your well-being, these parties may also extend settlement offers. At first glance, these offers may seem substantial enough to address your post-accident concerns.
In reality, though, the first settlement offer you receive from a liable party often wildly undervalues the cost of your accident. What’s more, accepting these offers can see you waive your right to legal action, even if you find yourself contending with additional expenses in the future.
It’s with that in mind that you should bring a settlement offer to an attorney’s attention. Our unsecured cargo accident lawyers in Oklahoma City can compare a settlement offer against our own estimate of your case’s value. We can then negotiate for the coverage you deserve while continuing to build up a complaint to deliver to a civil judge.
Know the Value of Your Unsecured Cargo Accident Case
How do we estimate the value of your unsecured cargo accident? Our team considers the economic and non-economic expenses tied to your recent accident. We then move to find the sum of these losses. We can specifically advocate for your right to damages covering your:
- Medical expenses and upcoming treatments
- Restoration of damaged or totaled property
- Replacement of damaged or totaled property
- Wages lost throughout your recovery
- At-home assistance
You’re also entitled to damages covering your emotional distress as well as your pain and suffering, even though these losses don’t generate traditional bills. Our team can help you establish the economic value of these non-economic losses before presenting an estimate of your case’s value to a judge.
Let an Attorney Investigate Your Unsecured Cargo Accident
Identifying an unsecured cargo accident is no easy feat, especially if you didn’t know that unsecured cargo could cause an accident before. You can always bring your concerns regarding a recent truck accident to an attorney, though, if you want to discuss the circumstances that might be at fault for your recent roadway collision.
Oklahoma City, OK, unsecured cargo accident lawyers can work with you to investigate your losses and bring those losses to a judge’s attention. BDIW Law wants to give you the means to hold the right people accountable for the economic stress you’re unwillingly dealing with. You can contact us online or call our office to learn more about our available services.
