Sitting Duck Update
On October 13, 2021, a crash occurred in Shiawassee County, Michigan, that resulted in the preventable and unfortunate death of a 41-year-old man from Flint. He was apparently traveling eastbound on I-69 when his vehicle ran into the back of a semi trailer. The semi truck was parked on the shoulder of the road and, in all likelihood, the semi truck was parked illegally on the shoulder of the highway.
We Can Help
Semi truck accidents, bus accidents, and accidents involving other commercial vehicles are sometimes catastrophic for drivers and passengers. The truck accident attorneys at Inosencio Fisk can help you and your family win your case. Our focus is not only winning a substantial verdict for you at trial, or settling the case for policy limits, but we will work to help you and your family find assistance with other resources as well (for example, finding the right medical specialists, aligning you with transportation services, and assisting you with potential no-fault benefit claims and medicare claims).
What steps should I take after a truck accident to protect my rights?
If you have been involved in an accident with a semi truck, bus, or other commercial vehicle, we want you to know how to protect your legal rights after a truck accident. In the unfortunate event that you are in a truck accident, be sure to follow the outline below:
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What should you do after a truck accident?
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Call 911 immediately and provide the details of the truck accident to the 911 dispatcher as calmly as possible
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Do not leave the scene of the truck accident
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If it is safe to do so, check on the driver and passengers of the other vehicles involved in the truck accident to see if they are injured
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Use your smartphone (or other camera) to take pictures of the scene of the truck accident, your injuries, and any other evidence involving the crash
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Use your smartphone to record video and audio of other people involved in the accident, including the truck driver and any witnesses
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Ask the other drivers involved in the truck accident to provide you with their name, address, cell phone number, insurance company, and driver’s license number
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If possible, do not make any statements about how you believe the truck accident occurred
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Contact a law firm like Inosencio Fisk that has truck accident attorneys that understand how truck accident lawsuits are different from other accident lawsuits
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Be a compliant patient for all of your medical providers (attend all appointments, be on time for those appointments, take all prescribed medication as directed)
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Have your truck accident attorney file your truck accident lawsuit before it is too late
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What happens after a semi truck accident, and what should I do after a truck accident?"Today’s semi trucks are equipped with tracking devices which are constantly storing, analyzing, and using data. Within seconds of a semi truck accident, the home office for the trucking company involved in the crash has probably been notified of the crash by a device in the truck. Shortly after that notification, sometimes within just a couple hours, the insurance carrier for the trucking company will send an immediate response team to the accident site. Their immediate response team will likely include accident investigators and at least one certified accident reconstruction expert. Their team may also use a drone to record an aerial view of the accident scene. After you or a family member have been injured in a semi truck crash, or a crash with any commercial vehicle, it is important that you contact a law firm that understands the urgency of your situation and is willing to send its own team of accident experts to the scene as soon as possible.
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What will it cost me to speak with an attorney to discuss my truck accident lawsuit?Inosencio Fisk offers free consultations to all potential clients involved in truck crash cases. When you call our firm to discuss your case, we will not pressure you to provide information you don’t want to provide, and we will do our absolute best to answer all of your questions during the first meeting. We can meet with you in person or, if you prefer, we will help you coordinate an electronic meeting so we can meet remotely. While you do not have to complete our client intake form before we meet with you, we have made it available for you here so you can start filling it out before we meet if you would like.
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How much will it cost to hire a truck accident lawyer at Inosencio Fisk once I decide to hire your firm?Inosencio Fisk does not collect a fee (a portion of the settlement or verdict) unless we win your case. You will owe nothing out of your own pocket at the beginning of your case, and the initial consultation is free, even if you decide not to hire our team.
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If I live in Michigan (or any other state), but I was injured in a truck crash accident in another state, can I still hire Inosencio Fisk to represent me in my truck accident case?"The short answer is yes. If you are a Michigan resident, for example, but your truck crash was in Indiana (or any other state), the lawsuit may be filed in the state where the accident occurred, or the lawsuit may be filed in Michigan (depending on a number of factors). In either situation, Inosencio Fisk is able to represent you and, if necessary, will work with a law firm in another state that is experienced in representing people injured in crashes involving semi trucks or other commercial vehicles. Also, the laws that apply to truck safety involve state laws and federal laws. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (also known as the FMCSA) is responsible for developing and enforcing laws that balance safety and efficiency. According to the FMCSA website, 4,337 people were killed in large truck and bus crashes, and approximately 138,000 individuals were injured, in 2015 alone.
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Who can be sued in a truck accident case?In a semi truck accident, the truck driver, the owner of the truck, the freight broker, or even the logistics company may be liable for the death or injuries of those involved in the crash. In other cases, the facility responsible for loading the truck, or even the company who owned the contents of the trailer, may be liable. The best way to know what parties may be involved, and what insurance companies may have to pay for the injuries caused by a truck crash, is to thoroughly investigate the accident and all of the involved parties as soon as possible after the accident.
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What types of truck accidents involve commercial motor vehicles, and why does it matter?"Truck accident cases that involve collisions with dump trucks, tanker trucks, and fuel trucks typically involve commercial vehicles. That determination is important because the laws and safety regulations that apply to commercial motor vehicles are different than the laws that apply to a regular automobile accident. The federal laws that govern commercial motor vehicle safety are enforced by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). On September 29, 2020, the FMCSA’s revised “hours of service” regulations go into effect. According to the FMCSA, the new regulations are designed to provide greater flexibility for drivers without adversely affecting safety.
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How do I get compensated for my injuries after a truck accident?If you've been injured in a semi truck crash, we will likely pursue compensation for your lost wages, medical expenses, pain and suffering, and lost future earning potential. After you consult with Inosencio Fisk, we will work with you to decide whether we should file a lawsuit against the semi truck driver and/or the trucking company or other involved companies.
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How do I know if I have a case involving a commercial vehicle?Semi trucks, tractor-trailers, flatbed trucks, garbage trucks, dump trucks, tanker trucks, cement trucks, buses, delivery vans, and fuel trucks are the most common commercial vehicles involved in truck crash lawsuits. If your accident involved one of these vehicles, you probably have a commercial vehicle crash case. People that have been injured in a semi truck crash often file a lawsuit against the trucking company that owned the truck at fault for the crash. The lawsuit may claim that the truck driver was negligent and caused the truck crash and injuries, or the lawsuit may also claim the trucking company knew of the truck driver’s bad driving history but hired the driver anyway. This happens occasionally, and is known as negligent hiring.
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What will Inosencio Fisk be looking for, and when, to help me win my truck accident case?"Most semi trucks on the roads and highways of the United States are equipped with an electronic logging device, also known as an ELD. Even though these are designed to prevent truck drivers from falsifying their driving logs, truck drivers and trucking companies have been known to falsify an ELD to try to prove that their truck did not exceed the “hours of service” safety regulation. Inosencio Fisk will work quickly to obtain and review data from the truck’s electronic logging device, the truck driver’s in-cab communication devices, cell phone, and, if the truck is equipped with cameras, we will also review data from the truck’s dash cam and the on-board camera which faces the driver. We will also request copies of the truck driver’s hiring records, drug test records, training manuals, safety records, and work history details. We may also research the contents of the load to determine who owned the load, how it was loaded onto the truck, and whether a possible shift in the load may have had an impact on the crash.
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What is an underride accident?An underride crash is when a vehicle (typically a car, crossover SUV, or smaller truck) drives into, and then under, the rear, side, or front of a semi truck or its trailer. While all semi trailers operating in the United States are legally required to have rear underride guards that are designed to prevent cars from sliding under a semi trailer when they crash into the rear of a trailer, side and front underride guards are not yet required. And, as can be seen in this video from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, not all rear underride prevention guards are created equal.