St. Louis Truck Accident Lawyer

If you or a loved one has been injured, our St. Louis truck accident lawyers can help you hold the responsible party accountable. We have decades of experience going up against powerful adversaries such as trucking companies and their insurance providers. Our St. Louis truck accident attorneys will protect you during this difficult time and help you take back control of your future.

Being involved in an accident with a large truck in St. Louis might be the last thing you expect as a motor vehicle driver. Yet thousands of serious commercial truck accidents take place every year in the United States. An accident with an 18-wheeler could cause catastrophic injuries that turn your life upside-down. Help for truck accident victims is available at The Floyd Law Firm.

Meet Mark L. Floyd – Attorney and Managing Partner

Mark L. Floyd is an attorney with over 25 years of experience and the managing partner of The Floyd Law Firm. Mark began his career with a notable $1.96 million jury verdict and has since secured multiple 7-figure verdicts and settlements, including a landmark $5 million workers’ compensation and third-party negligence case. He was the youngest lawyer in St. Louis to earn an “A” rating from Martindale-Hubbell.

Testimonial

“My family was in the car the night of that accident, and the negligence of another could have easily killed any or all of us. The Floyd Law Firm believed in my right to hold those people responsible for what they did to me and my family. Hopefully, my case will help prevent such negligence from hurting other people in the future.”

-George

Awards and Accolades

Navigate This Page

• What Compensation Can I Recover After a Truck Accident?
• Your Rights After a Truck Accident in St. Louis
• Common Truck Accident Injuries
• Common Causes of Truck Accidents
• Liability for Damages in Truck Accident Claims
• What Makes Truck Accidents Unique?
• Steps to Take After a Truck Accident
• Truck Accident FAQs
• Contact Us Today for a Free Truck Accident Case Consultation in St. Louis

What Compensation Can I Recover After a Truck Accident?

Large truck accidents often cause life-threatening injuries and immense property damage. Filing a truck accident claim after this type of disaster could lead to financial compensation being awarded to a victim or his or her family for several economic and noneconomic damages, such as:

• Past and future medical bills
• Ongoing treatments or therapies
• Disability costs or long-term care
• Losses of income and earning opportunities
• Property damage
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress and mental anguish
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of consortium
• Wrongful death damages, if applicable
• Punitive damages, in rare cases

Your accident attorney in St. Louis can help you assess the extent of your losses caused by a commercial truck accident. Then, your lawyer can seek the maximum possible financial compensation on your behalf for the total value of your losses, including estimated future damages.

Your Rights After a Truck Accident in St. Louis

Trucking companies are common carriers or entities that transport goods for a fee. As such, they are subject to special federal safety laws. These laws are in place to decrease the risk of commercial truck accidents. Unfortunately, not all truck drivers or truck companies follow these laws. Distracted, careless, and unqualified truck drivers can cause many devastating and deadly truck accidents. Trucking companies can also contribute to the odds of a crash with mistakes such as a lack of truck driver training or poor fleet maintenance.

If you were injured by the negligence of a truck driver or company, you may be able to collect financial compensation. A successful claim could lead to a payout for your medical bills and various other losses. You may be able to base a claim on issues such as poorly loaded cargo, a lost load, a part defect, an equipment breakdown, or a road hazard. If anyone else’s neglect, wrongful act, or default (omission) caused or contributed to your truck accident in St. Louis, you may be entitled to file a truck accident personal injury claim.

Common Truck Accident Injuries

Commercial trucks can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, or more with special overweight permits. By contrast, the average passenger vehicle weighs just 3,000 to 4,000 pounds. The immense weight, height, and width of a tractor-trailer make it a formidable opponent in a collision. Smaller vehicles cannot bear the force exerted upon them when struck by big rigs. This disparity can lead to serious, catastrophic, or even deadly injuries for the occupants of the smaller car.

Common injuries include:

• Amputations/loss of limb
• Brain injuries
• Broken bones
• Burn injuries
• Concussions
• Crush injuries
• Head trauma
• Internal injuries
• Muscle and soft-tissue injuries
• Neck and back injuries
• Paralysis
• Scarring and disfigurement
• Severe lacerations
• Spinal cord injuries
• Whiplash

Our St. Louis personal injury lawyers have the skill and experience to handle a truck accident case involving any injury, no matter how catastrophic. We have achieved life-changing results for clients with permanently disfiguring and debilitating injuries. We know how to fight for maximum financial compensation when results matter most. If you are struggling with the devastating loss of a loved one’s life from a fatal truck accident, we can also help you file a St. Louis wrongful death claim.

Common Causes of Truck Accidents

Large commercial trucks are heavy, with high centers of gravity, extensive blind spots, sensitive equipment, and sometimes unbalanced trailer loads. They also require lengthy stopping times and wide turns. It takes an alert and vigilant truck driver and a responsible trucking company to avoid some of the common causes of truck accidents in St. Louis including the following:

• Fatigued driving
• Distracted driving
• Unsafe lane changes
• Unsafe speeds around road curves
• Intoxicated driving
• Tailgating
• Failure to yield the right of way
• Defective truck or trailer equipment
• Negligent truck company hiring practices
• Inexperienced drivers
• Defective truck parts and equipment
• Negligent truck maintenance
• Negligent freight-loading companies
• Negligent road maintenance agencies

In some circumstances, the investigation could also determine that a third-party driver’s negligence or recklessness caused the accident. Because truck accidents in St. Louis can happen in so many ways, it takes a thorough investigation to determine the cause of the accident and the party that’s liable for the negligent or reckless actions that caused the accident and injuries.

Liability for Damages in Truck Accident Claims

Truck accident injuries are often grave or life-altering. Even less severe injuries may result in significant financial hardship due to medical expenses and missed paychecks as well as property damage to a vehicle and personal possessions. Before an injury victim may claim damages after a truck accident, they must prove liability on the part of the at-fault party in the accident through a preponderance of the evidence. Unlike typical car accidents, a truck accident requires a diligent investigation to determine the negligent action that caused the accident and what individual or business entity is liable for the damages. Once your St. Louis truck accident lawyer determines the liable party and identifies the appropriate insurance policy to cover the damages, they must carefully document evidence of liability by demonstrating the following legal points:

• That the at-fault party owed a duty of care to take reasonable measures to prevent injury to others on the road, such as a truck driver’s duty to abide by the driving hour limits or a truck part manufacturer’s duty to produce safe, reliable products
• The at-fault party breached this duty of care through an act of negligence
• The negligent breach of duty directly caused the accident and injuries
• The injury victim suffered significant damages due to the injury

While the burden of proof for liability in accidents is only by a preponderance of the evidence—a lesser burden of proof than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard in criminal courts—it is best to hire a skilled attorney to document clear and compelling evidence of liability and then carefully calculate your damages to ensure you claim the maximum amount of compensation covered under the terms of the appropriate insurance policy.

What Makes Truck Accidents Unique?

Truck accidents are not the same as standard car accidents in St. Louis. They must be treated with additional care due to several unique issues. These cases involve various factors that can make them more difficult to navigate, such as:

• Liability issues. A trucking company may be held vicariously liable for the actions and mistakes of its truck drivers, even if they are independent contractors. Other liable parties may include a truck owner/operator, cargo company, maintenance team, part manufacturer, or another driver.
• Powerful adversaries. You may have to go up against a major trucking corporation, along with its aggressive legal team and insurance company. The best way to balance the scales is by hiring an attorney to represent you during claim negotiations.

• Federal laws. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration enforces various federal laws addressing the safety of the trucking industry. Your case may involve a violated federal regulation, such as broken hours-of-service rules and a drowsy truck driver.

• Types of evidence. Unique types of evidence may be used to support your injury claim, including the truck’s black box, employment records, trucking company compliance records, the truck driver’s medical records and driving history, fleet maintenance and truck inspection reports, and cell phone records.

• Nature of injuries. Commercial truck accidents often result in c, and even fatal ones. The severe nature of these accidents makes hiring an attorney to protect your best interests even more important.

An experienced St. Louis truck accident lawyer can be invaluable for guiding you through these unique elements. Without a trucking accident attorney, you will be at risk of an insurance company taking advantage of you during the claims process.

Steps to Take After a Truck Accident

The aftermath of an accident with a large commercial truck is chaotic and terrifying. The very size and scope of accidents with large, unwieldy trucks with loaded trailers cause immense destruction. When you are the injured victim, you may be so seriously injured that you are unable to move safely or do anything after the accident except wait in place for help to arrive. However, if you can move safely and use your phone—or hand it to an injured person to use for you—the following steps can significantly protect your health and  benefit your accident claim:

• First, call 911 to report the accident and request emergency services to the scene
• Then, take photos of the accident scene, including all damaged vehicles and anything relevant to the accident, such as traffic signs and signals, skid marks, and damaged roadside objects
• Take photos of any visible injuries
• Record a statement of what you remember of the accident while it’s fresh in your mind—trauma and adrenaline can fade the memory later
• Add the contact information of any eyewitnesses to the accident

Always accept emergency transportation to the hospital or arrange for transportation to an emergency room as soon as possible. At the hospital, ask for a thorough medical examination and tell the doctors about all of your symptoms, even if they appear mild. Many symptoms may present themselves mildly at first due to high adrenaline levels after an accident but later indicate a serious injury. Ask for a detailed medical report with the doctor’s recommendations for treatment included as well as your prognosis for recovery. Save all medical bills and receipts for related expenses.

Finally, ask for a copy of the police report and call the St. Louis truck accident attorneys at Floyd Law Firm for a free case consultation before you speak to insurance company representatives about your case.

Truck Accident FAQs

If you or a loved one recently experienced an accident with a commercial truck, you may have many questions about how the claim process works. Answers to the following frequently asked questions may help:

• Do I have to go to court for a truck accident claim?

Over 90% of truck accident cases settle out of court through an experienced truck accident lawyer’s negotiations with the insurance company of the at-fault party. Only in cases of an insurance company that seriously undervalues the claim amount or wrongfully denies a valid claim does the case go to court for a jury to decide. Jury verdicts take longer but often result in larger compensation amounts.

• What If My Loved One Died in a Truck Accident?

If your close family member suffered fatal injuries in a truck accident and the truck driver or trucking company was at fault for the accident, a St. Louis wrongful death lawyer can help close family members file a wrongful death claim for additional compensation such as funeral costs and lost income and benefits for the number of working years the deceased loved one had left to them had they survived their injuries.

• What If I Was Partly at Fault for the Accident?

Missouri is a comparative negligence insurance state that allows even those partly at fault for a traffic accident to recover a portion of their damages. If you were partly at fault for the accident, your compensation amount will be minus your percentage of fault. For example, if your damages equal $100,000 and the insurance adjuster determines that you were 20% at fault for the accident, you’ll still recover $80,000. A truck accident attorney from Floyd Law Firm will protect your interests if the insurance company attempts to assign you an undue percentage of fault to minimize their payout.

Contact Us Today for a Free Truck Accident Case Consultation in St. Louis

If you or a loved one suffered any type of injury in a St. Louis, Missouri truck accident, contact The Floyd Law Firm for help without delay. We will listen to your accident story and let you know if you have grounds to file a personal injury claim. If so, our St. Louis truck accident lawyers can assist you with crash investigation, evidence collection, and claim negotiations. We will be there for you every step of the way throughout the insurance claims process or a personal injury lawsuit.

Our St. Louis truck accident lawyers are committed to helping victims of preventable truck accidents seek the justice and financial compensation they deserve. Contact us online or call (314) 863-4114 today to begin your case with a free consultation.