Sarasota Truck Accident Lawyers

Ready to Stand Up for Your Rights

Were you hit by a commercial truck while traveling through Sarasota or the surrounding area? Talk to Burnetti, P.A. now to see if you can file an injury claim for compensation. Our Sarasota truck accident attorneys are always standing by to hear from new and returning clients who need help after serious accidents. If you were left with a life-changing injury, please reach out to our firm today to see what legal options might be available to you.

Ask about starting a truck accident claim in Sarasota during a free consultation. Call (941) 366-2838 now.

Different Types of Truck Accidents

At Burnetti, P.A., we have decades of collective legal experience as a team of reputable attorneys and trial lawyers. Throughout our many years of practice, we have seen all sorts of motor vehicle accident cases and lawsuits, including those that involved large commercial trucks and big rigs. If you were in a crash with a truck, no matter what kind, you can be confident that we’ll know how to handle the injury claim that follows.

Truck accidents occur in many different ways, each devastating, such as:

• Rear-end collisions
• Jackknife accidents
• Underride accidents
• Rollovers
• Tire blowouts
• Loose cargo accidents

Serious Truck Accident Injuries

The average truck accident ends with severe injuries, usually suffered by people in smaller vehicles like passenger cars. If you were seriously injured in a crash, Florida’s tricky liability and insurance laws allow you to pursue unclaimed damages and losses by filing a claim against the liable party. Our attorneys can work with trusted medical experts to evaluate your injuries and verify that they are serious enough to allow legal action in Florida courts.

Serious injuries that often justify a truck accident claim in Florida include:

• Brain injuries (TBIs)
• Spinal cord injuries
• Amputations
• Broken bones
• Organ damage
• Permanent disfigurement
• Severe burns
• Soft tissue damage

Causes of Truck Accidents

The trucking industry is regulated by the Department of Transportation (DOT), the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), and more government agencies still. Despite all the regulations and safety rules put into place, they can only do so much when a truck driver or trucking company willingly acts negligently and puts others at risk. At the root of most truck accidents are negligence, bad decisions, and “human error.”

Different types of negligence that often contribute to truck accidents include:

• Driving while fatigued or exhausted from working long hours
• Driving while intoxicated
• Driving while impaired by medication or illicit substances
• Breaking the speed limit or otherwise disobeying traffic laws
• Failing to give motorists enough time to move when merging or changing lanes
• Hiring truck drivers who are unfit for the job or who don’t have a commercial driver’s license
• Failing to provide new truck drivers with adequate training
• Failing to ensure all commercial trucks in a fleet are well-maintained

Truck Accident Liability

Liability for a truck accident should be placed on the truck driver if they made a mistake that caused the crash. Furthermore, by extensions allowed under Florida liability laws, the trucking company that hired or contracted the truck driver could also be liable for the truck driver’s mistakes. The legal concept of ‘respondeat superior’ states that an employer can be liable for the negligence and wrongdoing of an employee, which may apply to your case.

Our Sarasota truck accident attorneys can investigate your case to determine what party or parties should be named as liable defendants. The goal is to maximize the potential of your claim by making sure that liable parties are held accountable for the harm they have caused you and your family.

Proving Negligence & Liability

When you file an injury claim against a trucking company, you can expect pushback. The trucking company won’t want to admit any wrongdoing, and any insurance company that might represent it won’t want to willingly hand you even a dollar—not at first. If you want compensation for your losses, you will need to bring a compelling claim that convincingly proves the truck driver and/or company was negligent and responsible for your injuries.

Using our extensive resources and lengthy histories as seasoned trial attorneys, we will be ready to research and prepare a case on your behalf. With the right evidence and arguments handled by our legal team, we’ll be ready to prepare your case, file against the correct parties, and represent you in all the steps that follow, up to litigation if needed.

What to Do After a Truck Accident

The steps you take after a truck accident should include:

• Call 911 to get emergency responders to the crash site immediately. Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) can help people with serious injuries, firefighters can coordinate rescue efforts if someone is trapped in a badly damaged vehicle, and police officers can control the scene and create an accident report.
• Gather as much evidence as you can at the scene of the truck accident. Photographs and video footage of the scene are useful to show what happened from an objective point of view. Testimonials from eyewitnesses are also helpful to describe what happened in ways you would not have noticed as a person directly involved in the accident.
• Exchange contact and insurance information with the truck driver and any other motorists involved. Be sure to also note information about the commercial truck, such as company branding, trailer ID, license plate number, and more.
• Seek medical attention if you were not already treated by EMTs and taken to the hospital. Within the same day as a truck accident, you should go to an urgent care center for a checkup. Doing so could identify underlying injuries and will create a medical record that backs up the statements you make in an injury claim later.
• As soon as you can after a truck accident in Sarasota, Florida, call (941) 366-2838 to talk with a member of our law firm. If you let us know about your crash right away, we can see about investigating the circumstances and evidence while they are available and fresh in everyone’s minds. Also, you can hire us shortly after a wreck and let us report it to your insurance company if you prefer.

Florida Truck Accident Statute of Limitations

For most truck accident claims in Florida, a two-year statute of limitations begins on the date of the accident. When the two-year statute expires, your right to use the courts in pursuit of compensation expires, too.

We do not recommend you wait close to the two-year mark to file a claim, though. If you allow us to work on your claim shortly after the truck accident, we’ll have more time to prepare it and make sure everything is thorough. With something as important as an injury claim, you shouldn’t rush it if you don’t have to.

What is a Truck Accident Claim Worth?

Through a successful truck accident claim, you may be able to recover compensation for your injuries and losses. We know that no amount of money can simply undo what a negligent truck driver and/or company caused you to suffer, but it can help you get your feet back on the ground. You deserve a fair chance to move forward or feel like you’re close to “normal” again, and an injury claim or lawsuit might be the best way to do that.

The compensation won through a successful truck accident claim may help pay for:

• Past and future medical treatment costs
• Past and future lost income
• Pain and suffering
• Lessened enjoyment of life

Arrange a Free Consultation – Call Now

Want to know more about filing a truck accident claim in Florida? You don’t have to go through this process alone. Burnetti, P.A. and our Sarasota truck accident attorneys are here to help you from start to finish. The whole time we’re working on your case, you can feel more at ease knowing that legal professionals who genuinely care about your health and well-being are on your side. Let us hear from you, so we can discuss the next steps that you might need to take on your recovery journey.

Contact us online or call (941) 366-2838 to request a no-cost case evaluation.