North Carolina Wide Turn Accidents Attorney

Drivers of large commercial trucks should have extensive professional training in how to approach and execute a wide turn safely. Like all drivers, truckers must avoid creating risks of foreseeable harm for other people on the road. When a truck driver fails to safely turn, the truck can swing into oncoming traffic or tip over, crushing other vehicles. If you or a family member has suffered injuries in a wide turn crash involving a truck or tractor trailer rig, Raleigh truck accident attorney Carl Nagle and the team at Nagle & Associates can aggressively pursue the compensation that you need.

In a personal injury lawsuit following a tractor-trailer accident, the trucking company and their insurance carriers always look for ways to avoid paying for the collision. Carl Nagle knows this all too well, having formerly worked as an insurance claims adjuster and as an insurance defense attorney. Carl has represented truck drivers and trucking companies on behalf of insurance companies, and he understands how these cases are defended by the other side. He can anticipate insurance defense tactics and understands the importance of proving all present and future injuries and financial losses so you can secure the highest possible tax-free settlement. At Nagle & Associates, we represent truck accident victims in Raleigh, Wilmington, Winston-Salem, Asheville, and other cities throughout North Carolina.

Holding a Trucker Accountable for Injuries Resulting from a Careless Wide Turn

Because commercial trucks often weigh 80,000 pounds, truck accidents involve tremendous physical force. Unfortunately, victims of wide turn accidents involving trucks and tractor trailer rigs may suffer brain trauma, broken bones, paralysis, and internal bleeding. These victims can include people in passenger cars, motorcyclists, and even pedestrians. While these accidents are typically very severe, trucking companies and truck drivers may try to argue that the injured individual was partially responsible for the accident.

Victims of truck accidents can pursue a legal claim against the responsible driver and also against the driver’s employer. These lawsuits typically proceed under a negligence theory of law, requiring proof that the truck driver failed to use the care that a reasonable person would use under similar circumstances. Examples of truck driver negligence in wide turn cases include failing to undergo appropriate training in making turns or failing to execute a turn according to the proper protocols for this maneuver.

Trucking companies may also be held liable for a driver’s failure to properly perform a wide turn. Legal theories of indirect liability, such as respondeat superior or vicarious liability, may be appropriate if the driver was furthering the employer’s business at the time of the accident. Under this approach, the plaintiff victim need not show that the trucking company acted negligently. Rather, the victim must only show that the truck driver was within the scope of his employment when the accident occurred. This employment or “agency” relationship renders the trucking company responsible for the truck driver’s errors and for all of the victim’s losses and damages. Trucking companies can also be compelled to pay for truck accident victims’ losses by showing that the company itself was directly negligent. An example of a trucking company’s direct liability would be a case where the employer insists that a driver speed during his journey to meet a delivery deadline.

In certain situations, defendants in a personal injury lawsuit may contend that the plaintiff contributed to the accident. The legal doctrine of contributory negligence may affect the outcome of the lawsuit, since North Carolina prevents plaintiffs from recovering compensation if they contribute even slightly to causing the truck accident. For example, if the victim had been driving in a truck’s blind spot, and the jury finds that the defendant driver took an excessively wide turn and caused the accident, the jury may also conclude that the plaintiff/victim was slightly responsible for the resulting collision. In North Carolina, if the victim is found to be even just 1% at fault for the accident, they have no right to recover damages from the trucking company or the truck driver.

After liability has been established, damages must be determined. Truck accident victims can collect money damages for both economic and noneconomic losses resulting from the crash. Examples of economic harm are medical and hospital costs, lost wages from work, and “lost work life expectancy,” if the victim will be unable to work until retirement age due to physical limitations imposed by their injuries. Non-economic damages refer to harm that cannot easily be quantified, such as payment for physical pain and emotional suffering.

Explore Your Options with a Truck Accident Attorney in Raleigh or Beyond

North Carolina truck accident victims should aggressively enforce their right to secure compensation from the truck driver, his/her employers, other responsible parties, and all insurance carriers who have coverage for the accident. Pursuit of full and fair compensation will be essential in the effort to cover medical costs, and to ease the financial burden that often results from these catastrophic collisions. Skilled Raleigh truck accident lawyer Carl Nagle at Nagle & Associates focuses on maximizing compensation for every one of his clients. To further this goal, our firm charges a lower percentage of a victim’s recovery than other firms. We are committed to providing individualized services to each of our clients, and we have helped injured people throughout the state, including residents of Raleigh, Wilmington, Asheville, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Charlotte, Hickory, and other areas of Forsyth, Mecklenburg, Wake, Brunswick, Guilford, New Hanover, Cumberland, and Catawba Counties. Contact our office by calling (800) 411-1583 or using our online form to set up a free case evaluation with an NC tractor-trailer crash lawyer.