18-Wheeler Accident Liability | Shaffer & Shaffer

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Shaffer & You: Answers from WV Semi-Truck Accident Lawyers

Getting hurt by a semi, coal truck or tractor-trailer on the roads and highways of West Virginia interrupts your life in a major way.

On top of that, it’s a complicated situation, both because your injuries may be more severe than in a wreck with another car and because multiple parties could be involved—from the truck driver to the trucking company to the manufacturer of the truck and other drivers on the road.

The key to recovery, both physically and financially, could be filing a personal injury claim.

You can receive medical expenses, reimbursement for lost wages, and payment for the multiple ways that this accident has disrupted your life.

In short, you could get compensation to help you rebuild your life, hold the at-fault parties responsible, and put this trauma behind you.

Doing this requires proving negligence on the part of the people who hurt you. Negligence means they failed to take proper care to avoid causing harm, and their recklessness led to injury and losses for you.

The West Virginia personal injury lawyers at Shaffer & Shaffer can help you hold everyone who’s liable for your injuries accountable.

We’ve helped thousands of West Virginians for more than 115 years from our offices in Charleston and Madison.

Since 1909, Clients, Community, Commitment.

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Help for Other Accident Cases

These Groups Could Be Liable in Your Semi-Truck Accident

Any of these individuals or companies involved with the trucking system could bear responsibility when you’re hurt by a large truck:

The Driver.When a truck driver’s own behavior, such as speeding or driving erratically, leads to a collision, then negligence by the driver plays a central role in your case.
The Trucking Company.The problems could go beyond the individual driver if the company did a poor job hiring and training drivers, inspecting and maintaining trucks, or it ignored safety regulations. Also, the driver’s employer could be held responsible for the employee’s actions.
People Who Loaded the Truck.Trucks must be loaded evenly and securely. If a heavy load shifts, the truck can lose control, even tipping or sending the trailer swinging out (jackknifing).
The Company that Made the Truck.Faulty equipment on the truck can point to negligence by the manufacturer. This gets into an area of law called product liability and requires the right legal knowledge to investigate and pursue.
Drivers Who Aren’t Careful Around Trucks.If another driver in a personal vehicle doesn’t give a truck enough space, suddenly pulls in front of a truck, changes lanes forcing a truck to swerve, or otherwise behaves recklessly around big trucks, that driver, too, could be found negligent in the wreck.

When you’re hurt in a truck wreck in West Virginia, it can take a skilled personal injury lawyer to recognize situations where fault extends beyond just the truck’s driver.

You have to know what to look for and how to track down the information confirming whose negligence led to your injuries.

Start with a no-cost evaluation of your case by the West Virginia truck accident lawyers at Shaffer & Shaffer.

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A man holding his hand to his face inside of an 18-wheeler.

What Are the Signs of Negligence in an 18-Wheeler Accident?

Your West Virginia semi-truck accident lawyer will look for several signs that the truck driver, trucking company, or another driver acted with negligence—and therefore has liability for your damages after a wreck.

This includes:

The driver was speeding.
The driver was tailgating other cars.
The driver made a wrong turn.
The driver changed lanes improperly.
The driver was distracted by a phone or something else.
The driver was too tired.
The driver was impaired by drugs or alcohol.
The driver didn’t do their part to inspect their load before they left.
The trucking company failed to check the driver’s background when hiring them.
The company didn’t provide sufficient training.
The company pressured the driver to work too long.
The company failed to fix a part of the truck that malfunctioned.
A supplier overloaded the truck.
A supplier failed to secure the load.

Truckers and trucking companies are required by law to keep certain records of their operations. Your truck accident lawyer can look for evidence of negligence listed above in some of those records.

And if they didn’t keep the right records, that’s a sign of their negligence, too.

After a collision with a large truck in West Virginia disrupts your life, fight to get the compensation you deserve—and what the truck drivers and big trucking companies should rightly pay for hurting you.

Talk to Shaffer & Shaffer for support to get what’s fair and get back to living your fullest life.

And in the most horrible kind of accident—when you’ve lost a loved one in a wrongful death caused by someone’s negligence—we are here for your family.

Whether you live in West Virginia and were injured by an 18-wheeler, of if you were driving through West Virginia on the interstate when the collision occurred, Shaffer & Shaffer can help you put this shock behind you.

Shaffer & You: Why Work with Us?

Everyday West Virginians can get legal help from one of the most established and respected law firms in the state: Shaffer & Shaffer. Our firm is over a century old and still going strong because we put the needs of our clients first—always.

Have a Question about Personal Injury Claims?

After a life-altering accident, you’re understandably upset, confused and full of questions. To help you get a sense of what’s next, we’ve prepared answers to common questions about personal injury claims and other legal cases.

Injury FAQs »