If you’ve been seriously injured in a truck accident in South Carolina, the law allows you to seek compensation from the at-fault party. But if the responsible party is a truck company, you can expect vigorous challenges from its insurance company. Insurers are notorious for denying liability after a crash. That’s why it is so important to take immediate legal action to protect your rights to full and fair compensation.
Truck companies are not required to keep certain records indefinitely, so you must act quickly to ensure that crucial evidence is not lost or destroyed. Black box data can be automatically overwritten within as little as 30 days of a crash. Trucking companies know this, and some deliberately delay or destroy evidence. If you or a loved one has been hurt, call or contact Stewart Law Offices today for a free case review.
What to Do if the Truck Company Lies?
Unfortunately, trucking companies have been known to lie after a serious accident. They may say that you are to blame or deny that their negligence contributed to the crash. They may alter logbooks to show that a trucker adhered to federal hours-of-service regulations when he/she did not. It’s all part of the company’s strategy to minimize or deny your claim to rightful compensation.
Common tactics trucking companies and their insurers use to deny or minimize claims include:
- Dispatching their own investigators to the accident scene, sometimes before police have finished their investigation, to collect evidence and build a defense before you’ve even hired an attorney
- Claiming the driver was an “independent contractor” rather than a company employee, to try to avoid vicarious liability
- Blaming the victim by arguing that the car driver’s negligence caused the crash
- Destroying or allowing the overwriting of Electronic Logging Device (ELD) data, dash cam footage, and black box data
- Quickly repairing the truck and returning it to service before it can be properly inspected for mechanical defects
- Offering a fast, lowball settlement before you know the full extent of your injuries
- Using recorded statements you made in the immediate aftermath of the crash against you
The best plan of action if the truck company lies is to speak with a South Carolina truck accident lawyer. An attorney can investigate the case and collect evidence that uncovers the truck company’s misleading or false statements.
Why Am I Being Accused of Fault?
You should expect the truck company to place at least a portion of the blame on you after a wreck. That’s because the amount of damages in truck accident claims can be quite large. The trucking company wants to reduce its share of responsibility for the crash so that its ultimate payout is lower.
In cases of shared fault in South Carolina, an injured party can still collect compensation as long as their portion of the blame does not exceed the negligence of others involved in the accident. If the trucking company successfully argues that you are more than 50 percent at fault for the accident, you could lose your right to compensation entirely. Since your ability to recover money could hinge on one single percentage point, you’d be well-advised to work with a truck accident lawyer to protect your rights.
How Do I Prove I Am Not At Fault After a Semi-Truck Accident?
To prove that you are not at fault for a semi-truck accident and recover compensation, you must show that another party is to blame.
Immediately following a crash, the trucking company will send an investigator to the scene to collect evidence. This usually happens before the truck has even been moved. This can give the trucking company the upper hand if you don’t have someone on your side doing an in-depth investigation, too. A South Carolina truck accident lawyer can help collect compelling evidence to support your claim and present it to the insurer or court in a persuasive way, giving you the best possible chance of collecting compensation.
Who Can Be Held Liable Besides the Driver?
One of the most important things to understand about truck accident cases is that multiple parties may share responsibility. In addition to the truck driver, potentially liable parties in a South Carolina truck accident can include:
- The trucking company: For negligent hiring, training, supervision, or for pressuring drivers to violate hours-of-service regulations
- The truck owner: If different from the company, for failure to properly maintain the vehicle
- Maintenance contractors: If a third-party repair or maintenance company caused a mechanical failure
- Cargo loading companies: If improperly loaded or secured cargo contributed to the crash
- Truck or parts manufacturers: If a defective part caused a brake failure, tire blowout, or other mechanical problem
- Freight brokers: In certain circumstances, brokers who negligently select an unsafe carrier may share liability
An experienced South Carolina truck accident attorney can identify all potentially responsible parties and ensure that each is held accountable.
How Stewart Law Offices Can Help You Win Your Truck Accident Case
Winning a truck accident case takes solid proof and a tough advocate who won’t allow trucking companies or their insurers to steamroll you. That’s what you’ll get at Stewart Law Offices.
For more than three decades, our legal team has fought for the rights of injured South Carolinians. We don’t take excuses or accept flimsy arguments meant to minimize the compensation you are entitled to. You can count on us in your fight for justice.
Call or contact us for a free consultation.