If you have been injured in an accident involving an 18-wheeler or other commercial truck, you should talk with an experienced Myrtle Beach truck accident attorney to understand your legal options. You may be able to seek compensation to cover your medical bills and other expenses if your injuries weren’t your fault.
The attorneys and staff at Joye Law Firm understand the disruption and financial stress that a serious injury can cause. Our clients are good people, like you, who going through a difficult ordeal caused by another’s negligence. You may feel anxious and concerned about your situation, or unable to deal with insurance adjusters and everything that goes into filing an accident claim.
Let our compassionate attorneys lift that burden off your shoulders. Our goal is to make a positive difference in the life of each client we help. If you contact our Myrtle Beach law office, an attorney can review the details of your collision and offer guidance about whether you have a valid truck injury lawsuit. If we represent you, we will handle your claim on a contingency fee basis. You will not pay any upfront or out-of-pocket costs.
Keep in mind that there is no charge to talk with one of our Myrtle Beach injury lawyers about your truck accident, and doing so can help you make well-informed decisions with your future in mind. You will only pay a legal fee if we obtain compensation for you.
How Our Myrtle Beach Truck Accident Lawyers Can Help
At Joye Law Firm, there are the types of legal services our experienced Myrtle Beach injury attorneys can provide to clients who have been injured in crashes involving semi-trucks.
Our attorneys can:
- Investigate the truck crash and identify all the at-fault parties
- Make sure you are receiving all the necessary medical attention
- Help you get referrals to medical specialists, if needed
- Estimate your present and future medical bills and other truck accident-related expenses
- Find all the insurance policies that may cover the accident
- Submit a demand letter to the insurance company
- Negotiate aggressively with insurer(s) for a fair settlement
- File a personal injury lawsuit, if needed
- Seek justice for you in court if a settlement cannot be reached
- Keep you informed and stand beside you every step of the way
You will find that our attorneys at Joye Law Firm are friendly and approachable. Our law firm puts an emphasis on being accessible to clients. If you have a question, your attorney will make every effort to return your call within one business day.
We believe in treating people as we would want to be treated ourselves if we were seeking professional services.
Can I Recover Compensation for My Truck Crash?
Truck accidents can happen for a variety of reasons. Due to the inherent danger associated with operating these vehicles, they are highly regulated by both state and federal law, but accidents continue to happen. In order to recover compensation, you need to be able to show that your accident was the result of someone else’s negligence, whether that’s the truck driver, the trucking company, or even a driver in another passenger vehicle.
Some examples of negligence that could potentially lead to a truck accident include the following:
- Speeding
- Drunk driving
- Failure to yield
- Improperly secured cargo
- Mechanical or maintenance failures
- Hours of Service violations
- Distracted driving
- Improper lane usage
- Ignoring poor weather conditions
- Failure to signal
- Failure to observe stoplights or stop signs
Whether or not your accident was the result of negligence depends on a variety of factors, and it is extremely difficult for a person without legal training to make that determination.
Consequently, anyone who has been involved in a truck accident should have the facts of their case thoroughly reviewed by a skilled lawyer as soon as possible to determine if they are eligible for compensation.
What Causes Semi-Truck Accidents?
Myrtle Beach and the Horry County area have heavy traffic congestion, especially along Highway 17, which links the towns of the Grand Strand. Horry County, which includes Myrtle Beach, is among South Carolina’s most dangerous counties for serious and fatal crashes.
Speeding
Many commercial truck drivers speed or drive too fast for traffic conditions because they are trying to make delivery deadlines. This is extremely dangerous because tractor-trailers need more distance to stop. If traffic comes to a standstill on Highway 17, a truck driver who is not paying attention to road conditions or following too closely may fail to hit the brakes in time to avoid a rear-end collision. This could make the truck driver liable for the injuries of others hurt in the crash.
Fatigue
Some commercial truck drivers are fatigued from many hours behind the wheel and do not react quickly to sudden changes in road conditions. A lack of skid marks at the scene of an accident may be evidence that an exhausted truck driver was asleep when the accident occurred. Our attorneys may analyze a truck driver’s logbooks to determine if the trucker violated the maximum number of hours allowed behind the wheel without rest.
Neglected Maintenance
Trucking companies may be liable for an accident if a big rig is not adequately maintained and a maintenance issue causes a truck to crash. A truck tire blowout can cause a driver to lose control of the vehicle. When we handle a tractor-trailer accident claim, our attorneys move quickly to preserve and analyze truck maintenance records. These types of records, which trucking companies only have to keep for a certain period of time, can provide critical evidence of a trucking company’s disregard for the safety of its fleet of trucks.