Clarksville Truck Accident Lawyers

The legal team at Hughes & Coleman Injury Lawyers is proud to be part of the community in Clarksville, TN. Our city has a rich history in transporting goods by water on the Cumberland River and by train. Today, many goods are also transported by truck, so you are sure to see large trucks when you drive on I-84, Hwy 41, or one of our other major roadways.

While semis and other large trucks provide an invaluable service to our community, they also can pose great danger. These massive vehicles can weigh as much as 20 cars, generating a huge impact force in a crash. Victims of truck accidents often sustain life-altering injuries.

If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, call us today for a free consultation at 800-800-4600.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has conducted an extensive study to examine the causes of accidents involving large trucks. A number of different factors have been found to contribute to these accidents, such as driver fatigue, distracted driving, and speeding.

However, the FMCSA found that defective truck parts and equipment also lead to deadly crashes. The study showed that vehicle failure was a factor in 29.4% of all truck accidents.

Manufacturers have a duty to create safe parts. Trucking companies are obligated to supply their drivers with trucks that are in good working order. Meanwhile, drivers have a responsibility to routinely inspect their truck and loads to ensure safety.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) requires the following inspections to be made and logged before each route is driven:

• Brakes
• Lights
• Tires
• Windshield wipers
• Horn
• Steering mechanism
• Axles
• Hitch or coupling system

If a defective part was the cause of your truck accident, it can be a challenge to prove liability. The lawyers at Hughes & Coleman will help make sure you get the compensation you deserve after your accident.

Our legal team will investigate whether it was a lack of protocol that allowed the defect to go undetected, or whether the blame lies with the manufacturing company themselves. In truck accident cases, we often use the services of accident reconstruction experts to ensure that we know all factors that led up to the crash.

If our investigation reveals that a defective part was the cause of your truck accident, we then need to determine who is liable for the part. An injury claim based on a defective part is specifically a product liability claim.

Product liability claims generally fall under three different categories:

• Design defect. In these cases, the design of the part or piece of equipment itself was flawed. It could be any piece of equipment, from the brakes to the straps that help hold down the cargo. It’s often insufficient to prove that the design was dangerous; we also need to prove that the manufacturer of the part had an alternative design option and intentionally chose not to use it. Proving liability in these types of cases can be very difficult, and it’s necessary to have an experienced lawyer handling your case.
• Manufacturing defect. These lawsuits are filed against the manufacturer when a part was made or assembled incorrectly. Sometimes there are multiple companies involved in the making, assembling, and distribution of a single part. Our legal team will investigate all the parties who had access to the part and determine which ones should be held accountable for your accident.
• Warning or marketing defect. A proper warning label should specify the less obvious dangers of using the product and provide detailed and specific instructions on how the product should be used. If the warning labels were lacking any of the above, you may have a warning defect case. The lawyers at Hughes & Coleman will work hard to ensure the responsible party is held accountable.

We understand that after an accident, all you want to do is put it behind you and move forward with your life. Our lawyers at Hughes & Coleman can help you to do exactly that. Victims of truck accidents often suffer physically, emotionally, and financially. We will help ensure you get the financial compensation that you need on your road to recovery.

Immediately following an accident, the trucking companies dispatch their lawyers and insurance providers to begin investigating the crash. We strongly advise that you never discuss the accident with these opposing parties without your lawyer present. They don’t have your best interests at heart; they only care about the bottom line. They want you to settle for the lowest dollar amount possible.

You need someone on your side who will advocate for you. Our truck accident lawyers will work to:

• Determine liability. We will carefully examine your case to help us determine who should be held accountable for the accident.
• Determine how much compensation to seek. Following an accident, you may be entitled to damages for medical bills, property damage, pain and suffering, and lost wages. We will make sure that you get the financial compensation that you need to recover.
• Determine who to seek damages from. Multiple parties may be responsible for the accident. We will make sure that all those responsible for the accident are held liable. This may involve working to get compensation from insurance companies or the guilty parties’ individual assets.