Clearwater Truck Accident Lawyer
Florida’s highways serve thousands of commercial trucks, shipping goods throughout the state.
With so many trucks on the road, accidents occur frequently. Unfortunately, colliding with a large truck often results in serious injury or death to the driver and passengers of a smaller vehicle.
If you’ve been injured or experienced the death of a loved one in a truck accident, you may be able to pursue legal action.
At Abrahamson & Uiterwyk, we’ve helped thousands of accident victims fight insurance companies for accident settlements.
Contact us for a free consultation to learn more about your legal options.
Will the Firm Settle My Case or Take It to Trial?
We work with personal injury victims to decide on the best legal strategy to get them maximum compensation. While we often reach a successful settlement, we are prepared to take your case to trial.
Our Clearwater truck accident lawyers have recovered over $800 million for our clients through settlements and verdicts.
Does the Firm Handle Commercial Truck Accidents?
Our law firm focuses exclusively on personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits, including commercial truck accidents. Approximately 80% of our clients are victims of a car or truck accident. We have extensive expertise as a 18-wheeler accident attorney Florida.
Does the Firm Work on Contingency?
We don’t want financial hurdles to prevent victims of truck accidents from filing a lawsuit, so we work on contingency.
Our clients owe us nothing, no fees or costs, unless we win their case. This contingency system helps us work more efficiently and serve our clients better.
Does the Firm Have the Resources to Handle a Complex Case?
Our firm employs ten experienced attorneys and a staff of 40 other professionals. We have the resources to thoroughly investigate and litigate even the most complex truck accident injuries.
How Often Will I Receive Updates from my Lawyer?
Your Clearwater truck accident lawyer is available to you at all times. We have a 24-hour phone, text, and email messaging service to handle your urgent questions.
Get A Free Case Evaluation
Commercial Truck Accident Statistics
Florida had over 400,000 accidents in 2018. These car and truck accidents resulted in a quarter of a million injuries and over 3,000 fatalities. Sadly, Pinellas County experienced over 17,000 accidents, resulting in 10,000 injuries and 17 fatalities in 2018.
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles collects crash statistics for each county.
Their report shows that Pinellas county experienced increasing commercial motor vehicle (CMV) accidents from 2016 to 2018. From 2017 to 2018, CMV injuries increased by 11%, and CMV fatalities increased by 50%.
These tragic statistics show that truck accidents are far too common in our area. If you have experienced a truck accident, you are not alone.
Our personal injury lawyers have helped many truck accident victims get the compensation they need, and we would like to help you as well.
What to Do After a Semi-Truck Accident
After you collide with a truck, you may suffer serious injuries. If you can evacuate your car and get to a safe location, you should take the following steps.
Call the Police
Call police and paramedics to respond to the accident and treat any injured people. Remain at the scene of the accident, in a safe location, until police arrive.
Document Accident Evidence
Take photos of the damage to your car and the truck as well as surrounding road conditions.
Take photos of the truck’s license plate and the trucker’s driver license and insurance card. If witnesses observed the accident, get their contact information.
Seek Medical Attention
If you sustained serious injuries, seeking medical treatment should be your first priority. If your injuries are not life-threatening, you may want to collect evidence before going to the emergency room.
Even if you don’t think you are injured, you should still seek medical evaluation. Some accident injuries may not be apparent right away.
Keep all receipts for medical treatment, medical supplies, and rehabilitation expenses.
Seek Legal Assistance
When you try to negotiate with trucking insurance companies on your own, they may use intimidation tactics. Our Clearwater truck accident attorneys regularly deal with trucking insurance companies, and we know how to counter their hard-nosed tactics.
A truck accident attorney can effectively negotiate with a big insurance company for an accident victim’s maximum injury settlement.
Common Causes of 18-Wheeler Accidents
Since semi-trucks are so big and heavy, they have a hard time stopping. Here are some factors that can contribute to 18-wheeler accidents:
- Excessive speed,
- Distracted driving,
- Reckless driving,
- Driving under the influence,
- Improper maintenance, and
- Driving while exhausted.
Our experienced team of truck accident lawyers and investigators will review all issues related to your accident. Our goal is to prove that the trucker was responsible for your accident and get compensation for your accident injuries.
Commercial Trucking Laws
When you’re injured in a truck accident, you need an attorney who is familiar with the laws regulating commercial truck drivers. The legal standards differ in some ways from those of car accidents. Therefore, a personal injury attorney who does not handle many truck accident cases may lack legal understanding.
Commercial trucks must follow regulations set out by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), which give guidance on these subjects:
- Truck maintenance,
- Commercial driver licenses,
- Truck registration,
- Truck inspections, and
- Driver logbooks.
Violations of these regulations or Florida state law could result in a negligence claim. Even if the trucker was criminally charged for the accident, you can file a civil lawsuit to recover compensation for the harm you suffered.
Common Truck Crash Injuries
Semi-trucks are large vehicles that weigh up to ten tons. This truck size and weight can cause significant damage in an accident. Victims of truck accidents may experience these serious injuries which can require extensive medical treatment such as spinal fusion surgery:
- Lacerations and bruises,
- Muscle damage,
- Whiplash,
- Bone fractures,
- Spinal cord injuries
- Internal organ injuries,
- Nerve damage, and
- Concussions and brain damage.
Seek prompt medical treatment for any accident injuries and save your invoices. This medical evaluation can improve your chances of filing a successful personal injury lawsuit.
Semi-Truck Collisions: Who Is Liable?
When you hire an accident attorney, you also gain access to expert investigators. Our legal team will investigate your accident using the police report, witness statements, and other evidence.
Our goal is to prove who was responsible for your accident and get you compensation for your injuries.
In Florida, accident liability is governed by a pure comparative negligence standard. This means that even if you were partially responsible for the accident, you may be able to sue the trucking company for damages.
Each party is responsible for damages corresponding to their degree of liability. For instance, imagine that you were 40% responsible for an accident that caused you $100,000 worth of damages.
If the trucker was 60% responsible for the accident, you could potentially sue the trucking company for $60,000 of damages.
Sample Case Results
In our decades of practice, we have won hundreds of millions of dollars for Florida accident victims. Here are some of our winning case results, though we caution that past results do not guarantee the same outcome in your case.
$5 Million Quadriplegic Truck Accident
In this Hillsborough County accident, a truck collided with our client, crushing her vehicle and injuring her severely. Though our client was partially responsible for the accident—she turned across three lanes of traffic into the trucker’s path—we were able to get $5 million in damages.
$2.5 Million (Jury Verdict) $2.2 Million (Settlement) Truck Accident
In this case, our client, a 43-year-old female, was rear-ended by a truck in Hillsborough County. She sustained disc herniations that required anterior cervical fusion. We were able to get her millions in damages.
Client Reviews
“Abrahamson & Uiterwyk are an excellent firm to work with. The day my accident happened, my friend called them for me & they were there within an hour. Having them handle everything from the start allowed me to focus on my recovery. I am very grateful to have worked with such a thorough firm & highly recommend them!” —Danielle L. on Yelp
“Working with the staff and lawyers at Abrahamson & Uiterwyk has been a great experience. They are always quick to respond to phone calls & emails and friendly. If you need to hire a personal injury lawyer, I recommend giving them a call.” —Casey M. on Yelp
“They were always there if I called. They always had my answers to put me at ease. Most of the work they did was behind the scenes and at the end I was completely satisfied. Again, I got extremely lucky by looking in phone book. You don’t have to. I recommend their superior services to anyone who is unlucky and in an accident.” —Greg E.
“We were grateful to have had competent, caring professionals looking out for us…if you or a loved one ever are in an accident, please contact Abrahamson & Uiterwyk.” —MJ Z.
Were You Injured in a Truck Accident?
If you were injured in a truck accident, you need a Clearwater truck accident attorney. At Abrahamson & Uiterwyk, we’ve helped over 20,000 injured victims over the past 30 years. We know how to negotiate with truck insurance companies to get our clients maximum compensation.
Contact us for a free consultation, and we’ll advise you of legal options for your injury. If we take your case, we work on contingency, meaning that you owe us nothing, no fees or costs unless we win a successful settlement or verdict. Contact us for prompt, aggressive legal action on your truck accident injury case. . We can also assist you with motorcycle accidents, car accidents, medical malpractice cases and more.
FAQs
Here are some questions you may have about hiring a truck accident attorney. We can answer other questions when you call us for a free consultation.
What Qualifications Do I Want in a Truck Accident Attorney?
You should hire a Clearwater truck accident lawyer with plenty of experience negotiating with truck insurance companies. We represent injured victims, not insurance companies, and pursue the maximum truck accident injury compensation.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Truck Accident Attorney?
We charge nothing upfront, instead working on contingency. This means that you owe us nothing, no fees or costs unless we negotiate a successful settlement or win at trial.
How Much Can I Get in a Truck Accident Injury Settlement?
Every case is different, so we can’t evaluate your settlement request until we meet with you for a free consultation. We have won hundreds of millions for our clients during decades of advocacy for accident victims.
Clearwater, FL Case Types
The highly-experienced Clearwater personal injury law firm of Abrahamson & Uiterwyk provides:
- Personal injury lawyers in Clearwater
- Motorcycle accident lawyers in Clearwater
- Slip & fall lawyers in Clearwater
- Truck accident lawyers in Clearwater
- Bicycle accident lawyers in Clearwater
- Brain injury lawyers in Florida
- Birth injury lawyers in Florida
- Pedestrian accident lawyers in Florida
- Construction accident lawyers in Florida
- Wrongful death lawyers in Clearwater
- Actos injury lawyers in Florida
- Boating accident lawyers in Florida
- Business interruption insurance lawyers in Florida
- Defective drugs medical device lawyers in Florida
- Dog bite lawyers in Florida
- Drunk driving accident lawyers in Florida
- Insurance disputes lawyers in Florida
- Medical malpractice lawyers in Florida
- Metal hip knee implant lawyers in Florida
- Nursing home abuse lawyers in Clearwater
- Product liability lawyers in Florida
- Work injury / workers comp lawyers in Florida
Service Area for Truck Accident Attorneys Near You
If you’ve been injured in a truck accident in Florida, we’re ready to help you. Here are just some of the areas we serve: