The Power of Looking More Deeply at Your North Carolina Truck Accident

July 26, 2011, by Michael A. DeMayo

A North Carolina truck accident destroyed your day. Now what?

Whether an 18-wheeler skidded off a road and smashed into your Porsche, giving you a horrific case of whiplash and a few broken bones to boot; or a speeding drunk driver in a pickup truck blew through a stop sign and T-boned your car, seriously injuring you and two fellow passengers, you (and possibly your fellow defendants) may have already “come to conclusions” about what went wrong, why the trucker hurt you, and who should be to blame.

Your instincts might be right. But they might not be.

For instance, say the trucker had been yapping on a cell phone when he blew through the stop sign. Chances are, he should be held liable for the damages that you and your fellow passengers (and your vehicle) experienced.

However, if you use this kind of superficial analysis of your North Carolina truck accident, you may do yourself a serious disservice. You may artificially limit the number of possible defendants who can be called to task for your injuries, etc. And if the trucker has no assets — or insurance — you may not be able to collect the compensation you need.

So let’s revisit that example of the trucker who blew through the stop sign. And this time, let’s go more carefully. Perhaps the trucker had been working for a general contractor. And perhaps that general contractor failed to screen him effectively before hiring him. In other words, maybe the guy had a criminal record and a history of drug and alcohol abuse. Maybe he was driving on a suspended license. Now, because the general contractor neglected to do due diligence – and sent this guy out on the road or who was obviously ill-equipped to drive – the contractor himself (and his business, his insurance company, etc) could all also be held liable.

This is so important. After all, as we discussed above, perhaps the trucker himself lacked insurance and lacked significant assets to help pay for your substantial damages – which could ultimately be in the range of several hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The contractor and his insurance company, however, may have ample assets to pay for those damages and much more. Do you see? The difference between probing the case to locate this surprising defendant and just going with your superficial instinct can be the difference between collecting hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages and collecting next to nothing at all.

A North Carolina truck accident law firm can analyze your case and ensure that no stone goes unturned in the quest for possible liable parties.