Fort Lauderdale 18-Wheeler Accident Lawyer

Fort Lauderdale is home to frequent 18-wheeler accidents. Due to the massive size and weight differences from standard motor vehicles, these collisions typically result in severe injuries and traffic fatalities. Injury victims and surviving family members of wrongful death may be entitled to recover compensation for their losses. Englander Peebles is here to help. Contact our experienced Fort Lauderdale 18-wheeler accident lawyer at (954) 500-4878 to schedule a free consultation. We advocate for your right to obtain the financial settlement you deserve.

Why Choose Englander Peebles Fort Lauderdale 18-Wheeler Accident Lawyers?

Englander Peebles stands apart from other law firms. With our experience in fighting for the rights of our loved ones, we deeply understand what our clients are facing and are committed to advocating for their rights. Our truck accident attorneys manage insurance claims and legal processes, allowing our clients to concentrate on the three R’s: rehabilitation, recovery, and rebuilding their lives following an 18-wheeler accident. We’ve recovered millions of dollars for our clients injured in Fort Lauderdale car accidents, rideshare accidents, motorcycle collisions, and premises liability cases like slip and falls.

Free Consultations

Our firm provides free consultations to assess the specifics of your 18-wheeler accident. During our meeting, we will examine the details and evidence of your case before discussing potential strategies and outcomes. Englander Peebles believes in personalized legal representation and will identify the unique circumstances of your 18-wheeler accident before developing a customized legal approach to recovering compensation for your injuries and damages.

Contingency Arrangements

We know the emotional and financial stress accompanying 18-wheeler accidents, from expensive healthcare bills to income losses from missing work. We provide contingency arrangements at Englander Peebles to prevent further monetary burdens to our clients. Contingency allows anyone to hire legal representation, assuring no upfront or out-of-pocket costs. You don’t owe us anything if we don’t win your case.

18-Wheeler Accident Liability

Eighteen-wheeler accidents often involve complex liability due to multiple at-fault parties. You need an experienced 18-wheeler accident lawyer to prove negligence and establish fault. Englander Peebles thoroughly investigates liability, identifying all parties responsible for your collision and injuries. Depending on the circumstances of your accident, the potentially liable parties our team examines include the following:

• Truck Drivers: Driver error is a leading cause of 18-wheeler accidents. Common errors include when a trucker drives distracted, fatigued, drunk, or impaired. Speeding and disregarding traffic laws also make a truck driver liable.
• Trucking Companies: We adhere to the legal doctrine of respondeat superior and hold trucking companies vicariously liable for their drivers’ negligent acts when operating their vehicles during work hours. Other ways trucking companies are at fault include negligent hiring practices and failing to have trucks inspected and serviced.
• Cargo Loaders and Companies: Our investigation examines cargo loading negligence, such as overloading or failing to secure loads correctly. We hold negligent cargo loaders and cargo loading companies liable for 18-wheeler accidents and injuries.
• Truck and Parts Manufacturers: We investigate and establish truck and parts manufacturers’ liability when defective trucks or parts cause a Fort Lauderdale 18-wheeler accident. This includes collecting the faulty part and having qualified experts in our resource network examine and testify to their defect.
• Government Entities: Local municipalities may be liable when dangerous road hazards cause a Fort Lauderdale 18-wheeler accident. Hazardous conditions include large potholes, cracks in the concrete, malfunctioning traffic lights, standing water due to poor drainage, insufficient lighting, and missing or broken road signs and guardrails.

During our investigation of the accident scene, we will examine tread patterns and assess potential tire maintenance issues. Our truck accident attorneys will also inspect the truck and other vehicles involved in the collision to identify impact points and possible mechanical failures. We hold all liable parties accountable to ensure appropriate justice and maximum compensation.

If you’ve suffered an injury, you need an experienced Fort Lauderdale 18-wheeler accident lawyer to recover fair compensation for your injury claim. Call Englander Peebles at (954) 500-4878 for a free consultation to discuss a personalized legal strategy for your case circumstances. Our office is in the Cypress Creek Medical Pavilion, just north of the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport.

Compensation for a Fort Lauderdale 18-Wheeler Accident

How much your Fort Lauderdale 18-wheeler accident claim is worth depends on how severe your injuries are, their impact on daily life, and potential long-term needs. Insurance policy limits and the two-year Florida statute of limitations on claims also influence compensation. Our firm provides comprehensive claim valuation by calculating your special damages before determining general damages.

Special Damages

The special damages in your 18-wheeler accident refer to the economic losses incurred. Healthcare costs are a significant component. These costs include emergency, surgical, primary, rehabilitative, and mental health care services. They may also cover compensation for expenses related to long-term medical care needs. Medical economic damage reimburses for assistive devices, prescriptions, copays, and deductibles. Other special damages that Englander Peebles considers when assessing your Fort Lauderdale 18-wheeler accident claim are as follows:

• Lost Income and Earning Capacity: Missing work can lead to significant income losses. Depending on the severity of your injuries and the benefits of your profession, we may recover lost income, overtime, bonuses, healthcare benefits, and retirement. When injuries make it impossible to return to work, our team works with experts to determine your lost earning capacity or lost future earnings.
• Property Damages: All personal property damaged or destroyed in your Fort Lauderdale 18-wheeler accident are calculable losses. Property damages include vehicle repairs and lost cell phones, laptops, car seats, and other valuables in your vehicle that were destroyed in the collision.
• Domestic Services: Severe injuries and disability require hired assistance with household services that we may recover. These may entail housecleaning, laundry, cooking, and assistance running errands, like grocery shopping.
• Transportation Needs: Most accident victims require transportation while their vehicles are being repaired or due to injuries. Our truck accident attorneys calculate rideshare, taxi, and rental car costs.

Our team includes all relevant economic losses in our calculations. We use medical bills, vehicle repair invoices, home modification estimates, lost income statements, receipts, and other financial documents to prove special damages. Case circumstances may create additional economic damages that we assess, such as childcare or elder care for clients who usually care for older parents and cannot do so due to injury severity.

General Damages

The general damages in your 18-wheeler accident are the non-economic losses that are more challenging to assess, value, and prove without an experienced Fort Lauderdale 18-wheeler accident lawyer. Examples of general damages our attorneys will evaluate during our claim valuation include the following:

• Pain and Suffering: Your physical pain and emotional suffering are recoverable intangible losses with adequate documentation. Pain and suffering include compensation for chronic pain conditions, sleep issues, and mental anguish.
• Decreased Quality of Life: A decreased quality of life compensates for declining physical health, such as disability, and mental health, like anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD). We also assess social isolation and environmental factors when valuing this damage.
• Loss of Enjoyment of Life: When injuries cause limited functioning and restrictions on daily tasks, work-related activities, and experiences, our attorneys determine monetary value for your loss of enjoyment of life.
• Loss of Consortium: If injuries cause intangible relationship losses, such as the inability to engage in physical intimacy, we calculate loss of consortium. This damage compensates for losing companionship, love, guidance, and affection in a relationship due to injuries or disability.

We establish these damages with detailed medical documentation reviewed by medical experts to ensure accuracy and expert witness testimony confirming the extent of injuries and their impact on life. Accident victims should also keep a post-accident journal to detail their pain and suffering. Dated and daily entries should record injury symptoms, including pain, numbness, tingling, headaches, and other discomforts. They should also document emotional distress, such as fear, frustration, anger, sadness, and hopelessness.

Wrongful Death Damages

Surviving spouses and family members of wrongful death may pursue compensation following a Fort Lauderdale 18-wheeler accident if they are the executor or personal representative of the decedent’s estate. Wrongful death claimants can recover compensation for final medical expenses, lost income, and the pain and suffering experienced by the deceased. Additional wrongful death damages for which we may seek compensation include pain and suffering for the claimant and the loss of consortium, guidance, financial support, household services, and prospective inheritance.

Where Do 18-Wheeler Accidents Happen in Fort Lauderdale?

Eighteen-wheeler accidents are a significant problem in Fort Lauderdale on highways like Florida’s Turnpike, Interstate-4, Interstate I-75, and Interstate-95. Drivers on I-95 experience greater risks of 18-wheeler accidents on the following on and off-ramps:

• I-95 and N.E. 62nd Street
• I-95 and West Sunrise Boulevard
• I-95, I-595, and U.S. Route 1

Curves on I-95 are another considerable risk, with speed being a significant factor. Heavy traffic congestion and poor visibility also contribute to these collisions. Other dangerous roads and intersections where Fort Lauderdale 18-wheeler accidents occur include Broward Boulevard and U.S. Route 1, Alton Road and Dade Boulevard, Oakland Park Boulevard and Powerline Road, and Las Olas Boulevard.

Common Injuries in Fort Lauderdale 18-Wheeler Accidents

Eighteen-wheeler trucks typically weigh 20-30 times as much as passenger cars. Their drastic differences in size and weight can cause severe injuries, disability, devastating property damage, and tragic wrongful deaths. Soft tissue issues are typical in Fort Lauderdale 18-wheeler accidents. These injuries include severe contusions, whiplash, strains, and sprains. Soft tissue injuries can cause considerable pain and discomfort and require medical evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation. Other injuries resulting from 18-wheeler accidents in Fort Lauderdale are as follows:

• Broken bones or fractures
• Neck and back injuries
• Burn injuries
• Amputations
• Concussions and other traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
• Spinal cord injuries, such as partial or total paralysis
• Internal injuries, like damage to organs and internal bleeding

Psychological injuries, such as generalized anxiety, depression, and the development of PTSD, are also common 18-wheeler accident injuries. They are compensable when accompanying physical injury and thorough documentation. Symptoms of psychological injuries should be detailed in your post-accident journal, along with your other symptoms of pain and suffering.

Types of 18-Wheeler Accidents in Fort Lauderdale

The Large Truck Crash Causation Study, conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), discovered the top three critical events for 18-wheeler accidents: running out of the travel lane (32 percent), loss of vehicle control (29 percent), and colliding with the rear end of another vehicle (22 percent). Eighteen-wheeler accidents are also called commercial truck accidents, semi-truck accidents, and big-rig or tractor-trailer accidents, and they include the following types of collisions:

• Head-on accidents
• Underride accidents
• Wide-turn collisions
• Jackknife collisions
• Rollover accidents
• Unsecured cargo load accidents

Regardless of the type of 18-wheeler accident, these collisions involve complex liability, severe injuries and disability, extensive damages, and other challenges that require an attorney to navigate. Seeking legal representation from an experienced Fort Lauderdale 18-wheeler accident lawyer on our team can help ensure the protection of your legal rights, including the right to recover full compensation for your injuries.

Taking on Trucking and Insurance Companies

Due to the substantial damages from 18-wheeler accidents, trucking companies tend to have more aggressive insurance companies. We understand the importance of securing fair settlements for our clients at Englander Peebles. Our attorneys are skilled negotiators who have secured millions for clients. We won’t bend to shady insurance tactics used to devalue or deny claims. Instead, we prepare for them and demand reasonable compensation for our 18-wheeler accident clients.

Contact an Experienced Fort Lauderdale 18-Wheeler Accident Lawyer

If you or a loved one were involved in an 18-wheeler accident, you most likely suffered injuries or are grieving the negligent loss of a loved one. You deserve a caring and understanding attorney to represent your legal needs. Contact Englander Peebles at (954) 500-4878 to schedule a free case evaluation with an experienced Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer. We are committed to helping truck accident injury victims recover the fair compensation they deserve.

Englander Peebles – Fort Lauderdale Office

2122 W. Cypress Creek Road, Suite 206
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
P: 954-500-4878