Federal law prohibits commercial trucks weighing over 80,000 pounds across the cab, trailer, and cargo combined from driving on interstate highways, and Pennsylvania law puts broadly similar restrictions on in-state traffic. Not every trucking company follows these laws with the diligence that they should, and some companies even intentionally break the law in order to save money and time transporting huge amounts of cargo.
Anyone who causes you to get hurt because they were doing something illegal or were otherwise irresponsible should be financially liable for any losses you suffer, and big trucking companies are certainly no exception. If you want to take legal action over an overloaded/overweight truck accident in Reading, you should make contacting and hiring a skilled tractor-trailer crash attorney one of your top priorities.
What Damages Are Recoverable in a Truck Crash Claim?
Even if they’re under legal weight limits, tractor-trailers still outweigh the average commuter car by several tons. That amount of mass colliding with a car, van, or pickup truck creates an incredible amount of force, which can have devastating repercussions. It’s often especially important when filing suit over an overloaded truck crash in Reading to account for short-term losses you’ve already sustained and various long-term losses you’re likely to suffer.
This can include but isn’t strictly limited to things like:
- Physical pain and discomfort
- Mental and emotional suffering
- Loss of life’s pleasures and other effects of permanent disability
- Emergency medical bills
- Expected future medical expenses for things like physical therapy, wheelchairs, and in-home care
- Car repair or replacement costs, plus other personal property damage
- Lost working ability and work wages
In rare situations involving extreme negligence or intentionally malicious conduct, a court may also make the defendants in your claim pay you punitive damages specifically to punish them for their actions.
Proving a Tractor-Trailer Was Illegally Overweight
Showing that a tractor-trailer was driving with an illegal amount of cargo should be as simple as referencing the detailed records and logs these companies keep of what cargo they’re transporting. In practice, trucking companies that are willing to break the law by overloading their trucks generally aren’t afraid of continuing to break the law to hide their illegal behavior, which means dependable evidence of wrongdoing may be hard to collect before it’s altered, destroyed, or lost.
This is why it can be so important to have help from a seasoned Reading lawyer when suing over an overweight truck wreck. Your legal counsel can help preserve every piece of evidence possible, get testimony from various people involved in the process of loading and operating the truck that hit you, and help meet the standard of proof for civil litigation by showing that it’s more likely than not you were hurt due to legally actionable misconduct.
Consider Working with a Reading Attorney on an Overloaded/Overweight Truck Accident Case
Commercial trucks are only designed to safely carry a certain amount of weight, and going over that weight limit makes the truck harder to control and more likely to break down in transit. A truck driver or trucking company that intentionally overloads a truck has acted negligently, and you likely have grounds to sue them if their negligence led directly to you being seriously hurt.
A conversation with a knowledgeable truck accident lawyer will give you answers to important questions about your rights and guidance about how best to enforce them. Call us today to discuss a possible claim based on an overloaded/overweight truck accident in Reading.
