While advancements in automobile design and technology have made side-impact collisions a lot less deadly than they used to be, taking a hit directly on the doors or side paneling of your vehicle can still be extremely dangerous. That’s especially true if the vehicle hitting yours is a massive tractor-trailer weighing tens of thousands of pounds.
Like any other type of truck wreck, demanding fair payments for injuries you suffered in a side-impact truck accident in York can be both very important and very complicated. Fortunately, you have help from seasoned truck accident attorneys with experience fighting and winning cases much like yours on behalf of people like you.
Where Do Side-Impact Truck Crashes Commonly Occur?
Unsurprisingly, side-impact collisions between semi-trucks and commuter cars in York most often happen at intersections where multiple lanes of traffic converge at 90-degree angles. A truck driver who runs a traffic light or stop sign, approaches an intersection too quickly, or simply isn’t paying attention may T-bone a law-abiding driver ahead of them, causing catastrophic injuries to them and any passengers.
While less common, these incidents can also happen on major highways, particularly when semi-truck drivers are merging onto or off the highway using an exit ramp. A momentary lapse in concentration or a failure to carefully check “blind spots” before changing lanes can easily lead to a sideswipe collision at high speeds, which can lead to injuries just as severe as those that may happen during a T-bone wreck.
Getting Around Common Legal Obstacles
What both these scenarios have in common is the fact that the truck driver’s actions likely qualify as “negligence,” which means they could serve as the basis for a civil lawsuit or settlement demand. As any experienced attorney can tell you, though, there’s no shortage of procedural roadblocks you might run into during a claim like this, even if it seems obvious to you that the “defendant” driver you’re suing is the one to blame for your wreck.
To start with, any amount of fault a court assigns to you for contributing to causing your injury through your own “negligent” behavior can be held against you in the form of a reduction from the value of your final damage award. In fact, if you’re found more to blame for your wreck than the negligent trucker who hit you, Pennsylvania law might prevent you from recovering any compensation at all.
On top of that, you generally have just two years under Pennsylvania law to sue someone who injures you through their negligence, regardless of how severe and long-lasting your injuries are. Failing to file your claim within the legal time limit will cause you to lose your right to sue and, thus, recover any payments for your harm.
These are two examples of the possible problems that a respected side-impact truck accident lawyer in York can help you navigate past.
A York Attorney Can Help Sue Over a Side-Impact Truck Accident
Side-impact car crashes are always dangerous, as are all wrecks involving huge tractor-trailers. Put those two things together, and you have a uniquely deadly collision that will likely have life-altering repercussions, even if you did nothing wrong.
Fortunately, if you can prove someone else was responsible for causing your side-impact truck accident in York, they—and not you—could be the one who has to pay for your accident-related losses. Call Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers today to learn what might be possible in your specific situation.
