My Husband Was Killed by a Truck Driver

Our deepest sympathies to you and your family. It is hard enough to lose a husband, but when it was because a truck driver was driving illegally or carelessly, it adds an enormous amount of pain.

If you hire a semi truck accident lawyer at our law firm, we will take on some of your burden by

• finding answers and
• holding every person and company responsible for the crash accountable for your husband’s tragic wrongful death.

Attorneys Fred Pritzker and Eric Hageman recently helped a family win $6 million in a wrongful death lawsuit.

“The state patrol investigation did not look at recent repairs on the at-fault vehicle. Our investigation found that the company that had serviced the vehicle had made a mistake, one that cost lives. We then took action and recovered millions from that company for the family, thereby holding the company accountable.”Attorney Fred Pritzker

Wrongful Death Lawsuit after a Husband Killed in a Truck Crash

If your husband was killed by a driver, you and your family may have the right to sue for compensation, money the family can use to stay afloat financially. These wrongful death lawsuits against a semi-truck driver and company are about more than money. Our lawyers dig for the truth and give the family a sense that justice is being done.

Cases like yours are litigated under state wrongful death laws. Any money won in a settlement or verdict will be shared by family members, with the bulk going to you, the wife. We know you don’t care about money right now, but you should not have to bear the full financial loss, and you should be compensated for losing the companionship of the man you loved.

Commercial Truck Accident Lawsuits Involve Special Laws

There are many law firms that advertise for truck accident cases, but not all of them have handled these cases. We have.

Cases against commercial truck drivers and trucking companies are not the same as other traffic accident cases. There are numerous federal regulations involved and the evidence needs to make a case against the trucking company, not just the truck driver. It takes experience to get a good settlement or verdict.

We know you have a lot of questions. You can click here now if you want a free consultation with one of our lawyers, or you can call 1-888-377-8900. There is no obligation, and, if you hire our law firm, we are not paid unless you win.

We have handled many lawsuits against trucking companies and won many multimillion-dollar settlements and verdicts.

Your Lawsuit against the Trucking Company

The goal in any trucking case is to show that the driver and the trucking company simply didn’t follow safety rules.

It is extremely important that your lawyer find evidence against the trucking company. This could be evidence of any of the following:

• failure to contact the truck driver’s previous employers regarding his/her performance;
• failure to obtain the driver’s official driving record prior to hire;
• putting the driver on the road even though he or she had a bad driving record;
• putting a driver on the road who did not have the correct license or training;
• failure to audit the drivers logbooks (keep track of driving hours);
• failure to properly maintain the truck (and trailer if it owns that);
• allowing the driver to violate the federal hours-of-service regulations, which limit the number of hours a driver can be on the road.

There have been cases where the company encouraged the driver to violate the hours-of-service regulations and/or destroy the logbook. In these cases, there would be a punitive damages claim, which are claims that can seek substantial amounts of money to punish the bad behavior.

Your Case against the Truck Driver That Killed Your Husband

Drivers of large trucks are ten times more likely to be the cause of a crash than the weather, road conditions, or a vehicle malfunction (for example bad brakes, a wheel blowing or coming loose, or a trailer coming unhitched), according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Below are 10 reasons why a driver or a large truck (18-wheeler, garbage truck, dump truck, FedEx) causes a crash¹:

1. driving illegally;
2. fell asleep at the wheel;
3. driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, including prescription medication known to cause drowsiness or alter judgement;
4. disabled by a heart attack or seizure, or was otherwise physically impaired;
5. distracted driving;
6. speeding, meaning driving too fast for the conditions (road and weather);
7. misjudging the speed of other vehicles;
8. following behind too closely (tailgating);
9. poor driving caused by panic, overcompensation, or poor directional control
10. inadequate truck inspection prior to driving (trailer hitched wrong, obvious problem not seen).

Your lawyer should look for evidence that the driver knowingly acted in an unsafe manner. Some examples of this include the following:

• lying on an application about employment history or driving record;
• driving too many hours;
• falsifying records;
• using drugs or consuming alcohol prior to or during driving;
• driving with a medical condition that makes it unsafe to driver.

Sources:

1. “The Large Truck Crash Causation Study – Analysis Brief.”Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Office of Research and Analysis, Publication No. FMCSA-RRA-07-017, July 2007