Florida Garbage Truck Accident Lawyers
Garbage trucks are a vital part of life in cities like Fort Lauderdale, FL, helping to keep streets looking and smelling their best, especially in the year-round Florida heat. However, garbage trucks are large, powerful vehicles, and they can cause accidents just like other types of trucks.
If you’ve been involved in an accident involving a garbage truck in Ft. Lauderdale or anywhere in Florida, you can turn to a garbage truck accident attorney at Coffey McPharlin for help.
Common Causes of Truck Accidents in Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Garbage truck accidents can occur for a variety of reasons, including driver error and truck maintenance issues.
- Distracted Driving: By Florida law, it’s illegal to text while driving any type of vehicle. If a driver takes their attention off the road, even for a moment, they are endangering the safety of everyone on the road. This type of inattention is particularly dangerous when driving a powerful garbage truck.
- Failure to Check Blind Spots: Garbage trucks have many blind spots that can put pedestrians, cyclists, and other drivers at risk. If the driver doesn’t methodically check their blind spots, it could lead to severe accidents. Sometimes, problems can arise from defective mirrors that don’t allow the driver to properly check blind spots.
- Speeding: Truck drivers who don’t obey speed limits or who drive too fast for road conditions can have more difficulty stopping in time to avoid a collision and could even lose control of the truck. The larger and faster the vehicle is, the more damage it can cause.
- Failure to Stop or Yield: A truck driver who doesn’t stop or yield as required by law can cause serious accidents. Often, truck drivers who are behind schedule may try to cut corners and choose not to fully stop at stop signs. In a busy city like Ft. Lauderdale, this type of action could have deadly consequences.
- Truck Maintenance Issues: Garbage trucks have to be properly maintained to ensure they are safe to drive. That’s not always a given. Maintenance companies can be negligent in checking for malfunctioning parts, leading to preventable accidents.
- Inexperienced Drivers: If drivers aren’t experienced or trained enough to drive a garbage truck, the company and even the government agency that employs them could be liable.
Why You Need Garbage Truck Accidents Lawyers in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Garbage truck accidents are complex because they can involve numerous parties. You never want to tackle them on your own.
After a garbage truck accident, an attorney can assess their client’s claims and help with gathering evidence. At Coffey McPharlin, we can help with witness testimony, including that of expert witnesses.
Having a lawyer by your side means that you don’t waste time with strategies that might not work because we know what kind of evidence can make a difference.
One of the most crucial reasons why you need a lawyer is because you will need to deal with insurance companies. Florida is a no-fault state, which means that no matter who was at fault, your personal injury protection insurance will cover the majority of your costs.
Insurance companies, however, will do everything they can to keep from paying you, so you need someone fighting your corner.
If you choose to pursue a lawsuit against the other party because you suffered severe injuries that your PIP insurance can’t fully address, you also need a lawyer to help you prove negligence. To do so, your lawyer has to show that the other party had a duty of care that they breached.
Anyone operating a vehicle has a responsibility to drive safely and follow all traffic laws. If they were speeding or driving while distracted, for example, they breached their duty.
Your lawyer will then have to demonstrate that the other party’s actions led directly to the injuries you suffered. Finally, the injuries and other losses you sustained have to be severe enough for you to get compensation. Because none of this is easy to prove, you must have a lawyer by your side.
If negotiations don’t go as planned, your lawyer can also take your case to court and litigate it there. This is something that you never want to do on your own.
Getting Help From Experienced Garbage Truck Accident Lawyers in Florida
If you’ve been in an accident involving a garbage truck, you’ve likely sustained serious losses. You shouldn’t have to deal with the aftermath of the accident on your own. After a garbage truck accident, attorneys at Coffey McPharlin can help you get the assistance you need.
We have decades of experience helping people in Florida who’ve suffered injuries and other losses because of someone else’s negligence. We are Good lawyers Helping People like you. Don’t wait to get the help you deserve. Contact us Coffey McPharlin today at (954) 289-6136!
