Side-Impact Truck Crash
Side impact truck accidents in Oklahoma City often leave victims with devastating injuries and complex legal challenges. You don't have to face the trucking companies and their insurers alone - our experienced attorneys will investigate your crash and fight for the compensation you deserve.
The side panels of motor vehicles have less structural reinforcement than the front or back, making passengers especially vulnerable. A side-impact collision can have devastating consequences, especially when one of the involved vehicles is much heavier than the other.
If you suffered serious injuries or a loved one died in this type of crash, a skilled attorney from our law firm can provide crucial assistance. The Law Firm for Truck Safety has considerable experience in handling cases involving side-impact truck accidents in Oklahoma City. We focus our practice on helping individuals harmed in truck accidents obtain justice, accountability, and compensation for their losses.
Understanding Side-Impact Collisions
There are two types of side-impact accidents: T-bones (or broadside crashes) and sideswipes. A T-bone crash happens when one vehicle collides head-on into the side panel of another. Sideswipe accidents happen when the side panels of two vehicles traveling parallel to each other make contact.
T-bone crashes often happen at intersections when a driver ignores a red light or stop sign or turns into the path of oncoming traffic. Sideswipes occur when traffic lanes merge or one vehicle cuts off another one, changing lanes. Truckers who carelessly move into adjacent lanes often sideswipe smaller vehicles.
When one of the involved vehicles is a heavy truck, either type of side-impact collision can severely damage the smaller vehicle and cause serious injury to its occupants. Many side-impact crashes are fatal.
Our Oklahoma City attorney can help you pursue a legal claim for compensation if you suffered catastrophic injuries or a family member died in a side-impact truck crash.
Determining Responsibility for the Crash
A side-impact crash cannot happen unless someone is careless or reckless behind the wheel. Commercial truck drivers have a heightened duty to use reasonable care to avoid causing harm to others, given the size and weight of their vehicles. When they fail to follow traffic laws, maintain safe speeds, or remain properly vigilant, they breach this duty of care. Any such deviation from the expected standard of safe driving constitutes negligence.
When a side-impact crash happens, it's common that the trucking company’s lawyers may try to exaggerate the injured person’s responsibility. Oklahoma Statute § 23-13 says that an injured person can only collect damagesIn a civil lawsuit, money designed to compensate an injured person. This includes economic damages (measurable financial loss like medical expenses) and non-economic damages (categories like pain and suffering or loss of love.) if they are less than 51% (no more than 50%) percent responsible for an accident. If you do share some responsibility for your truck crash, but it's below 50%, you may still be entitled to compensation.
Our Oklahoma City attorney will work diligently to gather relevant evidence showing all the ways a truck driver and other parties were negligent, building you a strong case for your sideswipe or T-bone accident while advocating for the compensation you deserve.
Calculating Damages in Truck Crashes
When a truck driver or trucking company is held responsible for causing your injuries, you may be entitled to seek compensation for the harm you've suffered. This compensation, known as "damages," helps address the accident's financial and personal impact.
Economic damages cover measurable losses like medical bills, lost wages, and out-of-pocket expenses. If your injuries require ongoing care or affect your future earning ability, compensation may account for these long-term impacts.
You may also pursue non-economic damages for pain and suffering, which recognize how injuries affect your daily life and well-being beyond financial losses.
Our Oklahoma City attorney can help document how your side-impact truck collision has impacted your quality of life through medical records, photographs, and testimony. The goal of any side-impact truck crash lawsuit is to seek fair compensation that reflects the full scope of how the accident has affected --and will affect-- your life
Call Our Oklahoma City Attorney Today After a Side-Impact Truck Wreck
Side-impact truck accidents in Oklahoma City frequently cause death and serious injuries. If you were hurt in a side-impact crash that a truck driver is at least partially responsible for, you can hold them and their employer liable for your injuries.
The Law Firm for Truck Safety, LLP, provides compassionate and aggressive representation to people harmed by negligent truckers. Contact our Oklahoma City team today to discuss your legal options after a side-impact crash.
