Rather than making them sturdier, the extreme size and weight of tractor-trailers actually make them much more likely to tip over while in motion than standard passenger cars. Unfortunately, there are new examples every year of professional truck drivers in Louisiana acting unprofessionally behind the wheel and causing their trucks to flip over—and into the path of oncoming traffic.
In the aftermath of a rollover truck accident in Prairieville, the thought of adding a civil lawsuit to your plate while still dealing with the intense physical and psychological trauma of the wreck can seem unappealing. Under state law, though, you have limited time to start a civil claim over this or any other type of wreck, so contacting a skilled truck accident lawyer from Tomeny | Best should be a top priority for anyone involved in an incident.
Causes and Effects of Rollover Truck Crashes
It is worth mentioning that some rollover truck wrecks in Prairieville and throughout Louisiana are caused by hazards outside the truck driver’s direct control. For example, their truck’s brakes unexpectedly failing could be because of poor service from a mechanic, and a trailer’s load shifting could be due to negligence by a supplier. More often, though, crashes of this nature happen mainly because of negligence by individual truckers, such as speeding, improper braking techniques, drunk driving, or simply being distracted behind the wheel.
Whatever the root cause is, though, a rollover involving a commercial truck means that up to 80,000 pounds of mass is sliding or flipping across multiple lanes of traffic at a high speed, which hardly needs to be explained as a potentially catastrophic hazard for everyone nearby. Among other things, seasoned legal counsel could provide vital help with identifying, valuing, and proactively demanding compensation for the long-term effects of this sort of accident, including future medical bills, lost working capacity, and various forms of physical and psychological suffering.
What Filing Deadlines Apply to Truck Wreck Cases?
Legal counsel can also play a vital role in building and filing a lawsuit over a Prairieville rollover truck accident within the deadline set by the statute of limitations for personal injury claims. Up until very recently, the applicable deadline for most cases of this nature was one year after the date on which an injury first occurred. That deadline may still apply to lawsuits over crashes that occurred before July 1, 2024.
For crashes that happened after that date, though, the new deadline established under Louisiana Civil Code §3493.1 is two years after the date of initial injury, which brings Louisiana more in line with how most other states address this matter. Still, it is not a lot of time to collect evidence and construct a comprehensive claim, so time is essential when contacting and hiring a skilled attorney after a wreck like this.
Talk to a Prairieville Attorney About a Rollover Truck Accident Lawsuit
The only thing you can see on a public road that is more frightening than a semi-truck barreling towards you is a semi-truck barrel-rolling towards you completely out of its driver’s control. On top of being uniquely traumatic, wrecks like this can also cause severe injuries and losses for the people involved in them, as you may unfortunately already know.
Fortunately, it is often possible to seek and obtain fair financial recovery after a rollover truck accident in Prairieville with guidance from a capable truck accident lawyer. Call Tomeny | Best today to learn more.
