Cascade Truck Accident Injury Attorneys

Seeking Damages After a Cascade Truck Accident

No matter what type of truck accident you have experienced near Cascade, you are likely facing significant medical bills and lost wages. To pursue damages, a truck accident claim must be filed with the responsible insurance company, which will then send an adjuster to evaluate the damages. It is important to remember that an adjuster works for the insurance company and generally does not have the injured person's best interests in mind.

If an insurer refuses to pay what is fairly owed, pursuing compensation through a truck accident lawsuit may become necessary. In a lawsuit, an attorney can represent the injured person's interests in a formal court setting rather than leaving the outcome to negotiation alone.

Determining Liability After a Truck Accident Near Cascade

In a truck accident lawsuit, the injured person must prove that another party's negligence caused their injuries. Depending on the facts of the case, several parties may share responsibility, including:

• The driver of the truck
• The trucking or shipping company
• The safety director of the company
• The vehicle inspector
• The manufacturer of the truck

A truck accident attorney can investigate the case to determine exactly who is liable and can represent the injured party's interests throughout a lawsuit, allowing the victim to focus on recovery instead of dealing directly with insurance adjusters and drawn out settlement negotiations.

The Five Most Common Types of Fatal Semi Truck Accidents

• Underride accidents, which occur when smaller passenger vehicles drive underneath a large commercial truck.
• Override accidents, which happen when a larger commercial truck drives over a smaller vehicle, motorcycle, or pedestrian.
• Jackknife accidents, which can occur when a semi suddenly hits its brakes and the trailer folds into the truck.
• Head-on collisions.
• Rollovers.

While these are the most common scenarios seen in truck accidents near Cascade, not every truck accident will necessarily fall into one of these categories.

Truck Driver Records That Could Be Used in a Claim

A huge volume of evidence is typically available following a truck accident, and the truck driver's own records often provide some of the most crucial pieces of evidence, including:

• Medical records indicating whether the driver was fit to drive
• Cell phone records indicating whether the driver was on the phone
• The driver's qualification file, showing whether he or she was qualified to operate the truck
• Employment history
• Driving history, including any prior violations

The Black Box and Hours of Service Regulations

The "black box" recorder installed in a truck can be an especially valuable piece of evidence in a truck accident case near Cascade, since it logs whether the driver was operating beyond the limits of federal hours of service regulations and may have been fatigued at the time of the crash. Truck drivers are limited in how long they may spend behind the wheel and on duty. For example, drivers of property carrying vehicles generally cannot drive more than one hour after ten consecutive hours off duty, and cannot drive beyond the fourteenth consecutive on duty hour. Passenger carrying drivers face similar but slightly different limits.

Information from the last seven days must be kept onboard by the driver, and employers are required to retain hours of service records for at least six months. Because a truck accident claim often takes longer than six months to resolve, it is important for an attorney to act quickly.

Truck accident victims should also work with a personal injury attorney who is well versed in federal trucking laws. In addition to making sure the trucking company preserves its records, victims need to keep their own medical bills and receipts documenting the repair and replacement costs for their vehicle.

When an Iowa Truck Driver Is Hurt Out of State

Iowa is home to more than 20 trucking companies that hire drivers from across the country and operate in most states. For truck drivers based near Cascade who are injured while working outside of Iowa, determining whether Iowa has jurisdiction over a workers' compensation claim can be complicated. Iowa Code Section 85.71 governs this determination, and there are several factors to consider.

Factors That Determine Iowa Jurisdiction

• Injured while working in Iowa. Iowa Code Section 85.3(2) provides jurisdiction for personal injuries sustained by an employee arising out of and in the course of employment within the state.
• A contract specifying Iowa law. Some trucking companies have a place of business in Iowa and enter into contracts stating that workers' compensation claims will be governed by Iowa law regardless of where the injury occurs, provided the driver regularly works in Iowa.
• Regularly working at or from an Iowa business. Even without a signed contract, jurisdiction may apply if it is customary for the driver to work out of an Iowa terminal as a home base, picking up and transporting loads within or through the state.
• Contract of hire made in Iowa. This generally depends on where the driver was physically located when accepting the job offer, along with whether the driver regularly works in Iowa.
• No remedy available under another state's laws. In some cases, a driver injured in another state may still have Iowa jurisdiction if that other state does not provide a remedy, often because the employer is not part of that state's insurance system.

Subject matter jurisdiction is critically important because an employer can raise the issue at any point, even after a trial has concluded and the case is on appeal. If a court later determines that Iowa did not have jurisdiction, and the driver did not timely file a claim in the state that does have jurisdiction, the driver could be left with no compensation at all, even if the employer initially treated the case as an Iowa matter. Because some states allow as little as one year to file a petition for benefits, waiting to sort out jurisdiction can be a costly mistake.