Plantation Truck Accidents

Located between the Florida Everglades and the Atlantic Ocean, the small city of Plantation has much to offer. Lovely scenery and recreational opportunities abound. In many ways, it is an ideal community. However, even beautiful places are not free from the motor vehicle accidents and related injuries that have become an unfortunate part of modern life. Due to the proximity of busy highways like Interstate 595 and Florida’s Turnpike, accidents caused by commercial vehicles like 18-wheelers are all too common. If you or a loved one has been hurt in a collision involving a big truck, the knowledgeable Plantation truck accident attorneys at Cohn & Smith, P.A., can help you get started in the process of pursuing fair compensation.

There is a multitude of ways that a trucker’s negligence may cause injuries or death to a driver or passenger in a smaller vehicle. Excessive speeding, failing to yield, distracted driving, driving while under the influence, and disobeying traffic control devices are among the most common causes of semi-truck wrecks in Florida and around the country. If an injured person is able to prove that they were hurt by a trucker’s failure to act in a reasonably prudent manner, they may have a negligence claim against the trucker – and possibly their employer as well. If so, they may be able to recover monetary compensation for pain and suffering, lost wages, medical expenses, and other losses caused by the crash.

Negligence cases have several steps, beginning with the plaintiff offering proof by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant owed them a legal duty. The existence of a duty is typically a legal question that is determined by the circumstances or the relationship between the parties. For instance, drivers owe one another a duty to keep a proper lookout. The next step is showing that the defendant breached the duty that they owed the plaintiff. This is often a factual issue to be determined by the jury. With regard to the duty to keep a proper lookout, a jury probably would decide that a trucker who was texting while driving violated the duty owed to the plaintiff. Our truck accident lawyers can help Plantation residents collect evidence to show that a trucker breached the duty of care.

The plaintiff must also prove that they incurred damages and that the defendant’s breach of the duty of care was the cause. Under Florida law, this means that the defendant’s action (or failure to act) must have been both the actual cause (or “cause-in-fact”) and the proximate cause of the harm suffered by the plaintiff. Thus, there must have been a sufficient relationship between the defendant’s behavior and the harm that came to the plaintiff. For example, if a texting truck driver ran into the rear of the plaintiff’s car because he was looking at his phone instead of the vehicle that he was following, there will probably be both legal and proximate causation.

Under the doctrine of respondeat superior, a trucker’s employer may be held legally liable for any negligent acts of the truck driver that were performed in the scope of their employment. Additionally, a trucking company may be held liable for its own direct negligence, such as a failure to properly train or negligent hiring.

The motor vehicle collision lawyers at Cohn & Smith can help you investigate a truck crash to determine who was at fault, as well as help you assess the amount of damages to which you may be entitled. However, it is important to note that evidence spoliation may make this task more difficult with the passage of time. Due to this issue and the Florida statute of limitations, it is advisable to seek legal advice from a Plantation truck accident lawyer as soon as possible. To schedule a no-cost case evaluation, call us at (954) 431-8100 or contact us online.