Louisiana Blind Spot Truck Accident Attorneys

Nearly 840,000 blind spot accidents still occur each year in the United States, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Many of these accidents are caused by truck drivers failing to check their blind spots, which are much bigger than passenger vehicles’, or by passenger cars lingering in trucks’ blind spots.

If you’ve been in a Louisiana truck blind spot accident, the damage to your property and yourself deserve restitution. Lawsuits involving truck drivers’ blind spots can be contentious and complex, which means you need an experienced Louisiana truck accident lawyer to help you with your case.

Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys have been practicing law in Louisiana for decades. We’re dedicated to each of our clients and will do everything in our power to help them recover the maximum compensation. After you’ve been hit by a semi truck, call us for a free consultation at 888.501.7888 to start your healing process.

Avoiding Blind Spot Accidents with Big Trucks

Drivers of large vehicles like commercial trucks, delivery vans, and other commercial vehicles are responsible for checking their blind spots before moving, including changing lanes, pulling forward, turning, and backing up. Truck drivers have a number of tools to help them check those areas, including extra mirrors, cameras, and others.

It’s ultimately the truck driver’s responsibility to check their blind spots to avoid an accident. However, there are several ways the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) recommends staying safe when driving near a truck:

• Pay extra attention to a truck when passing it
• Leave extra space between yourself and a large truck in front of or behind you
• When the truck is turning, backing up, or changing lanes, avoid their blind spots

A good rule of thumb when driving near a truck is if you can’t see the driver in their mirrors, they can’t see you. If you’re in a truck’s blind spot, try to get out of it as soon as you can.

Pursuing a Negligence Case Against the Truck Driver

Even though you should stay out of a truck’s blind spot as much as you can, remember that it’s ultimately the truck driver’s responsibility to check their blind spots before moving.

If you’ve been hit because a truck driver failed to check their blind spots, you could have serious or even catastrophic injuries. You could be facing several weeks, months, or even years of expensive treatment, rehabilitation, and other care. You might also miss work due to your injuries, and suffer other financial setbacks.

To pursue a negligence case against the truck driver responsible for your accident, you need an experienced truck accident attorney to represent your interests. The blind spot lawyers with Gordon McKernan can help you during evidence discovery, settlement negotiation, and even court.

Assigning Liability in a Louisiana Truck Accident Case

A Louisiana truck blind spot accident lawyer from Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys will understand the law as it applies to your truck accident case and how to proceed with filing a claim. Louisiana Civil Code §2320 provides a mechanism of vicarious liability for the truck driver’s employer, provided we can prove the following:

• The truck driver acted negligently in causing your accident
• The trucker was working for their employer (i.e., on the clock) at the time of the accident
• You suffered physical and financial losses

By holding the trucking company liable for your injuries, we can file a claim against their corporate liability insurance policy. A corporate policy is likely to have higher payouts than an individual driver’s, meaning we’ll be able to secure you more compensation to heal from your injuries.

The Damages You Could Be Owed from a Blind Spot Accident

Usually, settlement negotiations happen outside the courtroom, between your personal injury lawyer and the trucking company’s insurance. The insurance company might agree to a payout that fairly reimburses your expenses and losses, including compensation for the following:

• Current treatment and medical care for your injuries
• Future injury-related medical care
• Lost income and benefits from missing work, both now and in the future
• If you have lasting injuries, your diminished earning capacity
• Vehicle and other property damage
• Pain and suffering
• Intangible losses

If you’ve lost a loved one in a big truck wreck, you might be entitled to wrongful death damages as well.

If the insurance company refuses an agreement, denies the claim, or alleges that you contributed to the accident, we might need to take the case to trial. The trial attorneys at Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys are experienced in personal injury litigation, so you can trust us to represent your side when presenting your case to court.

Statute of Limitation Changes in Louisiana

In 2024, Louisiana law extended the statute of limitations for personal injury claims occurring on or after July 1, 2024, from one year to two years. Any injuries that occurred before July 1, 2024, will still have a 1-year statute of limitation. Learn more about Louisiana’s New Statute of Limitations here.

• 1 year for injuries sustained before July 1, 2024.
• 2 years for injuries suffered after July 1, 2024.

The statute of limitations is a legal deadline that sets a time frame for filing a lawsuit. In Louisiana, this is known as the “prescriptive period,” which determines how long you have to take legal action against the responsible party after an injury occurs.

The statute of limitations is one reason you should call a competent personal injury lawyer like those at Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys as soon as possible after your injury.

A trucking company’s insurance will get started right away gathering their own evidence to avoid paying you fair compensation—so you need a passionate advocate on your side, too.

Injured in a Blind Spot Accident? Call for a Free Consultation

If you’ve been injured by a truck accident that was caused by the driver’s negligence, give Gordon McKernan Injury Attorneys a call for a free consultation about your case. A dedicated lawyer will listen to your case, and advise you on what steps we can take moving forward. We’ll get started right away in finding evidence, filing briefs and motions, and representing your interests.

Remember: it’s a trucker’s responsibility to check their blind spots before changing lanes, turning, pulling forward, or backing up. Not doing so can lead to a serious blind spot collision, putting everyone on the road at risk.

If you or a loved one has been a victim of a blind spot accident, call the law firm of Gordon McKernan today at 888.501.7888. We won’t charge you a dime until we’ve won your case and gotten you the compensation you deserve. That’s the G Guarantee!