Every day, masses of company vehicles dominate the roads of North Carolina. Because of this, all too often, there are motor vehicle accidents caused by the negligence of the drivers of company vehicles. If one of those drivers plows into your vehicle, it could result in devastating harm to you and your family.
What is unique about company vehicle accidents is that there may be multiple parties who are at fault or otherwise responsible for insuring against accidents – the company drivers rarely bear sole responsibility. This could make a big difference in your ability to recover compensation for the harm that you suffer. Here’s more on company vehicle accidents in North Carolina, including what you should do if you have fallen victim to one of them.
Who Is Responsible?
Sometimes, auto accidents can be pretty straightforward, but if the at-fault driver is operating a company vehicle at the time of the crash, then the case can get extraordinarily complex. Specifically, if you are injured in a vehicle accident due to the negligence (carelessness) of someone driving their work vehicle, you may not know who is responsible for your injuries. Which insurance company will pay for your medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering? Is it the insurance company of the at-fault driver, or is it their employer? Or is it both? These are the types of questions that an experienced North Carolina company vehicle accident lawyer can help you with.
Most of the time, if it’s a company vehicle being used for company business at the time of the accident, then the insurer who covers that vehicle will be responsible. The driver’s employer typically pays for this insurance. It is that insurance company that will ultimately be responsible for any unpaid medical bills, any unreimbursed wage loss, or for pain and suffering damages, up to the limits of the policy. The driver and their employer could still be made responsible for anything that the insurance company doesn’t cover. However, the driver’s personal insurance policy generally will not come into play.
Complicated Semi-Truck Accidents
Semi-truck accidents, or collisions involving large commercial vehicles like 18-wheelers, can be extremely complicated when it comes to determining which employer and which insurance company should be responsible. Accidents caused by the negligence of commercial truck drivers can involve serious and catastrophic injuries that might need life-long medical treatment or which could involve permanent disability from work. These types of injuries can be both emotionally and financially draining to deal with. Your lawyer’s main goal will be to hold the various businesses and insurance companies responsible.
With accidents involving commercial trucks, there might be several entities that could provide compensation for injuries caused by a negligent truck driver. There are many scenarios that could come up in these types of accidents. Here are a few common ones:
- Sometimes, the case is simple: the negligent truck driver is working for their employer and driving a truck that is owned by their employer. In these instances, the employer is responsible for its driver’s actions under a concept in the law called vicarious liability. In this case, the insurance company that covers the truck will be responsible for any personal injury damages that you suffer in the crash. But if the damages exceed the insurance policy limit, the employer may have other, general liability insurance policies that can be attached in order to compensate you fully and fairly.
- Sometimes, however, the truck driver is self-employed but is driving a commercial truck owned by the company whose product is being transported. In this case, it’s a little more complicated because the driver may have an insurance policy that might apply to the case that is separate and apart from the insurance policy that specifically covers the truck that the company pays for. So, if the injuries are serious enough and the economic and non-economic damages are great enough, an experienced truck accident lawyer will go after both insurance companies in order to make sure that you are fully compensated.
- In an even more complicated scenario, you could be injured in a truck accident where the negligent driver of the commercial truck is self-employed. The driver is transporting product with a truck that is operated and offered to them by the company that owns the product. But the truck is actually owned by a truck leasing company that leases the truck to the product company. These can be extremely complicated cases, and they have a lot of moving parts. In a case like this, there can be multiple insurers and entities that are responsible for any injured people.
Hiring A Company Vehicle Accident Attorney
Because these cases can involve devastating injuries and tend to be extremely complicated, hiring the right attorney is critical. You will want to have an attorney who has the experience and the resources to take on possibly many employers and insurance companies. You need an attorney who focuses their practice on commercial vehicle and truck accidents and who will use their experience to fight on your behalf to get you the compensation that you deserve. They will typically involve medical experts, accident reconstruction experts, and vocational and economic experts to demonstrate the true extent of your economic and non-economic damages.
Law Office of Kevin J. Williams is devoted to helping victims of company vehicle accidents obtain compensation and justice not just from negligent drivers but also from their employers and insurers. Headed by a well-respected attorney with decades of experience in personal injury, the Law Office of Kevin J. Williams knows what it takes to get the job done right. We will carefully evaluate your situation and give you peace of mind in knowing that a trained professional is going to bat for you. So, if you have been injured in a company vehicle accident, get in touch with the Law Office of Kevin J. Williams by calling (336) 793-8459 or by contacting us online for a free consultation.
