Why Truck Accidents Result in Higher Settlements Than Car Crashes

Truck accident settlements are typically much higher than settlements involving car accidents. This is due to a variety of factors, including the sheer weight and size of commercial trucks as well as FMCSA regulations and more complex liability factors. Additionally, the severity of injuries resulting from truck accidents combined with large insurance policies contributes to reasons why truck accidents settle higher.

Commercial Trucks Carry Much Higher Insurance Limits

When it comes to a truck accident vs car accident settlement, one of the most common reasons that a truck accident settlement exceeds a car accident settlement is that there is more insurance money available in an accident involving a commercial truck. Federal law requires commercial trucking companies to carry much higher insurance coverage than personal vehicle owners are required by law to carry.

Furthermore, it’s not uncommon for commercial trucking operations to carry additional liability policies beyond required commercial truck insurance policy limits. In some cases, there may even be multiple insurance policies involved in a trucking accident, such as policies for the truck as well as the trailer and cargo.

More Than One Party Can Be Held Liable

There is often only one driver at fault in a car accident. That is not the case with commercial truck accidents, however. In accidents involving a commercial truck, not only is there the trucking company liability, but there may also be several other responsible parties involved. Each of those parties could potentially add additional compensation sources available to victims of the accident.

In truck accidents, parties who could potentially be held liable include the driver, the trucking company, the cargo loading company, the manufacturer of the truck or truck parts, the provider responsible for maintaining the truck, and possibly government entities, if road conditions contributed to the accident.

Federal Trucking Regulations Create Extra Grounds for Negligence

As a result of the strict rules imposed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), commercial trucking is highly regulated. When a federal trucking safety-rule violation contributed to a crash, it may be important evidence in evaluating negligence and liability.

The Injuries Are Often More Severe

Due to the fact that injuries resulting from truck accidents are often much more severe injuries, this can increase the economic and non-economic damages claimed in a truck accident case.

Such injury settlements often include economic damages as well as non-economic damages.

Economic damage encompasses financial losses, such as:

• Medical expenses

• Future medical costs

• Lost wages

• Lost earning capacity

• Home modifications

• Assistive equipment

Non-economic damage resulting from truck accidents may include pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of consortium and quality of life, and even disfigurement.

Truck Accidents Leave Behind More Evidence

There is also often more evidence available in a trucking accident that can demonstrate negligence than in a car accident. In most cases, only police reports and witness statements are available to prove fault in a car accident.

Truck accidents are different because most trucks today are equipped with devices called Electronic Control Modules, which are commonly referred to as black boxes. The data available from black boxes or ELDs includes:

• The speed at which the truck was traveling at the time of the accident

• If the brakes were applied and if so, when

• Engine RPMs and throttle position

• Any sudden maneuvers

• Steering angles

• Duration of the trip and GPS location

This wealth of information can be incredibly helpful in demonstrating liability and is also difficult to dispute.

Early legal involvement is often more important in trucking cases than in car accidents. An experienced truck accident lawyer can help with spoliation letters, which are formal legal documents requesting other parties preserve evidence that could be relevant to potential cases, thus preventing the destruction of critical materials that could prove damages and liability in a case.