Barrie Truck Accident Lawyer
With roads like Highway 400 and Highway 11, Barrie is a major thoroughfare of Ontario, with many of its residents commuting to Toronto and its surrounding areas every day for work.
While normal vehicles drive on those highways, so are trucks, which can have a maximum weight up to 63,500 kilograms, and sometimes, accidents occur.
If you have been in a truck accident, contact an experienced Barrie truck accident lawyer that can help with your case. A personal injury lawyer in Barrie can craft a claim to help maximize any potential compensation.
Common Causes
There are a number of causes of truck accidents on Barrie roads, but driver error is usually the most common. This is usually the case in:
- Rollover accidents, often because the driver lost control on a windy road
- Jackknife accidents, often due to driver error in slick conditions
- Underride accidents, when a truck has encroached too closely onto a car, partially covering it
- Blind spot accidents, typically caused from an inexperienced driver
- Driver fatigue accidents, when the driver simply falls asleep
- Disregard of trucking regulations, such as only traveling at certain speeds
Of course, truck drivers cannot always be blamed for truck accidents. Other common causes of these in Barrie are:
- Vehicle malfunction, such as in tire blowout, lost loads, and air brake failure
- Poor road conditions
No matter the cause, an experienced Barrie truck accident lawyer can mount a claim to aid in recovering any possible damages.
Accident Injuries
When compared with the average passenger vehicle, trucks are much larger, weigh much more and can do a greater amount of damage when they are in an accident with another vehicle. Because of this, the injuries resulting from any truck accident are often quite severe. They include:
- Back injuries
- Neck injuries
- Burn injuries
- Injuries sustained from broken glass
- Whiplash injuries
- Head injuries, including traumatic brain injuries and concussions
- Loss of limbs
- Broken bones
- Internal injuries
Sadly, few people walk away from a truck accident unscathed. When individuals have been injured, it is important they speak to a truck accident lawyer in Barrie that can help them get compensation for any injuries.
Possible Compensation
Ontario is a no-fault insurance province, and this holds true for accidents involving trucks as well. Accident victims will need to contact their own insurance company to file an accident benefits claim and there are specific timeframes when dealing with the insurance company. These include:
- 7 days from the date of the accident to inform the insurance company of intention to file a claim
- 30 days to complete and return forms given by the insurance company
- 14 days after forms are returned, the insurance company must respond to the claim
- 120 days from the date of the accident to notify the other insurance company of intention to file a personal injury lawsuit
Many Ontarians believe that because the province works under no-fault law, they must work solely with the insurance companies. However, this is untrue. Unlike other provinces, in Ontario, individuals can seek further compensation through a tort claim, which may provide further compensation for pain and suffering and other losses.
Contact a Lawyer
No accident victim should ever speak to an insurance company without first speaking to a Barrie truck accident lawyer. The insurance companies will try to settle for as little as possible. While those settlements may sound good to the victim, a truck accident lawyer in Barrie will know the fair amount victims should be compensated for, and will fight to help them get it.
