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Budget and U-Haul Accidents
Truck Crash Lawyers Serving Memphis and Surrounding Areas
For many people, moving may be difficult. It generally requires packing one’s home into boxes and may also require a driver not used to driving trucks and trailers to navigate while operating an unfamiliar vehicle. Some people hire a company to move them, but many people prefer to do it themselves. Budget and U-Haul accidents may cause significant injuries to people traveling in passenger cars, riding on motorcycles, or walking in Tennessee and the neighboring states. The Memphis truck accident attorneys at Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz understand the dynamics of these collisions and work hard to represent those injured in this type of accident.
Seeking Compensation for a Budget or U-Haul Accident
Budget and U-Haul are commonly used rental companies for moving trucks of many different sizes, trailers, and equipment like dollies, furniture pads, and loading ramps. Although many people opt to move themselves, most of the drivers who rent trucks and trailers do not have much experience towing a trailer or navigating with a long truck. They may not have the knowledge or training to make a wide turn, for example, or to estimate correctly the amount of space necessary to move into a lane of traffic.
To establish that a driver of a rental truck or another driver was negligent, you will need to show that the other driver failed to use reasonable care, and this failure caused your injuries. Under the doctrine of comparative negligence, your damages may be reduced by an amount equal to your percentage of fault if you are found partially or fully to blame for an accident. In other words, the other driver’s insurance adjuster will be scrutinizing what you did that may have contributed to the accident. Some states apply a bar if you are determined to have been more than 49% or 50% responsible for an accident. An experienced attorney can guide you through the legal process and fight to protect your legal rights.
In addition to lack of training, a driver may get into an accident with a rental truck due to distracted driving, fatigued driving, improper loading of cargo, improper maintenance, equipment failure, worn brakes, shifted cargo, or trailer sway. In some cases, the rental company may be negligent in maintaining the truck and following appropriate procedures to make sure that the truck is safe to drive. For example, it may fail to conduct regular inspections, fail to inform renters about safe weights and loading, or allow renters to attach trailers to their own SUVs even when the renter has no prior experience. It also may be important to explore the possibility of a defect in the truck, trailer, or brakes, as you may have grounds to file a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer.
In some cases, you may have grounds to sue the rental company for negligence, and you will need to show that the rental company failed to use reasonable care and thereby caused your injuries. When there are multiple parties that are alleged to be at fault, such as the driver of a U-Haul truck as well as the rental company, the jury will determine to which extent each party is at fault. Some states still follow the doctrine of joint and several liability, in which each at-fault party may be held fully responsible for the total damages, but Tennessee and other states have abolished this doctrine in most situations.
Retain a Memphis Attorney for a Truck Accident Case
If you are injured in a Budget or U-Haul accident in Tennessee or another state in the South, you may be concerned about how you will pay for proper medical care and time off from your job. Bringing a lawsuit may be the only way that you can afford treatment for your injuries. Our Memphis firm, which consists of over 30 attorneys and 100 staff members, can help you seek all of the appropriate damages to which you may be entitled. We serve truck accident victims and their families throughout Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, and Mississippi, including in Memphis, Chattanooga, Knoxville, Nashville, Caruthersville, Hayti, Oxford, Starkville, Grenada, Columbus, Tupelo, Meridian, Jackson, Little Rock, and Jonesboro. Call Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz at 800-LAW-4004 or complete our online form for a free consultation with a motor vehicle collision lawyer.