Garbage Truck Accidents

Several factors can contribute to a collision involving a garbage truck, including bad weather and decreased visibility, but ultimately, it is the garbage truck driver’s responsibility to drive safely. The cause of most motor vehicle collisions, however, is negligence, which can include actions like distracted driving, driving while fatigued, intoxicated driving, cell phone use while driving, and others. If a garbage truck driver’s negligence is what caused the collision in which you sustained injuries, you will likely have to establish the truck driver’s negligence in order to recover damages. Negligence can be established by showing that your injuries were caused by the defendant breaching a duty of reasonable care that he or she owed you.

To illustrate this type of collision, let us say that you are driving in Downtown Memphis on North B. B. King Boulevard near the Shelby County Courthouse, which is located at 140 Adams Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee 38103. There is a garbage truck behind you, and the truck driver seems to be distracted and not paying attention to the road. You come to a stop at a red light, but since the garbage truck driver is not paying attention, he ends up rear-ending your vehicle, which launches your vehicle into the vehicle in front of you, thus causing a chain reaction collision. Retaining an experienced trucking accident lawyer can provide you with help in holding the truck driver and maybe even their employer liable.

If the garbage truck that struck you was owned or operated by a government entity, such as the City of Memphis, special considerations will apply. For starters, the claims process differs from that involving a private vehicle and private insurance company, such as State Farm or Geico. Further, special statutory requirements must be taken into account and followed. A truck accident attorney with experience handling claims against municipalities and counties can help ensure your legal rights remain protected.

A collision involving a garbage truck can leave victims with severe, potentially life-altering injuries. After sustaining injuries in a motor vehicle collision of any kind, you should seek medical attention. Medical bills, lost wages, and other monetary losses resulting from the collision can be compensated for via economic damages. If you experienced intangible losses, such as mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life, you can be compensated by means of non-economic damages.