Slaughter & Lupton Law
Your Truck Crash/Collision/ Accident Advocates
If you have been involved in a collision with a commercial motor vehicle, tractor trailer, dump truck, logging truck, box truck, bus, or fleet vehicle, whether on a busy highway, or an isolated back road, you understand the devastation that can happen. In such trying times, it's imperative to reach out to our dedicated team of truck accident lawyers at Slaughter & Lupton Law, PLLC who can come to your legal aid.
The U.S. trucking industry is a highly competitive field with tight delivery schedules and fierce competition. Regrettably, these factors can create undue pressure on fleet trucking companies to push their drivers to their limits. This dangerous situation can result in exhausted drivers operating large vehicles at high speeds on the roads. Moreover, it is essential to ensure the proper loading and securing of cargo for safe transportation. When truckers give into pressures and make mistakes, it can lead to catastrophic accidents with serious injuries due to sudden shifts in the weight of the cargo.
Trucking companies can be held responsible for accidents involving their drivers due to unreasonable schedules and unsafe loading practices. Additionally, maintenance companies may be held liable for putting hazardous vehicles on the road. With federal and state regulations in place for commercial motor vehicles, it's essential to have a team of legal experts on your side.
Our Virginia and North Carolina attorneys have the necessary expertise to handle your case, and we will fight tirelessly for justice to determine the legal responsibility for the accident. Our attorneys have litigation experience handling severe injury and death cases involving commercial trucks and tractor trailers. As your advocates, we are committed to your well-being throughout the entire legal process, including litigation, trial, and any necessary appeals.
Here for you when you need it most.
Slaughter & Lupton Law, PLLC is proud to service the following Virginia and North Carolina cities:
Virginia Areas We Serve
- Virginia Beach - To ensure easy access to our services, we have an office on Virginia Beach Blvd. near Newtown Road. Our Virginia Beach office is within 400 feet of the Norfolk city line and is centrally located near the Interstate 64/Interstate 264 interchange.
- Chesapeake
- Newport News
- Norfolk
- Suffolk
- Williamsburg
- Portsmouth
North Carolina Areas We Serve
- Edenton - Located within walking distance of Edenton's Historic District and less than 10 minutes off of Highway 17.
- Elizabeth City
- Greenville
- The Outer Banks
- The Inner Banks
- Currituck
- Ahoskie
Our firm is technologically proficient with comprehensive case management information systems in place to handle many transactions and documents electronically including signing and paralegals who are Virginia and North Carolina e-notaries.
Virginia Beach Location
Edenton Location
The Impact of
Truck Crash/Collision/ Accident Injuries
When it comes to road accidents, collisions involving commercial trucks tend to result in more serious injuries compared to those involving personal passenger cars. These incidents are capable of causing significant long-term harm, such as traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), which can impact cognitive processing, memory, speech and bodily functions. In some instances, invasive medical procedures or even surgeries might be required to address these injuries. Smaller vehicles, like compact passenger cars or small SUVs, colliding with larger commercial vehicles such as delivery trucks, dump trucks, box trucks, or 18-wheelers can have catastrophic consequences due to the significant difference in size between the vehicles.
Injuries May Include:
Head Injuries: These include traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and concussions, which can interfere with the central nervous system and affect different bodily functions.
Spinal Injuries: Catastrophic spinal injuries can have a major impact on mobility, home life, work, and employment, family relationships, and may require constant care.
Fatalities: Sadly, approximately 97% of individuals killed in collisions involving a large truck in 2021 were passenger vehicle occupants. If you've lost a loved one due to an accident, you may have a valid wrongful death claim.
Compensation
for Truck Crash/Collision/ Accident Injuries
When an individual is involved in an accident with a tractor-trailer, the repercussions can be severe and distressing. People who are injured in tractor-trailer and commercial truck crashes are likely to be burdened with numerous questions regarding what steps to take after a tractor-trailer or commercial truck crash and what types of compensation they may be entitled to.
Our Virginia and North Carolina attorneys are adept at assisting individuals involved in truck accidents in seeking compensation for:
Medical Expenses – Past and Future
Lost Wages and Lost Income
Future Income Losses
Pain and Suffering
Rehabilitation Costs
Scarring or disfigurement
Your legal well-being and financial recovery are our top priorities, and we are here to guide you through this challenging process.
Why Choose
Slaughter & Lupton Law, PLLC
In the aftermath of a crash involving a tractor-trailer or fleet vehicle, the trucking company or its insurance carrier often immediately sends their attorneys and investigators to the site of the accident. These agents of the defense start working immediately to gather information and start developing a legal strategy. To ensure that your rights are protected, you must contact one of our experienced Virginia and North Carolina tractor-trailer and commercial truck accident lawyers.
Our dedicated team is prepared to vigorously advocate on your behalf, delivering the legal representation you rightfully deserve.
We have a deep understanding of the intricacies surrounding truck accidents, including:
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act (FMCSA) regulations;
State commercial motor vehicle laws;
Hazardous Material Regulations;
Telemetrics;
Electronic data, including vehicle data logs;
Truck driver’s hiring and employment;
Corporate Liability
Promptly hiring Slaughter & Lupton Law, PLLC to gather critical information, identify responsible parties, investigate the cause of the crash, send spoliation letters and take other actions to secure evidence before it may be destroyed, and assess the surrounding circumstances before evidence is lost due to delays in investigation.
Your legal well-being and recovery are our top priorities. Contact Slaughter & Lupton Law, PLLC today for a free consultation.
Who Could Be Liable
in Virginia or North Carolina?
If you have been injured in a commercial truck or tractor trailer accident, it's important to know your rights and seek compensation from the responsible party or parties. In Virginia and North Carolina, an at-fault system is in place to provide legal recourse for victims. The person, or persons–and their employer if the driver was driving for a company–causing the injuries are liable in tort for the driver’s negligence. Insurance carriers provide coverage for the drivers and trucking companies who often have a large liability insurance policy providing coverage and may also have a self-insured retention.
However, navigating the legal system can be overwhelming, particularly with multiple defendants and potentially including the trucking companies themselves, common carriers, contractors, and brokers with each of their insurance companies involved.
Don't worry: our experienced team is here to help you navigate the process and safeguard your rights. But don’t wait! Contact Slaughter & Lupton Law, PLLC today for a free initial consultation.
Recovering Compensation
Despite Contributory Negligence
Remember that fault (responsibility) is critical in Virginia and North Carolina accidents. An injured person must prove fault before damages can be assessed. If you have been in an accident, the applicable law applied to your facts is critical. In addition to proving wrongful conduct by the person causing an accident, state law also sets out rules governing how injury claims may proceed and whether an injured person can recover for their losses. Virginia and North Carolina are “contributory negligence states.” Virginia and North Carolina are two of only four states in the United States where negligence by an injured person that is a proximate cause of an injury will bar their recovery. Both states, however, have a last clear chance doctrine, which applies differently in North Carolina than Virginia.
All other forty-six states follow a comparative negligence or modified comparative negligence system allowing for recovery by an injured person even if the injured person was negligent and their negligence was a proximate cause of their injury. In Virginia and North Carolina, if you share responsibility for causing the accident and your injuries, you may not be able to recover. However, in both states, the wrongdoer or insurer must prove that the injured person’s negligence was a proximate cause of the accident and their injuries. Insurance carriers are acutely aware of contributory negligence and may try to blame the injured person in an attempt to either escape responsibility for payment or as an argument to reduce the amount of any offer.
Our team is here to help counteract any unfounded tactics aimed at shifting blame and ensuring that you receive the compensation you deserve.
The Clock is Ticking
In Virginia, for most injury cases, you have two (2) years from the date of your car accident to file suit against the persons, or businesses, who wrongfully hurt you.. In North Carolina, in most injury cases, you have three (3) years from the date of your injury to file suit against the wrongdoer. In both Virginia and North Carolina, the deadline for filing a lawsuit for wrongful death is two (2) years from the date of death in most cases. In certain types of injury claims, there are additional deadlines–some as soon as six (6) months from the injury date! Don’t miss your deadline! If the injured party misses a statute of limitation deadline, it may be fatal to their injury claim.
Act now to defend your rights!
Don’t wait too long to retain an experienced and competent attorney to protect your rights!
Protect Your Best Interests
with Slaughter & Lupton Law, PLLC
It's important to be aware that trucking companies and their insurance carriers are for profit businesses. Generally, the trucking company and insurance carrier business model is to maximize incoming profits and minimize amounts paid out on claims. An injured person is often just a little number to a big trucking company and their insurance carrier. Slaughter and Lupton have decades of experience litigating–and winning–cases against trucking companies and insurance carriers! To ensure your rights and interests are protected, our team of experienced attorneys at Slaughter & Lupton Law, PLLC are available for a free initial consultation. If we take your case, we work on a contingency fee basis, which means we only get paid if we obtain a recovery for you. A contingency fee is just that–it’s contingent on the amount recovered for our client.
Our team's top priority is always your legal well-being. Contact our Virginia Beach, Virginia or Edenton, North Carolina offices to learn more.
External Links:
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Fatality Facts 2021: Large trucks. (n.d.). IIHS-HLDI Crash Testing and Highway Safety. https://www.iihs.org/topics/fatality-statistics/detail/large-trucks#trends