Truck Accident Attorney in Nebraska

Recoverable Losses in Nebraska Truck Accident Cases

After a serious truck accident, victims are often left facing overwhelming financial burdens, from emergency medical bills to long-term disability and emotional trauma. In Nebraska, personal injury law allows victims to recover compensation for economic and non-economic losses to help restore their lives.

Economic Losses

These are losses with a clear financial value. They may include:

• Medical expenses cover all costs related to treating accident-related injuries, such as emergency room visits, surgeries, hospital stays, physical therapy, medications, and future medical care.
• Lost wages refer to compensation for time missed from work due to injury or hospitalization, including any sick leave or vacation days used.
• Loss of earning capacity applies when injuries prevent you from returning to your previous occupation or reduce your ability to work in the future.
• Property damage involves the cost of repairing or replacing your vehicle or any other personal property damaged in the accident.

Non-Economic Losses

These cover losses that affect your quality of life:

• Pain and suffering provides compensation for physical pain, mental anguish, emotional trauma, and ongoing suffering caused by the accident and its aftermath.
• Loss of enjoyment of life arises when injuries prevent participation in once-enjoyed activities such as sports, hobbies, or daily routines.
• Disfigurement or disability addresses situations where the accident caused permanent scarring or a life-altering physical impairment.

Proving Negligence in a Truck Accident Case

To win a truck accident claim in Nebraska, you must prove that someone else’s negligence caused the crash. Due to the size, speed, and regulatory complexity of commercial trucking, determining who is at fault often requires your lawyer to do a detailed investigation.

The Four Elements of Negligence

Nebraska personal injury law follows a standard negligence framework. To succeed in a claim, your attorney must prove these four elements:

• Duty of Care: The truck driver and their employer were legally responsible for operating safely and following traffic laws.
• Breach of Duty: They violated that duty, such as by speeding, texting while driving, or failing to inspect the truck properly.
• Causation: The breach directly caused the accident and your injuries.
• Damages: You suffered harm (e.g., medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, etc.).

Evidence Used to Prove Negligence

Proving negligence in a truck accident often involves gathering more complex evidence than a typical car crash case. Your attorney may collect:

• Driver Logs and Black Box Data: Truck electronic logging devices (ELDs) record driving time, speed, braking, and engine diagnostics, which can be vital for proving violations of federal hours-of-service rules or erratic driving.
• Maintenance and Inspection Records: A lack of required inspections, faulty brakes, or worn tires could point to company negligence.
• Surveillance and Dashcam Footage: Traffic cameras, local business surveillance, or the truck’s own dashcam may have captured the crash.
• Witness Testimony and Expert Analysis: Eyewitnesses, accident reconstruction experts, and forensic analysts can help establish what happened and who was at fault.

Who May Be Liable?

Unlike ordinary auto accidents, truck accidents can involve multiple liable parties:

• The truck driver for negligent or reckless driving
• The trucking company for improper hiring, training, supervision, or failing to maintain the truck (and for any actions the truck driver takes within the scope of their employment)
• Cargo loaders for improper or unsecured loads that contributed to the crash
• Vehicle manufacturers, if a defective part contributed to the accident
• Third-party contractors, if maintenance or logistics providers cut corners or ignored safety standards

Your 18-wheeler accident lawyer will identify every potentially liable entity to pursue maximum compensation. However, your right to pursue compensation is subject to strict legal deadlines. In Nebraska, you have four years from the accident date to file a personal injury lawsuit.

Missing these deadlines can bar recovery, so act quickly. Early legal action also helps preserve critical evidence in truck accident cases. Contact The Goldwater Law Firm today.