Northern Virginia Personal Injury Lawyer - Tractor-Trailer Accidents

Underinsured Coverage Can Be an Issue in a Virginia Truck Accident Claim

Ben Glass — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:51:00 GMT

With thousands of truck accidents occurring annually in our country, it would be reasonable to assume that trucking companies would purchase sufficient insurance coverage to protect their drivers. Although truck wrecks have been known to lead to catastrophic injuries, even death, some trucking companies have opted to save a couple hundred dollars a year on their insurance policies by choosing minimal coverage. The ones who are paying the price are their employees.

Recently, a case was brought in federal court in the southern part of Virginia. The lawsuit involved a truck driver who was injured by an allegedly negligent driver. The trucker was seriously injured, but the other driver didn’t have enough insurance. As Virginia law allows, the trucker turned to the insurance his employer had purchased for the truck. However, he was only presented with more bad news.

Sadly, his employer had only purchased the minimal $25,000 worth of underinsured motorist coverage. This employer had, in essence, deprived its employee of much needed protection.

The lesson from this Virginia truck accident case
The lesson to this tragic story is that you must ensure that you have the appropriate coverage in case of an accident. You don’t know if the other driver will have adequate insurance, or any insurance at all. Therefore, you better make sure that you have enough underinsured and uninsured coverage to protect you and your family.

I would encourage you to sit down today and review your auto insurance policy. You should also watch the video, Virginia Car Insurance-Underinsured Coverage, which discusses this topic in greater detail.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

Careless Driver Flees the Scene...What Does Injured Party Do?

Ben Glass — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:39:48 GMT

The Virginia State Police are reporting an interesting accident that was almost very tragic:

The tractor-trailer driver was in the right lane when a woman driving a white car in front of the big rig hit her brakes to allow other traffic to merge onto the interstate,

A 19-year-old Whitetop, Va., man, Bryan Hayes, survived an accident when his car drove under the back of an 18 wheeler that had slowed suddenly. According to reports, he is being treated at Bristol Regional Medical Center. The accident happened on Virginia Interstate 81, which is notorious for truck accidents.

According to police, a vehicle in front of the tracker trailer slowed suddenly to allow a merging car to enter the highway. Perhaps oblivious to the accident that was almost caused the driver of the car that slowed suddenly did not stoop at the scene.

Even though that driver may never be found the man who was injured may be able to pursue a claim under his own underinsured motorist liability coverage (i.e. his own car insurance policy.)

Hopefully he has plenty of coverage.. he may also have to show that he was not following the truck too closely.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass

Well, At Least We Don't Live in Wyoming or Arkansas

Ben Glass — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 15:10:35 GMT

Not that they are not nice place to live but a new study rates these two states the deadliest state for truck crashes.

Seven years since its creation by Congress to improve the safety of trucks, the federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration "is still putting cargo over people,'' said Joan Claybrook, chair of Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways. "This federal agency has failed miserably.''

In Virginia, we have the notoriously dangerous U.S. 81 that runs down the western part of the state, well-known for truck accidents.

My good friend, Sacramento personal injury attorney Ed Smith has a great post at his site on how to keep yourself safe (even in Wyoming.)

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Ben Glass