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Key Takeaways
Truck underride crashes are especially dangerous because a smaller vehicle can travel beneath a truck or trailer, often causing catastrophic or fatal injuries.
Liability may extend beyond the truck driver to the trucking company, trailer owner, maintenance provider, manufacturer, or another party that contributed to the crash.
Virginia’s contributory negligence rule can bar recovery if you are found to have contributed to causing the collision, making a careful investigation especially important.
Huffman & Huffman can investigate the crash, preserve critical evidence, identify responsible parties and insurance coverage, and build a claim that reflects the full impact of your injuries and losses.
Any collision with a commercial truck can cause devastating harm, but underride crashes present a unique danger. When a passenger vehicle slides beneath a truck or trailer, the impact can bypass the bumpers, crumple zones, and airbags built into the car to protect the people inside it, often with catastrophic consequences.
If you or a family member has been hurt in this kind of crash, you may be entitled to compensation when negligence played a role. Figuring out how the collision happened, who is responsible, and what the case is really worth is rarely simple, though. These cases often involve trucking companies, insurers, and sometimes manufacturers, each with their own version of events.
Huffman & Huffman Brothers-in-Law represents individuals and families in Newport News who have suffered serious injuries or lost a loved one in truck accidents. We understand the toll a catastrophic crash takes on a family, and we work to hold negligent parties accountable while our clients focus on healing. Contact our Newport News truck accident lawyers today to schedule a free consultation and learn more about your options after a serious crash.
You can reach out to us by calling 757-760-3502.
What Is a Truck Underride Accident?
An underride accident occurs when a smaller vehicle travels partly or completely underneath a larger truck or trailer during a collision. These crashes typically happen in one of two ways, though the underlying danger is the same in both.
- Rear underride: A vehicle strikes the back of a truck or trailer and slides beneath it.
- Side underride: A vehicle travels beneath the side of a trailer.
What makes underride crashes so severe isn’t simply the size difference between a truck and a car. It’s that the collision can bypass the structures a car relies on to protect its occupants. A vehicle’s bumper, hood, and crumple zones are designed to absorb impact energy before it reaches the people inside. When those protections are bypassed, occupants can suffer catastrophic injuries such as traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, severe head and facial trauma, crush injuries, internal organ damage, amputations, and multiple fractures. In the most serious cases, an underride crash can be fatal.
Why You Need a Truck Underride Accident Lawyer in Newport News
Truck underride accident cases are different from typical car accident cases in ways that aren’t always obvious at the outset.
- Determining liability can be complicated. Responsibility doesn’t always begin and end with the driver. In some cases, it can extend to the trucking company, the trailer owner, a maintenance provider, an equipment manufacturer, or another party.
- The injuries are often catastrophic. Traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, amputations, permanent disability, and wrongful death are common outcomes, which makes valuing the full scope of damages far more difficult than in a minor collision.
- The evidence can be technical and time-sensitive. Building a case may require analyzing vehicle damage, truck and trailer maintenance records, electronic data from the truck’s systems, and accident reconstruction findings, much of which can be lost or overwritten if it isn’t preserved quickly.
- Virginia’s contributory negligence rule can put the entire claim at risk. In Virginia, an injured person generally cannot recover if they are found to have contributed to causing the crash. In an underride case, the trucking company or insurer may argue that the smaller vehicle was following too closely, speeding, failed to react in time, or otherwise contributed to the collision.
A truck underride accident lawyer in Newport News can coordinate the investigation, identify every party who may share responsibility, and build both the liability and damages sides of the claim while you concentrate on recovery.
How a Newport News Truck Underride Accident Lawyer at Huffman & Huffman Can Help
Huffman & Huffman has served Hampton Roads since 1973, and we remain a family-owned firm today. Our attorneys bring more than 150 years of combined legal experience to our clients’ cases, and over the decades we have represented tens of thousands of families throughout Virginia, recovering millions of dollars on their behalf. We handle truck accident cases on a contingency fee basis, so you owe nothing in attorney’s fees unless we recover compensation for you.
When we take on an underride case, our Newport News personal injury attorneys focus on four areas:
- Investigating how and why the underride occurred, including preserving truck and trailer evidence, company records, electronic data, photographs, video, and witness testimony before it disappears.
- Examining the truck, trailer, and safety equipment, including whether required underride protections were present, properly maintained, and functioning as intended at the time of the crash.
- Documenting the full impact of catastrophic injuries, working with medical and other experts when needed to establish future care needs, lost earning capacity, and permanent limitations.
- Identifying every responsible party and applicable insurance coverage, handling negotiations directly, and preparing the case for litigation when a fair resolution isn’t on the table.
An underride crash can leave you facing years of medical care, lost income, and life-altering adjustments, all while a trucking company and its insurer focus on protecting their own interests. Huffman & Huffman gives you a team dedicated to protecting yours.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a Truck Underride Accident in Newport News?
Determining liability in an underride case starts with a basic question: why did the smaller vehicle end up beneath the truck in the first place? Many victims assume the truck driver is automatically the only party who can be held responsible, but that isn’t always true. Depending on the circumstances, liability can extend well beyond the person behind the wheel.
Potentially liable parties in an underride accident case include:
- The truck driver: Unsafe lane changes, abrupt or unsafe stops, failure to yield, improper turns, parking or stopping a trailer in an unsafe location, or impaired or distracted driving can all contribute to an underride collision.
- The trucking company: A company may be liable for the conduct of its driver depending on the employment relationship, or it may bear direct responsibility if negligent hiring, training, or supervision practices contributed to the crash.
- The trailer owner or maintenance provider: A failure to inspect, maintain, repair, or replace required rear underride protection or other safety equipment can turn what might have been a survivable collision into a fatal one.
- A truck or trailer manufacturer: A defective component or a poorly designed or defectively manufactured underride guard can be relevant when it contributed to the severity of the crash.
- Other motorists or entities: Sometimes another driver’s negligence, a road hazard, or another third party helped create the conditions that led to the collision.
Identifying every party who bears responsibility matters because a catastrophic underride crash can produce losses that far exceed what any single insurance policy is designed to cover.
What Types of Compensation Can You Pursue in an Underride Truck Accident Claim?
Because underride crashes so often cause serious or permanent injuries, the damages at stake tend to be substantial. Depending on the facts of your case, compensation may include:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Rehabilitation and long-term care costs
- Lost wages and diminished earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Permanent disability or disfigurement
- Costs associated with adapting to serious disabilities, where applicable
- Property damage
- Wrongful death damages for qualifying family members
The right combination of these categories depends heavily on the severity of the injury and how it will affect your life and ability to work going forward, which is why a thorough investigation and documentation process matters so much in these claims.
FAQs About Newport News Truck Underride Accident Claims
Are Trucks Required to Have Underride Guards?
Federal law requires rear underride guards on most trailers and semitrailers over 10,000 pounds, although certain vehicles are exempt. There is currently no federal requirement that trailers be equipped with side underride guards.
What if the Truck Had an Underride Guard but I Was Still Seriously Injured?
A guard being present doesn’t, by itself, mean it was properly designed, installed, maintained, or functioning as required at the time of the collision. Determining what happened requires investigating the circumstances of the crash along with the condition and performance of the equipment involved.
How Long Do I Have to File a Truck Underride Accident Lawsuit in Virginia?
Virginia law generally requires personal injury lawsuits, including those from truck accidents, to be filed within two years of the date of the injury. Some exceptions can apply depending on the circumstances, so it’s best to speak with an attorney as soon as possible after a crash.
Do You Have a Newport News Truck Underride Accident Lawyer Near Me?
Yes. Our Newport News office is located at 12284 Warwick Boulevard, Suite 2A, and we offer free consultations to discuss what happened and go over your options going forward.
Contact a Newport News Truck Underride Accident Lawyer Today
When an underride collision causes catastrophic injuries or takes a family member’s life, figuring out exactly what happened and documenting the full weight of the consequences can require a substantial investigation, one that starts with preserving evidence before it’s lost and continues through negotiations or litigation. Huffman & Huffman can take on that work so you and your family can focus on what comes next. Contact our Newport News office today for a free consultation about your underride accident claim.
