Semi-trucks and trailers can do massive harm when they cause a crash. Federal law recognizes that and sets mandatory insurance minimums to compensate injured victims or grieving families.
Commercial vehicles with gross vehicle weight ratings of over 10,001 pounds must carry liability insurance of at least $750,000 to cover accidents. But that’s just the minimum, and there may be more. If you’re hurt seriously enough—or lost a family member—you need an experienced trucking accident attorney who knows how to find the full extent of the available insurance. Other insurance sources for these wrecks include:
- Trailer insurance. The trailer may be separately insured, and if so, federal law requires the same minimum limit of $750,000.
- Umbrella insurance. Some trucking companies carry excess or umbrella insurance that can be used if liability insurance is exhausted. You can bet they won’t volunteer this information —you’ve often got to fight for it through legal channels.
You Can’t Do This Alone
Commercial vehicle and semi-trailer insurance companies are notorious for fighting even the most grievous injury and death cases with brutal tactics. It's the top reason you need an attorney- but far from the only one. I’ve seen fatal accident scene pictures where the trucking company investigator was on the scene before EMTs took the body away. They have lawyers on retainer, ready to go at a moment’s notice. There may be legions of documents in which may be buried “smoking guns” showing they’ve violated federal safety standards. They hope to hide all of that from you and the legal system because it could expose them to punitive damages. And that may be the tip of the iceberg as you fight them in a case like this. You’ve also got to overcome your own physical and emotional agony, which insurance companies are more than happy to take advantage of to get a cheap settlement over on you and your family.
Take back some control. Empower yourself. Contact an experienced semi-trailer accident attorney to get your questions answered and level the playing field. You can check out our FREE REPORT on crash cases, which includes a chapter on big-rig wrecks. You can also fill out our Get Help Now form to get your questions answered by a commercial vehicle crash attorney.
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