Wrongful Death Claims for Indiana Truck Accidents

• Truck accidents are among the biggest sources of wrongful death in the State of Indiana, but you may have grounds for a wrongful death claim when somebody else is at fault for the truck accident that took your loved one’s life.
• Unfortunately, these cases tend to be highly complex, requiring extensive evidence and familiarity with trucking laws and industry practices if you hope to overcome stiff opposition from insurers with applicable coverage.
• However, you may be able to get the compensation you deserve with help from Hensley Legal Group, PC, which has a history of success with large vehicle death and injury claims, including a $25 million verdict* for an ambulance accident.

*SPECIFIC CASE RESULTS. NO TWO CASES ARE EXACTLY ALIKE.

Few things are as painful as the sudden death of someone you love, and the pain can be even sharper when it’s the completely avoidable consequence of someone else’s negligence. Just one moment of thoughtlessness can be enough to cut a cherished life short and leave you behind to pick up the pieces, although you may not have to pick up the pieces entirely by yourself.

Because while nothing can bring the person you lost back, you may be able to alleviate the financial burden of an unexpected passing in the State of Indiana with a wrongful death lawsuit or claim. Many kinds of incidents could form the basis for a wrongful death case, but among the most common are motor vehicle accidents, and the deadliest of those are large trucks and semi-trailer accidents.

Unfortunately, the disproportionate presence of truck accidents in wrongful death litigation is matched by the disproportionate challenges they pose, such as the how many defendants there might be and how much their insurance companies could have at stake. However, you can overcome these challenges by teaming up with the skilled truck accident lawyers at Hensley Legal Group, PC, a dedicated Indiana personal injury law firm whose experienced attorneys have been fighting on behalf of the wrongfully injured since 1998 and who have a sterling history of success with large vehicle death and injury claims, including:

• $25 million for an ambulance accident.
• $8 million for a delivery truck crash.
• $5.5 million for a semi-trailer collision.

In recognition of these and other achievements, Hensley has been named one of the Best Law Firms in the United States by Best Lawyers®. Additionally, HLG truck accident attorney Sarah Graziano has earned the Trial Lawyer of the Year Award from the Indiana Trial Lawyers Association, while attorneys at the firm have earned inclusion in the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys, the American Association for Justice, Trucking Litigation Group, the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Super Lawyers, America’s Top 100 Attorneys, and the National Trial Lawyers’ lists of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers and the Top 40 Under 40.

As proud as we are of these accolades, we’d be equally proud to get you the help you need when you need it most, so please call us at (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or fill out our contact form for a free case review with a knowledgeable Indiana truck accident attorney at our firm.

Why Are Truck Accidents So Deadly?

Studies by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMSCA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) have shown that truck accidents are about 2.5 to three times as likely to inflict death as car accidents, but why are truck accidents so deadly?

Although a wide range of factors could make accidents involving trucks more damaging, their sheer size relative to the other vehicles in traffic with them may be the most critical. When a truck that weighs as much as 80,000 pounds smashes into a car that weighs an average of 4,300 pounds on the Frank Borman Expressway, it may be no surprise that the car’s occupants tend to suffer around 72 percent of the casualties.

But if someone you hold dear is the casualty though not the cause of a deadly truck accident in Indiana, there’s a good chance that you’ll have grounds for a truck accident wrongful death claim.

What Is a Truck Accident Wrongful Death Claim?

Section 34-23-1-1 of the Indiana Code classifies a death as “wrongful” when it is “caused by the wrongful act or omission of another.” Thus, if somebody is killed in an Indiana truck accident that is brought about by somebody else’s “wrongful act or omission,” that death would be considered “wrongful” under state law.

If that happens, an Indiana truck accident wrongful death claim or lawsuit can be pursued, though not everybody is eligible to pursue it.

For example, if the decedent is a child, any wrongful death lawsuit has to be filed by one or both of the parents, the parent with custody if the parents are divorced, or a legal guardian if parental rights have been terminated, with “child” defined in Section 34-23-2-1 of the Indiana Code as:

• Someone who is not married, without dependents, and younger than age 20;
• Someone who is not married, without dependents, younger than age 23, and enrolled in a college, trade or technical school, or similar training program; or
• A fetus that has reached viability.

If the deceased is a legal adult who doesn’t fit any the above criteria for child decedents, the personal representative of the deceased or the executor of his or her estate has to file suit, a role that is usually filled by the decedent’s spouse, adult children, or parents.

What Compensation Is Available for an Indiana Truck Accident Wrongful Death Claim?

A wrongful death can be as devastating economically as it is emotionally, especially when a family’s primary breadwinner gets killed, and the compensation available for a truck accident wrongful death claim might be substantial thanks to federal commercial insurance requirements.

Depending upon the freight being hauled, a truck might have as much as $1 million or more in applicable insurance, though obtaining it is another story, since more coverage may inspire more resistance from the insurers, not to mention the caps the state imposes on what claimants can receive.

For instance, the claimants for a deceased child can be compensated for:

• Medical, hospitalization, funeral, and burial expenses, estate administration costs, and outstanding debts, with the funds going to the estate for repayment;
• Loss of the child’s love, companionship, and services; and
• “Reasonable” counseling for parents or minor siblings.

For an adult decedent with dependents, the survivors may recover for:

• Funeral, burial, medical, and hospital expenses that the estate will have to repay;
• Loss of the deceased’s future earnings; and
• Lost love and companionship.

If the individual killed in the truck accident was an adult without dependents, recovery may be restricted to:

• Medical, hospital, funeral, and burial expenses and discretionary attorney fees, to be repaid by the estate;
• Loss of love and companionship, with the compensation not to exceed $300,000.00.

Moreover, the heirs of an adult decedent without dependents can’t be awarded damages for grief or lost future earnings, and the heirs might have to prove they had “a genuine, substantial, and ongoing relationship” with the deceased to qualify for any damages whatsoever.

Constraints like these can only add to the frustrations of an already frustrating process, but Hensley’s tenacious Indiana truck accident lawyers will always strive to maximize your compensation by going after everyone who may be liable for the truck accident wrongful death.

Who Can Be Liable for a Truck Accident Wrongful Death?

Of course, as with any truck accident in Indiana, it may not be obvious who is liable for a truck accident wrongful death because of the inherent complexity of the trucking industry. Many parties could have their hands in a single shipment by truck and might therefore be liable when something goes wrong – like a wrongful death.

While there could be any number of defendants for an Indiana truck accident wrongful death claim, the most frequent defendants are truck drivers and trucking companies, each of whom may have distinct yet related forms of liability.

A truck’s driver generally has direct liability for the negligent deeds he or she directly committed behind the wheel, such as speeding, not yielding the right of way, or driving while distracted, drowsy, or intoxicated. In contrast, a trucking company mostly has vicarious liability for what the driver the company entrusted with its truck did, although it may have some direct liability of its own for elements under its control.

Aside from truck drivers and trucking companies, a host of other individuals and entities could potentially be defendants in Indiana truck accident wrongful cases, like:

• Shippers
• Dispatchers
• Brokers
• Cargo loaders
• Manufacturers, distributors, and/or retailers of defective components or parts
• Government bodies (either because they own the trucks in question or they’re in charge of roads in disrepair)

Very often, multiple defendants will share varying degrees of legal liability for the same Indiana truck accident wrongful death, and it is imperative to go after all of them within the time allotted by law, known as the Statute of Limitations. The Statute for most wrongful death cases in Indiana is two years, though the window could be much narrower and other conditions may have to be satisfied in accordance with the state’s Tort Claims Act when a government agency is a defendant.

Neglecting to file suit or resolve a claim before the Statute elapses could forever bar you and your family from getting what you deserve for your loss, but our meticulous Indiana truck accident attorneys will dot every “i” and cross every “t” to make sure that nobody at fault can escape justice.

What If Your Loved One Was Partially at Fault?

It should be noted that there are cases of wrongful death where fault is less cut and dried, and Indiana truck accident wrongful deaths aren’t any exception to the rule. If your loved one was partially at fault for the fatal truck accident, the viability of your wrongful death case may hinge upon how that fault compares to the fault of the defendants, and the amount of your award could be reduced by the amount of fault assigned to your loved one.

The comparative fault laws detailed in Section 34-51-2-6 of the Indiana Code prohibit recovery “if the claimant’s contributory fault is greater than the fault of all persons whose fault proximately contributed to the claimant’s damages,” with the claimant being the decedent in this case.

Basically, if your loved one was not more than 50 percent at fault for the truck accident, a wrongful death case might be viable, with the amount awarded cut down in proportion to how much he or she was responsible for it, but the case would fail if the deceased was more than 50 percent at fault.

Given how much could be on the line, it’s crucial to work with Indiana truck accident lawyers who are adept at unraveling where the bulk of the blame for a wrongful death should lie and fully conveying it to a judge and jury.

Evidence That Can Support an Indiana Truck Accident Wrongful Death Claim

A wrongful death claim is only as strong as its evidence, but what sort of evident can support an Indiana truck accident wrongful death claim?

Since the FMCSA has linked driver misconduct to around 87 percent of truck accidents, you’ll probably be looking for evidence of it, for which the driver can be held directly liable and the trucking company can be held vicariously liable.

Some of this evidence is physical in nature and can be discovered at the scene of a lethal truck accident, such as:

• Skid marks
• Fields of debris
• Spilled fluids
• Vehicle placement

Evidence like this can provide key insights into driver wrongdoing right before a fatal accident, like speeding, swerving, hard braking, or the absence of any braking, though it’s very time sensitive and must be amassed before the accident site has been cleaned up.

Alternatively, some evidence may be less time sensitive but more difficult to examine because it is in the possession of the trucking company. This might include internal paperwork illustrating negligent company practices that may have encouraged reckless or illegal behavior by its drivers that made a trucking death almost inevitable. Some of it could indicate a pattern of employing drivers who aren’t up to the task or educating them insufficiently, such as:

• Driver Qualification Files (DQFs)
• Motor Vehicle Records (MVRs)
• Training manuals
• Alcohol and drug testing

Other documentary evidence might reveal that the company forced its drivers to work longer hours than is legally permitted under the FMSCA’s Hours of Service (HOS) regulations, a practice that could be hinted at in:

• Dispatch messages
• Itineraries and schedules
• Bills of lading
• Memos and emails

Still other evidence in this category may suggest that the trucks weren’t kept in proper working order, such as:

• Maintenance histories
  Inspection reports

Yet as beneficial as external evidence can be to an Indiana truck accident wrongful death claim, it is increasingly overshadowed by evidence from inside the truck itself, sometimes deep inside, like the onboard electronic data that can be extracted from a truck’s:

• EDR (Event Data Recorder), which serves as the “black box” for a collision;
• ECM (Electronic Control Module/Engine Control Module), which serves as the “brain” behind engine-based maneuvers;
• GPS (Global Positioning System), which monitors the truck’s location;
• ELD (Electronic Logging Device), which tracks when the truck is being operated; and
• Dash Cam/Video System, which shoots footage of the area ahead of the truck and of the driver inside the cab.

This data can expose what the driver was doing or how the truck was performing immediately prior to the accident that took your loved one’s life and may independently confirm what liability should be ascribed to either. Nevertheless, digital evidence is as vulnerable as it is vital and could easily be altered, damaged, lost, or ruled inadmissible because of:

• System glitches
• Scheduled resets
• Downloading errors
• Poor chains of custody
• Unintentional or deliberate erasure

Defendants in truck accident wrongful death cases should be well aware that they have to preserve some evidence by law and that the plaintiffs are likely to demand preservation of other evidence, but that doesn’t mean it won’t “disappear” anyway and be chalked up to ignorance or error.

A development like this could be catastrophic for an Indiana truck accident wrongful death claim, but you can avoid a worst case scenario when you have Hensley Legal Group, PC in your corner.

What to Expect from Our Indiana Truck Accident Attorneys

If you hire Hensley, we will begin by launching a comprehensive investigation into your loved one’s Indiana truck accident, identify the defendants who may be culpable for it, and establish valid wrongful death claims and/or file suits against them before the Statute of Limitations expires.

During our initial correspondence with the trucking company and any other defendants believed to have access to essential evidence, we will demand that it be preserved until it can be jointly inspected at a later date by our Indiana truck accident attorneys and any experts they retained.

The defendants will also be informed that not safeguarding this evidence will be met with swift legal action in a court w with the authority to issue a binding judgment for spoliation of evidence, defined by the Indiana Supreme Court in Cahoon v. Cummings as:

“The intentional destruction, mutilation, alteration, or concealment of evidence.”

Other firms may make empty threats, but ours are quite real, and we will push for the stiffest penalties under the law for anyone who compromises physical or electronic evidence. Defendants found guilty of spoliation of evidence in Indiana could face such punishing sanctions as being prevented from contradicting claims about the missing evidence, unfavorable jury instructions, steep fines, and a default judgment if the wrongdoing is extremely egregious.

And any evidence that is secured will be used to build the most compelling Indiana truck accident wrongful death case possible so that you can enjoy the life that your loved one would have wanted for you.

Hensley’s Indiana Truck Accident Lawyers Will Be Here for You

Hensley Legal Group has been standing up for the innocent victims of negligence for nearly three decades. No feat is too daunting or adversary too intimidating to stop us from doing everything in our power to protect our clients’ interests. If you’re struggling to return to normal in the wake of a heartrending trucking death in the Hoosier State, know that Hensley’s Indiana truck accident lawyers will be here for you.

You can schedule a complimentary consultation with an accomplished Indiana truck accident attorney by calling us at (317) 472-3333, chatting with us online, or filling out our contact form now.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a truck accident wrongful death?

In the State of Indiana, a death is classified as “wrongful” when it is “caused by the wrongful act or omission of another.”

Basically, if a death occurs because of an Indiana truck accident that is brought about by somebody else’s “wrongful act or omission,” it would be considered “wrongful” under state law and could provide grounds for a truck accident wrongful death claim.

Who can pursue an Indiana truck accident wrongful death case?

While a single death can impact many people, only a select number of them are permitted to pursue a wrongful death case for a truck accident in Indiana.

For a child, suit will typically be filed by a parent or guardian, depending upon the circumstances, while a wrongful death lawsuit for an adult has to be filed by the personal representative of the estate.

Who can be liable for a truck accident wrongful death?

Various parties could be liable for a truck accident wrongful death, though the two most common defendants are the truck’s driver and the trucking company.

Additional defendants might include a business dispatching the truck commercially, a cargo loader, a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer of a defective part, and potentially a host of other individuals, entities, and government agencies too.

What evidence could support a truck accident wrongful death case?

A wide range of evidence could be beneficial to a truck accident wrongful death case, such as physical evidence from the scene of a crash or documentary evidence revealing negligent employment practices or poor vehicle maintenance by a trucking company.

Increasingly, the most valuable yet also most vulnerable evidence is the truck’s onboard electronics data, including information from its:

• “Black box” or EDR (Event Data Recorder)
• ECM (Electronic Control Module/Engine Control Module)
• GPS (Global Positioning System)
• ELD (Electronic Logging Device)
• Dash Cam/Video System

How long do I have to file an Indiana truck accident wrongful death lawsuit?

The Statute for most wrongful death cases in Indiana is two years. However, the timeline could be narrower and other conditions may have to be satisfied in claims against the government.

Regardless of the unique facts of your case, it is important to take action as soon as possible, since failing to file a lawsuit or resolve a claim before the Statute expires could forever bar you for receiving what you deserve for your loss.