Indiana Garbage Truck Accident Lawyers

The United States might soon come to a standstill without the approximately 150,000 garbage trucks that go out each and every day to remove our trash and keep the nation clean. Yet as vital as waste management is to any city’s health and well-being, the fact that a garbage truck tends to be so much heavier than the average passenger vehicle means that it can inflict punishing injuries demanding prolonged treatment at huge expense in the event of an accident.

Fortunately, you may have grounds for a personal injury case if you have been badly hurt by a garbage truck in the Hoosier State. Moreover, you can increase your chances of success by teaming up with the 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 would be honored to provide you and your family with the same attentive service.

To learn what a skilled Indiana garbage truck accident lawyer can do for you, just call us at (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or fill out our contact form for a no-cost case review now.

Why Do Garbage Truck Accidents Occur?

There are many reasons why a garbage truck accident may occur, though human error is usually at the root of it, as it is about 87 percent of American truck accidents. Examples of misconduct that could lead to an Indiana garbage truck accident include:

Improper loading – Depending upon its dimensions, a garbage truck could hold anywhere from 12 to 20 tons of refuse at a given time. However, if the truck is loaded beyond its capacity or if the contents are not properly distributed inside, the garbage could spill out or the truck could flip over.
Sudden turns – Aside from the instability created by their loads, garbage trucks have higher centers of gravity that could make them especially prone to tipping during sudden or excessively sharp turns.
Not checking blind spots – Blind spots are areas beyond a driver’s normal field of view, and they may be big enough in garbage trucks to hide pedestrians, bikes, motorcycles, and even some cars. As such, their drivers have an obligation to check their blind spots before changing lanes or completing other actions in order to avoid smashing into anything or anyone.
Speeding – The top contributor to auto accidents of all types is traveling too fast. Drivers who speed generally have less time to react but need more time to stop, a combination that could make an accident both more likely and more destructive, particularly when the speeding vehicle weighs as much as a fully loaded garbage truck.
Distraction – Right behind speeding as a factor in collisions is distraction, a persistent concern that has grown into an epidemic with the rise of the cellphone, which could easily take the mind, eyes, and hands off the task of driving at the worst possible moment.
Intoxication – Drunk driving is highly illegal and incredibly foolish, demolishing any motorist’s reflexes and judgment, yet it remains a major problem in Indiana, where law enforcement officers make a DUI arrest every 11.98 hours.
Drowsiness – Research has shown that a lack of sleep can be as detrimental to driving as intoxication, and the early morning hours that garbage truck drivers may keep could make them more vulnerable to drowsiness than others in traffic.
Insufficient training – Drivers in Indiana are legally required to undergo extensive training before they are allowed behind the wheel of a garbage truck, and they may have trouble controlling these complex machines if that training is insufficient.
Irregular maintenance – Because a garbage truck racks up twice the annual mileage of most cars and may wear down more quickly thanks to how much amount trash it hauls and how frequently it stops and starts, a disastrous malfunction could be inevitable without regular maintenance.

In addition to mistakes on the part of garbage truck drivers or their employers, certain external elements could bring about garbage truck accidents as well, such as:

Inclement weather – Rain, snow, sleet, and other kinds of inclement weather could greatly hinder traction and visibility.
Poor road conditions – The surface conditions on a road that has been poorly built or left in disrepair could send a garbage truck veering dangerously off course.
Unfamiliarity with garbage truck operations – Garbage trucks maneuver through densely populated neighborhoods in unique ways, and drivers who are unfamiliar with these operations may end up rear-ending the trucks or running their crew members over.

Regardless of what the cause of a garbage truck accident ultimately is, the consequences can be dire, but you can rely on our seasoned Indiana garbage truck accident attorneys to hold everyone who is liable for it to account.

Who Is Liable for an Indiana Garbage Truck Accident?

But exactly who is liable for an Indiana garbage truck accident? The answer may vary according to the nature of the accident or the circumstances surrounding it, though the list of candidates could be more considerable than you may think and might include the:

Garbage truck driver
Non-driving crew members
Waste management company employing the driver and/or crew members
Individual, entity, or municipality contracting with that company
Manufacturer, retailer, or distributor of a defective vehicle or component
Government agency with authority over a substandard roadway

In some instances, multiple parties might share blame for a single garbage truck accident, and they must each be pursued within the time allotted by law, known as the Statute of Limitations. While the Statute for most motor vehicle accidents in Indiana is two years, it could be considerably shorter in cases against the government bodies that often play a role in trash collection efforts and may therefore bear responsibility when something goes awry.

Failing to file a lawsuit or otherwise resolve your claim before the Statute elapses could forever bar you from recovering what you’re owed – the sort of careless error that the meticulous lawyers at Hensley Legal Group won’t ever make.

How Hiring Hensley Legal Group Can Help

A garbage truck accident can transform your life into a harrowing ordeal that threatens to put you on the brink of ruin, but this is where our Indiana garbage truck accident attorneys can help.

If you hire Hensley, we will carry out a thorough investigation to identify the defendants who may be at fault for your garbage truck accident, establish valid claims and/or file suit against them, and amass the evidentiary materials necessary to prove their liability, such as:

Police reports
Citations and dispositions
Crash photos
Dash cam, streetlight, and surveillance footage
Black box data
Witness statements
Phone records
Driving histories and servicing logs
Accident reconstruction and forensic analysis

After putting together a rock-solid case against the defendants, your tenacious Indiana garbage truck accident lawyer will fiercely negotiate with their insurance companies for a settlement that reflects the totality of your damages, including your:

Medical bills
Lost income
Pain and suffering
Mental and emotional trauma
Impaired mobility
Scarring and disfigurement
Reduced quality of living
Loss of consortium (if applicable)

And if we do not receive an offer that is worthy of your case, we are not afraid to bring it before a judge and jury to obtain a verdict that is, unlike many of our competitors, who rarely set foot inside of a courtroom.

We imagine that spending more money may be the last thing you want to do after you have probably spent so much already, but you should be aware that our firm works on a contingency basis. This means that you won’t have to pay us anything until our Indiana garbage truck accident attorneys win your case.

At Hensley, we take on clients because we believe in them, and we are willing to take on every burden involved in making them whole again.

Get in Touch with Our Indiana Garbage Truck Accident Lawyers

Hensley Legal Group has been getting justice for the innocent victims of negligence since the firm first opened its doors over a quarter century ago. If you have been grievously harmed as a result of the recklessness of an Indiana trash collector, get in touch with our Indiana garbage truck accident lawyers to explore the remedies that may be available to you.

You can schedule a free consultation with a knowledgeable Indiana garbage truck accident attorney by calling us at (317) 472-3333, chatting with us online, or filling out our contact form today.