Underride Truck Accident Lawyers 

The State of Indiana permits trucks and semi-trailers weighing as much as 80,000 pounds to operate within its borders. In addition to being far heavier than most passenger vehicles, a commercial truck also has a considerably greater “ride height,” which is the space between the street and the lowest point of a vehicle’s frame. Whereas the average car has a ride height of four to six inches, the ride height of the standard semi-trailer is around five feet – more than enough room for a car, motorcycle, bicycle, or pedestrian to get trapped underneath in what is commonly known as an underride truck accident.

Underride truck accidents can be physically and financially devastating, and you could face stiff opposition from giant trucking companies and their insurers if you try to obtain fair compensation for your losses by pursuing a personal injury case. However, you could improve your chances of success dramatically by partnering with the Indiana truck accident lawyers at Hensley Legal Group, where we have been fighting on behalf of the seriously injured since 1998.

To schedule a free case review with a skilled Indiana underride truck accident attorney, please call us at (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or fill out our contact form now.

How Does an Indiana Underride Truck Accident Occur?

An Indiana underride truck accident typically occurs when a car or other smaller vehicle slides below a truck or its trailer. Unsurprisingly, underride truck accidents are disproportionately lethal, with one study reporting that underriding is present in approximately 82 percent of deadly crashes in which trucks are hit from behind, though non-fatal underride truck accidents can still inflict debilitating injuries.

While every Indiana underride truck accident is unique, these sorts of incidents can be broadly grouped into two distinct categories.

Rear underride truck accidents are collisions in which a smaller vehicle first makes contact with a truck from behind and then subsequently travels under it, which may result in extreme damage to the vehicle’s top half.

A rear underride truck accident tends to happen when a truck is slowing down or at a complete stop, frequently at a guarded intersection, a railroad crossing, or a highway entrance or exit. A crash of this nature may be likelier if a truck stalls suddenly or if its taillights have burned out, which could make it harder to tell when the truck is decelerating.

Yet barring a situation in which a truck backs over a vehicle that is directly behind it, the blame for a rear underride truck accident generally falls upon the driver of the vehicle to the rear, who has a duty to keep a proper lookout and adjust his or her speed accordingly. Consequently, relatively few rear underride truck accidents justify personal injury lawsuits or claims.

The same might not be said about side underride truck accidents, in which the smaller vehicle initially makes contact with the side of the truck, often when a driver is proceeding through an intersection, changing lanes, turning left or right, or attempting a U-turn.

Though the vehicle similarly ends up beneath a truck, liability for a side underride truck accident will primarily depend upon which driver has the right of way and which driver disregards it. If a trucker turns in front of a car or merges into a car’s lane, that trucker would probably be liable and might therefore be subject to civil litigation. Alternatively, if a car’s driver strikes the side of a truck that has the right of way, then the driver of that car would be legally and fiscally responsible for any injuries that are incurred.

Other factors that could contribute to either a rear or a side underride truck accident in Indiana may include:

Speeding

Inattention

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs

Drowsiness

Automotive malfunctions

Insufficient training

Traffic hazards

Inclement weather

Ultimately, the facts of the collision in question will determine whether or not you can be compensated for it, but you can rely on our knowledgeable Indiana underride truck accident lawyers to assess the viability of your claim and formulate the best plan of action for it.

Who Is at Fault for an Indiana Underride Truck Accident?

Even if you have been hurt in an underride truck accident through no fault of your own, you will nevertheless have to find out who is at fault if you hope to be fully reimbursed for it. Unfortunately, merely identifying each of the defendants for your Indiana underride truck accident case can be a challenge thanks to the inherent complexity of the trucking industry, where many parties routinely have a hand in nearly every single shipment by truck.

For example, the truck’s driver could be at fault for conduct leading to the Indiana underride truck accident, as could the truck’s owner (if separate from the driver), both for the driver’s misbehavior and for the owner’s failure to adequately prepare or equip a driver to avoid the accident. Other individuals and entities might be culpable too, such as the company making use of the truck, the cargo loader, the mechanic, the manufacturer, distributor, or retailer of a defective part, or the government agency with authority over a poorly maintained road.

In some instances, an underride truck accident could have multiple defendants simultaneously, and you could be forever barred from full recovery if you don’t go after all of them within the time allotted by law – the kind of careless oversight that Hensley Legal Group won’t ever allow.

How Our Indiana Underride Truck Accident Attorneys Can Make a Difference

An Indiana underride truck accident can be a catastrophic event, demanding prolonged treatment at significant expense while robbing you of the ability to earn the money to pay for it. Simply making ends meet could soon become an uphill battle, much less acquiring the resources to stave off ruin.

You need attorneys with the compassion to support you through your struggles and the wisdom to bring them to a resolution, like the Indiana underride truck accident attorneys at Hensley Legal Group.

If you hire Hensley, we will carry out a comprehensive investigation into the causes of your truck accident and the defendants who played a role in it, then establish valid claims against them and potentially file suit as well in a court with the power to issue a binding judgment.

Next, we will move swiftly to amass the materials to shore up your case, including evidence of your damages and the defendants’ negligence, such as:

Police reports

Citations and dispositions

Crash scene photos and video footage

Black box data

Eyewitness statements

Phone records

Hours of Service (HOS) and vehicular inspection logs

Forensic analysis and accident reconstruction

Once a rock-solid case has been assembled, our Indiana underride truck accident lawyers will enter into negotiations for a settlement that takes the entirety of your losses into account, including your:

Medical bills

Lost wages

Pain and suffering

Psychological trauma

Scarring and disfigurement

Mobility restrictions

Diminished quality of living

Loss of consortium

Punitive and wrongful death damages (if relevant)

And if we do not receive an offer that is worthy of your case, we are more than willing to go to trial for a verdict that is, in contrast to many of our competitors, who rarely, if ever, see the inside of a courtroom.

No two Indiana underride truck accidents are exactly alike, but we always strive to maximize the value of yours.

You Won’t Owe Us Anything Unless We Win

You may be hesitant to agree to more expenditures when you have spent so much already, but you should know that Hensley Legal Group works on a contingency basis, which means that you won’t owe us anything unless our Indiana underride truck accident attorneys win your case.

The world may have seemed dark since the moment you were dragged under that truck, but you can trust Hensley to guide you back into the light again.

Our Indiana Underride Truck Accident Lawyers Will Be Here for You

Hensley Legal Group has been standing up for honest Hoosiers just like you for over a quarter century. If your life has been badly disrupted by a major truck accident in Indiana, our Indiana underride truck accident lawyers will be here for you.

You can arrange a no-cost consultation with a dedicated Indiana underride truck accident attorney by calling us at (317) 472-3333, chatting with us online, or filling out our contact form today.