Pittsburgh Commercial Vehicle Accident Lawyers
Experienced Personal Injury Lawyers Fight for Clients Injured in Work Vehicle Accidents throughout Pennsylvania
Accidents involving work or commercial vehicles can be much more serious than typical car crashes because commercial vehicles are almost always significantly larger than the average private motor vehicle, resulting in injuries that are correspondingly more severe. Because of this, you need our dedicated Pittsburgh commercial vehicle accident lawyers who have extensive experience handling commercial vehicle accidents, and who have developed the knowledge necessary to succeed in these complicated cases.
Get Free Advice From An Experienced Pittsburgh Auto Accident Attorney. All You Have To Do Is Call 412-837-8426 or Fill Out Our Free Case Evaluation Form.
At Goodrich & Geist, P.C., we have a combined five-plus decades’ worth of experience successfully winning compensation awards for commercial vehicle accident victims. When you choose Goodrich & Geist, P.C. to provide legal counsel in your Pittsburgh-area commercial vehicle accident case, you can rest assured that you are getting the highest quality legal representation possible. We serve clients in the Pittsburgh area, including in Allegheny County and Erie, PA.
Identifying the Financially Responsible Party After a Work/Commercial Vehicle Accident
Commercial vehicles encompass a wide range of different vehicle types, typically differentiated from private vehicles by their size and weight, and can include:
- School buses,
- Tour buses,
- Garbage trucks,
- Tractor-trailer trucks,
- Moving trucks,
- Delivery vans,
- Construction vehicles.
One of the primary differences between a work or commercial vehicle accident and a typical motor vehicle accident involves establishing financial responsibility for injuries and damages sustained in the accident. Typically, the commercial vehicle driver will not be the party who is financially responsible in the end—even if that driver’s error clearly caused the accident. Instead, the company that employed the driver will usually be held responsible. Despite this generality, establishing liability in a PA car accident can turn upon discovering the actual cause of the commercial vehicle accident, which can include:
- Driver fatigue,
- Driver error, including speeding or generally unsafe driving,
- Distracted driving, often because the driver is texting or using his or her GPS,
- Maintenance issues,
- Defective vehicle parts,
- Inadequately trained drivers, including those without proper licensing,
- Unbalanced loads.
The driver’s employer will most commonly be held responsible, but if a defective part caused the accident, it may also be possible to hold the manufacturer responsible. Similarly, if a maintenance issue caused the accident, a company who was hired to maintain the vehicle can possibly be held responsible.
How the Work Vehicle Accident Lawyers at Goodrich & Geist, P.C. Will Fight to Win Your Case
As soon as we are retained, our commercial vehicle accident lawyers will immediately jump into action to preserve evidence that will be vital to maximizing your compensation award after the accident. Commercial vehicle accidents often create liability for large trucking, transportation or construction companies that will leave no stone unturned in minimizing their own financial responsibility for the accident. These companies employ teams of defense attorneys and investigative staff who are paid to do this. Because of this, you need an equally tenacious lawyer on your side. At Goodrich & Geist, P.C., our lawyers will work tirelessly to:
Uncover and preserve evidence at the accident scene, including evidence of tire marks, debris from the accident and any oil, gas or other fluid marks at the scene,
- Identify and interview any eyewitnesses to the accident,
- Obtain the vehicle’s “black box” recording device, if the vehicle had one installed,
- Obtain and analyze the company’s safety record, hiring practices, training procedures and vehicle maintenance logs,
- Engage expert witnesses to help in building your case, including medical experts, engineers, accident reconstruction specialists and others who may be relevant to the case,
- Negotiate on your behalf with the company’s defense attorneys and insurance adjusters,
- Prepare your case for trial and advocate vigorously on your behalf if necessary.
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Medical Malpractice
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Auto Accident
Contact our Aggressive and Trustworthy Pittsburgh Commercial Vehicle Accident Lawyers to Discuss Your Claim Today
If you have sustained injuries in a serious work or commercial vehicle accident, you may have a long road to physical recovery ahead of you. The dedicated team of work/commercial vehicle accident lawyers at Goodrich & Geist will fight to make sure you are fully compensated for those injuries, and we work closely with our accident victim clients every step of the way in our fight to recover compensation for medical expenses, lost wages and even pain and suffering. Call our offices, or fill out this online form, to set up a free initial consultation with our skilled team of work/commercial vehicle accident lawyers today. Our office is conveniently located at 3634 California Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15212.
Find Out What Your Case Is Worth – Call 412-837-8426 or Fill Out Our Free Case Evaluation Form.
Frequently Asked Questions About Work/Commercial Vehicle Accidents
Vicarious liability, also referred to as “respondeat superior”, is a legal theory under which an employer can be held financially responsible for the actions committed by its employees during the course of employment, and is based on the premise that the employee is acting as an agent of the employer. If an employee is driving a commercial vehicle and causes an accident, the employer-company can be held responsible if the employee is officially “on duty” when the accident occurs. For example, if the driver was driving to a job site or location at the direction of the employer, or was actually on the job site, the employer can be held responsible. If the employee was driving home from work at the end of the day, the employer cannot be held responsible because the driver was not “on the job”.
Anyone who drives a commercial vehicle is required to obtain a commercial drivers’ license (or CDL). In order to qualify for the CDL, the driver must satisfy certain requirements with respect to his or her hearing and vision (for example, the driver cannot be color blind), and must also be at least 21 years old. To maintain the license, the driver must undergo a physical exam at least every two years, and must also not have any type of mental issues that might prevent safe driving.
