Can You Be Compensated After a Hit-And-Run Truck Accident?

The law requires Massachusetts motorists to stop after an accident involving a car, a truck, a bicycle, a pedestrian, or any other traffic accident. If a driver injures you in Massachusetts and flees from the accident scene, arrange at once to consult a Woburn personal injury lawyer.

In many cases arising from traffic accidents in this state, the injured victim of a negligent driver has the right to sue that driver to recover compensation, but what are your rights and recourse if a negligent driver injures you, flees from the scene of the accident, and cannot be found?

And what if that driver was behind the wheel of a commercial truck or another commercial vehicle when you were injured? Could the driver’s employer or another related party also have liability for the accident and your injuries?

How Does the Law Define Hit-and-Run?

An accident becomes a hit-and-run accident when one driver fails to stop and instead flees the scene. Injured victims of that driver have no details about the driver’s auto insurance and none of the other information they need to bring a personal injury claim and recover compensation.

In Massachusetts, the injured victims of negligent drivers are entitled under the law to recover compensation for lost earnings, medical expenses, pain and suffering and related damages after an accident. Every personal injury case is complicated and unique, but hit-and-run cases are particularly difficult.

Cases that involve commercial trucks and other commercial vehicles are also quite difficult. Contractors, subcontractors, truck and parts manufacturers, leasing companies, and freight companies may or may not have partial liability for any specific truck accident.

Why Do Motorists Sometimes Hit and Then Run?

Hit-and-run drivers are often linked to other crimes. A motorist may flee from an accident scene if he or she:

  1. does not carry car insurance
  2. has no driver’s license or has a suspended driver’s license
  3. is in a stolen vehicle or under the influence
  4. possesses unlawful weapons or drugs

However, when a commercial driver flees from an accident scene, the fear of termination and unemployment after causing an accident may be that driver’s reason for running. After any traffic accident, write down the other vehicle’s description and license plate number.

Commercial vehicles often have the company’s name printed on the vehicle. Write it down if you can. And remember that until police officers arrive, there is always a possibility the other party may try to flee from the scene.

How Do the Criminal Courts Deal With Hit-and-Run Drivers?

If you’re involved in a traffic crash in Massachusetts, even a minor crash, you must stop and identify yourself. If you flee the scene, even if you were not at fault, you could be charged with leaving the scene of an accident, and you may face the following penalties if convicted:

  1. If you caused property damage, a conviction may be penalized with up to two years in prison and/or a fine of up to $200 and a driver’s license suspension for at least sixty days.
  2. If you caused personal injury that did not result in death, a conviction may be penalized with up to two years in prison and a driver’s license suspension of at least one year.
  3. If you caused someone’s death, a hit-and-run conviction may be penalized with up to ten years in prison and a driver’s license suspension of at least three years.

If a Truck Driver Injures You and Flees the Scene, Take These Steps

After a crash involving a commercial truck, if the truck driver flees, immediately write down anything you remember: the truck’s color, model, make, license plate number, and anything that was printed on the vehicle. If there were eyewitnesses, ask for their contact details.

You’ll have to provide this information to your Woburn truck accident attorney, your car insurance company, and the police. Be patient. It may take several weeks to locate and arrest a hit-and-run truck driver.

A large commercial truck may weigh forty tons. A car weighs only about two tons. Any crash can cause serious injuries, but statistically, collisions involving commercial trucks cause the most serious and costly injuries. Your attorney will investigate the accident, identify every party that has liability, and negotiate with those parties for the maximum available compensation amount.

If a Hit-and-Run Driver Cannot Be Found

If the truck driver who injured you is never identified or found, will it be possible for you to recover compensation for your lost wages, medical costs, pain and suffering and related losses? In Massachusetts, the answer is “yes.” How much money you can recover will depend a great deal on the details of your own car insurance coverage.

Massachusetts is a no-fault state for car insurance, so PIP (personal injury protection) coverage will pay for at least a part of your medical bills and lost wages. The maximum which can be paid under PIP is always limited to $8,000. However, if a truck driver or some other party is liable for the accident and your medical costs exceed $2,000 or there was a broken bone or significant scarring or death resulted you may bring a bodily injury claim against the liable party or parties with help from a Woburn truck accident attorney.

In addition, your uninsured motorist injury coverage pays you and your passengers for injuries – up to your coverage limit – if the truck driver was uninsured or their identity cannot be determined.

Which Attorney Should Handle Your Truck Accident Claim?

If you’re injured in a truck accident in Massachusetts, whether or not the truck driver flees the scene of the accident, you’re going to need the advice and representation that an experienced Woburn personal injury lawyer provides. Promptly take your case to Contant Law.

Massachusetts personal injury lawyer Michael A. Contant has twenty-six years of experience prevailing on behalf of the injured victims of negligent drivers in this state. If you’re injured by a negligent truck driver – whether or not that driver flees from the scene – the team at Contant Law will use every available legal tool to win the justice you deserve and the compensation you need.

If you’re injured by a negligent truck driver or by any hit-and-run driver in this state, promptly schedule a no-cost, no-obligation legal consultation with the personal injury team at Contant Law by calling 617-221-8221. Let us put our experience and legal knowledge to work for you.