Denver Truck Accident Wrongful Death Lawyer
A Denver truck accident wrongful death lawyer knows how to handle a tough situation. When trucks are loaded too heavy or when a driver is too tired to focus on the road, this can cause them to crash into other drivers and cause other people serious injuries or even death because trucks are so much bigger than regular motorize passenger vehicles. Any damage that they have with a passenger vehicle is usually going to be expensive and severe. If you are experiencing a situation involving a wrongful death due to a truck accident, contact a professional wrongful death attorney immediately. En Español.
Parties Involved
Parties involved in a truck wreck wrongful death claim will include a trucking company. This can be a giant entity or an owner operator, which is someone who owns the truck and is employed by the larger company. Normally this is not going to affect the fatal truck wreck case because an experienced Denver attorney will first attempt to collect from the insurance company and not the driver personally, unless the damages are in excess of insurance coverage. These cases may warrant going after the negligent truck driver directly.
How Wrongful Death of Truck Accidents Are Different
Although they are a corporate entity, a truck company will still have some type of insurance coverage that will be enough to cover the deceased party’s damages. If that is not enough, a person can sue the corporate entity itself for the excess coverage or exemplary damages if they apply. The driver who operates an agent for the corporate entity and under the theory of Respondent Superior. They can also attach themselves to the corporate entity and relate back the actions of the driver to the corporate entity itself.
Truck Companies vs. No Truck Companies
There are three possible scenarios involved with truck companies and no truck companies. The first is a work comp recovery, and that occurs when a driver of the truck is injured or dies as a result of the failure of the truck and the driver is deemed to be an employee of the employer’s entity.
The second is a work comp and a third party liability, which is when the driver is an employee and suffers an injury and the injured party is an employee. The injured/deceased can recover first from the work comp carrier then proceed to bring a claim against the tortfeasor’s third party’s insurance company and personally.
The last case scenario is if the case is solely a third party tortfeasor or with no work comp exposure because the driver is considered an independent contractor and not an employee. In this case, the injured/deceased would have no rights of recovery from the work comp. An injured person would want to go the insurance company first before collecting from the other driver directly. These wrongful death truck collision scenarios are incredibly complex, so it is best to speak to a skilled Denver lawyer as soon as possible.
Role of Insurance Company
The issues are going to lie with what the status of the deceased is: whether or not they are an employee or an independent contractor, whether or not they were they an operator, and whether or not they were they working within the scope of their employment at the time of the accident. That is going to be critical as to where they can collect from — whether it is workers compensation and the third party tortfeasor’s insurance company or solely by workers compensation. A knowledgeable attorney could help walk surviving family members through their legal options after the wrongful death of a loved one in a truck collision.
A Denver Attorney Could Assess a Truck Accident Wrongful Death Case
The damage cap will be contingent on whether or not the deceased is an employee or an independent contractor. If they are an independent contractor, they will be entitled to same damages cap as any other wrongful death case, which is governed by the Colorado state law or Denver law. Contact a Denver truck accident wrongful death lawyer today to see what compensation you can receive.
