Miami Garbage Truck Accident Lawyer
Garbage trucks provide essential community sanitation services. And while garbage trucks represent only a small fraction of the commercial vehicles that occupy Miami’s roads on a daily basis, when one of them causes an accident, the impact on innocent victims is often catastrophic. The Miami garbage truck accident lawyers at Pike & Lustig, LLP, represent such victims in seeking financial compensation from negligent garbage truck drivers, their employers, and third parties whose negligence contributed to the victims’ losses.
Determining Who Is Responsible for a Florida Garbage Truck Accident
Motor vehicle accidents are commonly the result of negligence, that is the failure by a driver or some other party to exercise a duty of care owed to the victims under the law. When it comes to garbage truck accidents in South Florida, such negligence can come from one or more of the following sources:
- The garbage truck driver — Driver error is perhaps the most common cause of garbage truck accidents in the Miami-Dade region. When operating a heavy commercial vehicle like a garbage truck, drivers must exercise caution to check their blind spots, avoid distractions, travel at safe speeds for present road conditions, and obey the rules of the road. A failure to do any of these things is negligent.
- The truck operator — Both public and private garbage truck operators may be held vicariously liable for the negligent acts of their employee-drivers in causing an accident. Operators may also be liable for hiring inexperienced and unqualified drivers, failing to properly train and supervise their drivers, or forcing their drivers to work beyond federally mandated hours of service limits.
- Maintenance companies — Like all commercial vehicles, garbage trucks must be regularly serviced and maintained to ensure they remain safe to operate on public streets. If a mechanical failure leads to a garbage truck accident, the company responsible for inspecting or repairing the vehicle may be liable if they overlooked the issue or provided a faulty repair.
- State and city highway agencies — Poor road maintenance, such as unfilled potholes, can also trigger a garbage truck accident. Depending on the facts and circumstances, the accident victims may have a claim against the Florida Department of Transportation and other state and city agencies responsible for road maintenance.
Reach Out to Our Miami Garbage Truck Accident Lawyers for Help
It is important to remember that under Florida’s no-fault insurance laws, motor vehicle accident victims typically need to turn to their own coverage first for medical and lost income benefits. But these rules do not apply to victims who suffer a “serious injury,” which is far more likely to occur in an accident involving a garbage truck or other heavy commercial vehicle. So it is important to speak with an experienced Miami garbage accident attorney before you take any further action that might affect your right to compensation under the law.
Indeed, garbage accident victims are often entitled to substantial awards of both economic and non-economic damages for their injuries. If you would like to learn more, contact Pike & Lustig, LLP, today at 561-291-8298 to schedule a consultation.
