Washington Truck Accident Lawyers

Truck Accident Attorneys Serving Olympia, Tacoma, and Nearby Areas of Washington

Truck accidents happen so quickly, and they can instantly change your life. At Fuller & Fuller, our Washington truck accident lawyers have spent more than 50 years assisting individuals and families who have been impacted by large truck collisions in and around Olympia and Tacoma get justice.

Our Goal: To Assist People Injured by Commercial Drivers

Every year, thousands of people are injured or killed in collisions with commercial vehicles. A majority of these victims are the drivers and passengers of smaller vehicles.

We all know what it’s like to drive near a large truck: the difficulty of seeing around them, the fear of getting too close to them, and the knowledge that any error on their part could cost us dearly.

At Fuller & Fuller, our experienced truck accident lawyers fight to protect the legal interests of people unfairly harmed by a negligent truck driver or trucking company. We know that trucking companies and insurers sometimes won’t offer a fair settlement until you have experienced legal representation on your side. So let us start working for you as soon as possible.

Talk to a Truck Accident Lawyer in Tacoma or Olympia for FREE

If you have been injured or a loved one has been injured or killed in a truck accident in Tacoma, Olympia, or a surrounding area of Washington, Fuller & Fuller is here to help. Call us at 800-570-4878 to schedule a FREE case review with an accident and injury specialist to see how we can help you pursue full compensation.

What Makes Truck Accidents So Complex?

Truck accident cases involve more than just two drivers exchanging information. Factors that make collisions with commercial vehicles different than those involving passenger vehicles alone include:

• Size and Weight. A fully loaded tractor-trailer can weigh up to 80,000 pounds. The average weight of a passenger vehicle is right around 4,000 pounds.
• Serious Injuries. Life-altering injuries are common consequences of non-fatal truck accidents. Many of these injuries can result in permanent disability and require a lifetime of care.
• Multiple Liable Parties. There can be multiple parties who share liability in a truck accident. Some, like the trucking company or cargo loaders, might even be thousands of miles away when the crash occurs.
• Regulatory Issues. Trucking is governed by strict federal and state trucking rules and regulations. Understanding these comprehensive laws is essential for a successful claim.
• Different Protections. Commercial truckers, their employers, and others involved in the trucking industry are often well-protected by large insurance policies and seasoned defense teams. These powerful groups will likely try to reduce your compensation or have your claim denied entirely.

Victims of truck accidents in Washington need an experienced, dedicated, and tireless advocate to protect their best interests and fight for fair compensation.

Olympia truck accident lawyer Marya Fuller and her team are specialists in accident and injury law. With a comprehensive understanding of trucking and personal injury law, she is here to review your case—free of both cost and obligation—help you understand your rights, and guide you toward the next best step in seeking justice.

Serious Injuries Caused by Truck Crashes in Washington

According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), around 32% of all truck crashes result in injury. The National Safety Council reports that these injuries impact drivers and passengers of smaller vehicles nearly 75% more often than the occupants of trucks.

Our Tacoma truck accident lawyer has experience with serious truck accident injuries, including:

• Whiplash or soft tissue injury
• Severe burns, bruising, lacerations, or scarring
• Concussions or other traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
• Impaired senses (e.g., vision loss, hearing loss)
• Broken or fractured bones
• Spinal cord damage
• Internal bleeding or organ damage
• Partial or total paralysis
• Disability or disfigurement
• Wrongful death

Some of these injuries, like TBI and SCI, can require long-term care and therapy, but full recovery is never guaranteed. Even injuries that might initially seem minor can have a profound impact on your comfort, ability to work, and enjoyment of life. These must all be taken into account when calculating damages.

Insurance companies typically use a standard formula to determine the worth of an injury. These valuations are, all too often, woefully inadequate. Having an experienced Washington truck accident lawyer on your side is essential for preserving your rights, protecting your interests, and helping you secure the fair and full compensation you deserve.

Compensation for Serious Injury After a Truck Accident

It is impossible for any court or settlement agreement to undo your injuries, take away your physical pain, or make up for the loss of someone you love. What the claims process can do, however, is provide you with financial compensation to approximate the magnitude of your loss.

Compensation that victims of truck accidents may be entitled to typically falls under two categories:

• Economic
  • Present and future medical bills
  • Present and future lost income
  • Adaptive technology like wheelchairs
  • Home modifications for accessibility
  • Property loss
• Non-Economic
  • Pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress
  • Loss of ability
  • Forced changes to lifestyle

Economic damages are based on the actual expenses, financial losses, and projected losses your injury has and will continue to cause. Non-economic damages are based on the ways your injury has impacted your life that cannot be established with a calculator, but are real all the same.

During your complimentary consultation at the Tacoma or Olympia office of Fuller & Fuller, our truck accident lawyers can discuss how damages are assessed to help you understand everything you may be entitled to pursue.

It is important to remember that once you have taken an insurance offer, you won’t be able to pursue additional compensation. Before you take a settlement, talk to our truck accident lawyer to make sure you are not being cheated out of fair compensation.

How Long Do I Have to File a Truck Accident Claim in Washington?

You typically have three years to file a truck accident claim following a crash with a commercial vehicle, but there are exceptions. Three years is a long time to suffer, but a shockingly short amount of time to take legal action. Even when it’s difficult, talking to a lawyer right away helps to protect your rights and options.

What Causes Most Commercial Trucking Accidents in Washington?

Almost all commercial trucking accidents are caused by negligence (that is, careless driving behavior). Some of the more common kinds of trucking negligence in Washington are:

Speeding

Driving faster than the speed limit is always a bad decision. Unfortunately, commercial trucks are sometimes found speeding, despite the fact that their size makes excessive speed especially perilous. Truckers sometimes speed in order to meet unrealistic deadlines imposed by their employers. There is never any excuse, however, for traveling at an unsafe speed.

Improperly Loaded Cargo

Cargo transported inside commercial trucks and vans must be safely secured and should never exceed the maximum weight limit for that vehicle. Companies are responsible for making sure the weight is evenly distributed and the cargo is fastened securely inside whenever needed.

Distracted Driving

Texting behind the wheel continues to be a problem for drivers, including those licensed to operate large commercial vehicles. Even though federal regulation strictly prohibits the use of a cell phone while driving a truck, it still happens.

Cell phones aren’t the only distractions, either. Anything that diverts a trucker’s attention from the road—maps, food, radio controls, etc.—can constitute negligence under Washington personal injury law.

Driver Fatigue

Drowsy driving is one of the greatest dangers facing truck drivers in Tacoma and Olympia. Long hours alone on the road can quickly lead to exhaustion, and drivers may find themselves nodding off by accident.

To help combat that problem, the federal government has passed strict rules about how much rest drivers must get before operating a truck. For its part, the Washington state legislature has gone even further, enacting stricter Hours-of-Service regulations designed to keep sleepy truckers off the road.

Despite these measures, truck driver fatigue continues to be a problem here in Washington State.

At Fuller & Fuller, we try to identify cases where drowsy driving played a role in a truck crash, and we are prepared to take legal action against companies that push their drivers to the brink of exhaustion.

Improper Training

Any business that employs truck drivers has a duty to hire, train, and monitor those employees carefully. Failure to do so can subject the company itself to direct liability for the accident.

Which Parties Are Potentially Liable for a Truck Accident in Washington?

When pursuing a truck accident claim in Washington, you might seek compensation from one or more parties, depending on the circumstances surrounding the crash. Liable parties can include:

The Driver

Truck drivers are required to behave responsibly behind the wheel, obeying all traffic laws and treating other drivers with care. Additionally, as outlined above, special rules of law apply to truck operators in Washington and under federal guidelines. Violation of any of these legal standards can result in the driver being individually liable for the injuries they cause.

The Corporate Truck Owner

More often, it is the company that owns or operates the truck (and its insurance provider) that must ultimately pay for the victim’s damages. These companies often have greater financial resources than the individual driver. But because these companies have such extensive resources, they are also able to put up a fight before paying victims what they really deserve. That’s why it is so important to work with an experienced truck accident attorney.

Other Third Parties

Additional parties in a truck accident can include:

• Companies responsible for loading the truck
• Manufacturers of dangerous cargo
• Other motorists whose negligence contributes to the accident
• Truck rental companies
• Governmental organizations
• And more, depending on the facts of the case

With truck accidents, liability is often spread across multiple parties. Identifying each is essential for full compensation. It is important to choose an Olympia truck accident lawyer who will take the time necessary to identify all liable parties and build a case that holds each to full account for their actions.

What If I’m Partially to Blame for a Truck Accident?

If your actions played a role in your accident, you may still be entitled to seek compensation. Washington follows a comparative fault system, which allows people to seek compensation for accidents even when they played a role. In these cases, the total damages awarded are reduced by the percentage of fault assigned.

For example, if you are awarded $100,000 but found to be 20% liable for your accident, your total award will be reduced by 20%, which would be $80,000 in this scenario.

To minimize their losses, insurance companies and defense attorneys may try and pin more of the blame on you than is fair. Having a lawyer who can fight back is essential. Our Tacoma truck accident lawyer is here to stand by your side, fight for your rights, and help you obtain fair and full compensation.

Why Choose Fuller & Fuller for Your Truck Accident Claim?

At Fuller & Fuller, our Washington truck accident lawyers have been fighting on behalf of injured Washingtonians for more than 50 years. We are family members who went into legal practice together decades ago, and we treat all our clients like part of the family, too. That’s not a tagline for us. “We treat you like family” is how we operate every day.

Fuller & Fuller offers:

• Personalized Attention. You’ll work directly with accident and injury specialist Marya Fuller from your first consultation through the resolution of your case.
• Space to Recover. We handle the paperwork, insurance calls, and legal battles. You rest, recover, and heal.
• Real Local Knowledge. We live here. We know the roads in and around Olympia and Tacoma, the laws governing those roads, and the rights of crash victims.
• Proven Trial Experience. We attempt to settle truck crash cases before trial, but if that can’t be done, we are fully prepared to take cases to court to pursue the damages owed.

Through hard work, experience, and tried-and-true strategy, we have made a decisive difference in many of our clients’ cases. We believe we can make a difference for you, too. Clear in our communication and endlessly supportive of our clients, we are here to take your case, fight for your rights, and help you secure the compensation you need to make the fullest recovery possible.

And remember, we work on a contingency fee basis. We will not charge you a fee until after we have recovered damages on your behalf. Even then, our fee will only be a reasonable portion of your overall recovery. If we don’t win your case, you don’t pay us anything.

Speak With a Washington Truck Accident Lawyer for FREE

To schedule your FREE consultation at our Olympia or Tacoma office, contact us online or call us at 800-570-4878 today. If your injuries are too severe for travel, our Washington truck accident lawyer can come to your home or hospital to listen to your story, discuss your options, and help you determine the best way to move forward.