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Trey justin hero edit tractor-trailers are involved in some horrific crashes on i-20, highway 167, and other busy roadways in ruston, la. After these wrecks happen, your recovery can depend on the information and counsel you get. When you need extraordinary advocacy and experienced representation after an 18-wheeler crash, you need a 5-star ruston truck accident lawyer at morris & dewett injury lawyers.

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TRUCK CRASH ATTORNEYS

Trial-Tested 18-Wheeler Accident Attorneys Ready to Champion Your Rights & Win

Tractor-trailers are involved in some horrific crashes on I-20, Highway 167, and other busy roadways in Ruston, LA. After these wrecks happen, your recovery can depend on the information and counsel you get. When you need extraordinary advocacy and experienced representation after an 18-wheeler crash, you need a 5-star Ruston truck accident lawyer at Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers.

With 20 years’ experience winning the toughest truck wreck cases, our team knows how to stand up to any opponent inside or outside the courtroom. We have the skills, resources, and knowledge to successfully resolve all types of tractor-trailer accident cases, and we’re proud to be the relentless advocates victims need when it’s time to recover from a big rig accident.

No matter when you need help, answers, or advocacy, our Ruston truck accident attorneys are here for you when it matters most. We’re ready 27/4, and we can start helping you right now.

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Tractor-trailers are involved in some horrific crashes on i-20, highway 167, and other busy roadways in ruston, la. After these wrecks happen, your recovery can depend on the information and counsel you get. When you need extraordinary advocacy and experienced representation after an 18-wheeler crash, you need a 5-star ruston truck accident lawyer at morris & dewett injury lawyers.
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Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers has recovered millions

for 18-wheeler accident survivors and families who have lost loved ones to fatal tractor-trailer accidents. Let us make your claim and recovery our next victory.

Click on a link below to jump directly to a section and learn more about truck accident causes, lawyers, cases, and compensation.

What Causes Most Tractor-Trailer Accidents?

Preventable mistakes, carelessness, and negligence cause most big rig wrecks. Tragically, many 18-wheeler accidents involve multiple acts of negligence. While motorists are often among the negligent parties, they’re not the only ones whose oversights can set the stage for big rig crashes.

Below is a deeper dive into the top causes of truck accidents in Ruston, Louisiana, and across the U.S. (sources for the following data: FMCSA Causation Study & FMCSA Statistics).

Car after a collision with a heavy truck, transportation background
Motorist Negligence & 18-Wheeler Wrecks
Driver errors can include the mistakes made by truckers, other commercial drivers (like bus drivers), and non-commercial motorists (like the drivers of passenger vehicles). In general, these errors fall into one of three categories:
  1. Performance errors: These happen when motorists mishandle vehicles. Inexperienced, distracted, fatigued, and drunk drivers are the ones who usually make these types of errors.
  2. Perception or recognition errors: These mistakes happen when motorists misunderstand what’s going on around them or when they fail to perceive it all together. As with driver performance errors, perception and recognition errors tend to be red flags for impaired and/or inexperienced motorists.
  3. Decision errors: Drivers make poor choices behind the wheel when they’re stressed, angry, distracted, impaired, or inexperienced. From mistiming turns to cutting over several lanes of traffic, these decision errors can be risky in a variety of ways.
When these errors are made by truck drivers, they most often include:
  1. Speeding: A leading cause of truck accidents, speeding is a factor in roughly 1 in every 3 big rig wrecks.
  2. Prescription drug use: This type of impairment can lead to truck driver fatigue and all types of dangerous performance errors behind the wheel of heavy tractor-trailers.
  3. Performance errors while driving on unfamiliar roads: This plays a role in more than 1 in every 5 big rig crashes that involve a trucker performance error.
Of course, several other motorists’ mistakes can cause 18-wheeler wrecks. Looking at police reports, accident pictures, and other evidence can be pivotal to uncovering this type of negligence.
Motor Carrier Negligence & Tractor-Trailer Crashes
Trucking companies have to abide by various regulations to ensure they’re putting safe trucks and truckers on Ruston’s roads. These motor carriers are also expected to maintain policies that promote safety — and that don’t compel their drivers to cut corners, make risky choices, or break the law. When trucking companies don’t honor these obligations, they can be liable for the big rig wrecks caused by their failures and negligence. In many cases, discovering motor carrier negligence requires deeper investigations and the help of an experienced Ruston truck accident lawyer.
18-Wheeler Wrecks & Equipment Failures
About 6% of all deadly semi-truck accidents are caused by some type of mechanical problem or equipment failure. In fact, mechanical issues impact 18-wheelers about twice as much as they do passenger vehicles. When these problems happen and cause tractor-trailer crashes, it’s usually the brakes or tires that have failed. Some factors that can cause tires, brakes, and other vital trucking equipment to fail include (and are not limited to):
  • Equipment design flaws or manufacturing failures
  • Failures to inspect trucks and/or properly maintain them
  • Overloading 18-wheelers
  • Failing to properly balance tractor-trailer cargo or loads
Equipment manufacturers, motor carriers, truckers, and others may be among the liable parties when big rig mechanical problems lead to wrecks.
Cargo Problems & Truck Accidents
About 7% of semi accidents are caused by unstable or unsecured cargo on trucks. That’s roughly 10,000 truck accidents each year. When cargo is unstable or unsecure, big rigs can be top-heavy and much more difficult to control. That can result in rollovers, jackknife truck accidents, runaway trailer accidents, and other severe wrecks. Often, these crashes involve several vehicles, multiple victims, and catastrophic injuries. Anyone involved in loading trucks and/or maintaining them could be liable for wrecks caused by unstable or unsecured cargo.
Other Truck Accident Causes: Weather, Road & Traffic Conditions
About 1 in 7 semi-truck wrecks occurs during poor weather conditions, including dense fog and heavy storms. With or without poor weather, traffic conditions can also be risky when the roads are slick or poorly maintained. Other road factors that can cause 18-wheeler wrecks include:
  • Congestion: Dense traffic or the aftermath of a crash sets the stage for about 28% of 18-wheeler wrecks.
  • Highway work zones: About 1 in 3 deadly work zone accidents involves a big rig. That can include trucks working at the site or trying to pass by it.
Lorry trailer car crash smash accident on an slippery winter snow interstate road
Collision of a semi truck with box trailer a passenger car on the highway road

Ruston & Louisiana Truck Accident Statistics

Ruston and Louisiana see far too many big rig collisions every year. The latest statistics, below, paint a tragic picture of just how often truck accidents happen in the Pelican State (source: LSU):
  • About 1 in every 10 traffic deaths in Louisiana involves a big rig.
  • When semis wreck in Louisiana, the occupants of passenger vehicles are about 13 times more likely (than truckers) to be killed in the crash.
  • Louisiana’s interstate highways are the sites of more than 1 in 3 deadly tractor-trailer crashes that occur each year in this state.
  • Since 2018, deadly truck accidents in Ruston, LA, have decreased by about 5%.
  • Injury-only big rig crashes in Ruston have dropped by nearly 4% since 2018.

As important as these facts are, the numbers don’t do victims justice. The truth is that just one tractor-trailer collision can shatter several lives forever.

The Ruston truck accident lawyers at Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers have helped many victims pick up the pieces and recover from these wrecks. We are the tireless, experienced advocates you can rely on when it’s time to pursue justice after a crash.

What to Do After an 18-Wheeler Accident in Ruston, LA

Call 911 to get the Ruston Police Department or other authorities on the scene ASAP. Then:
Damage closeup on white truck.
Get medical attention immediately.
1
Collect information from other drivers involved and, if possible, any witnesses to the wreck.
2
Get pictures and video of the crash site. Try to include as much of the scene, damage, and involved people as you can. You never know what detail may come in handy later, so don’t hold back on taking pictures.
3
Don’t state or explain anything but simple facts. Don’t admit fault. Don’t say sorry. This is important to keep in mind when you’re speaking to anyone at the crash scene, as well as the insurance companies.
4
Visit a doctor ASAP after the crash and get all medical care you need to treat your 18-wheeler accident injuries.
5
Call your insurance company to report the accident. Try not to delay this report more than a day or two if possible.
6
Discover your best options for filing a claim by consulting a Ruston truck accident attorney at Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers. Initial consultations are 100% free and confidential, so you have nothing to lose by learning more about your rights and a potential truck accident claim.
7

When Should I Contact a Ruston Truck Accident Lawyer?

ASAP. There’s limited time to file a claim, and the at-fault parties may already be working to shield themselves from liability.

By reaching out to a Ruston 18-wheeler accident lawyer, you can start taking effective steps to protect your rights and a potential claim. You can also retain experienced counsel to help you build a stronger case and:

  • Collect and preserve the essential evidence
  • Manage every complex administrative need for your claim
  • Communicate with insurance companies and stand up to any of their attempts to unfairly deny or reduce your claim
  • Negotiate and review truck accident settlement offers
  • Fight for you in court whenever necessary
At Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers, this is just the beginning of what our Ruston truck accident attorneys will do for you when you partner with us in the pursuit of justice. You can also count on us for strategic counsel, compassion, and client-focused representation at every phase of your case.

How Much Are Truck Accident Settlements?

Compensation for Ruston truck accidents claims varies from case to case. That’s because the severity of the injuries, losses, and suffering victims experience will vary from crash to crash.

Generally, the more serious a tractor-trailer accident is, the more damages victims suffer. Those cases, when successful, tend to see higher compensation because victims tend to have more expensive medical bills and permanent losses. Still, damages for Ruston truck accident cases generally cover some key losses. That can include (but may not be limited to):

  • Medical bills (past and future)
  • Lost wages, benefits, and bonuses (past & future)
  • Lost earning capacity
  • Property damage
  • Pain and suffering
  • Funeral expenses (after deadly crashes)
  • Loss of consortium
This compensation will never change the past or fix what truck accidents have wrecked forever. It can, however, help survivors and families heal and start to pull their lives back together.

Talk to a Ruston Truck Accident Lawyer Who Can Help You Now

The sooner you talk to a Ruston truck accident lawyer when you need answers, the better. Find out more about your rights, your legal options, and how we can help you by contacting Morris & Dewett Injury Lawyers.

Driven by a tireless dedication to our clients and justice, we provide unparalleled counsel and advocacy to help truck accident victims win. Discover the difference our team can make in your case and recovery by contacting us today.

Call (318) 221-1508 or Email Us for a Free, Confidential Consultation. Your path to justice can start with a call or an email.

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