Commercial Vehicle Accidents in Virginia
Virginia Code § 46.2-341.4 defines a commercial motor vehicle as a motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of 26,001 or more pounds, designed to transport 16 or more passengers (including the driver), or is used to transport hazardous materials.
Commercial vehicles are, quite simply, much larger than standard passenger vehicles. When a commercial driver causes a crash in Virginia, everybody involved is much more likely to suffer very serious injuries.
Need an Injury Lawyer Virginia represents clients in Danville, Chesapeake, Charlottesville, Norfolk, Newport News, Portsmouth, Virginia Beach, Richmond, Hampton, Roanoke, Alexandria, Lynchburg, Suffolk, and many other nearby areas.
Types of commercial vehicles in Virginia
Commercial trucks, or 18-wheelers, are perhaps the most common and recognizable type of commercial motor vehicles on roads in Virginia. Several other kinds of commercial vehicles can also be responsible for deadly crashes, including:
- Agricultural trucks
- Catering trucks
- Cement mixers
- Commercial buses
- Construction or excavation vehicles
- Courier vehicles
- Delivery vans
- Flatbed trucks
- Garbage trucks
- Hospitality vans or shuttle vehicles
- Limousines
- Pump trucks
- Refrigerated trucks
- Tank trucks
- Tow trucks
In many cases, commercial vehicles have insurance policies with much higher limits than passenger vehicles. The companies that own these vehicles understand the potential liability they can have when one of their drivers is responsible for a crash, which is why they frequently have agents at the scenes of accidents as soon as possible to minimize the amount of any possible injury claim.
What should you do if you’ve been in an accident involving a commercial vehicle?
If you are involved in any kind of crash caused by a commercial motor vehicle, the first thing you should do is seek medical attention—even if you do not think that you were hurt. Avoiding or delaying medical care is certain to be used against you by the commercial vehicle’s insurance company.
If the agents for owner of a commercial motor vehicle or its insurance company contact you, it is in your best interest to avoid making any kind of recorded statement. Do not sign any kind of paperwork without having an experienced personal injury lawyer review it first.
Finally, you should attempt to preserve any evidence from the crash that you can. Try to take pictures or have someone else take photographs of the accident scene for you. No attorney will ever tell you that you took too many pictures.
Contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.
You should not delay in contacting Need an Injury Lawyer Virginia. Our personal injury lawyers have years of experience investigating commercial vehicle crashes, and our firm understands how to prove that a driver or company’s negligence directly resulted in your injuries.
Need an Injury Lawyer Virginia offers free, no obligation consultations to review your case. You can call our office 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We serve communities in Spotsylvania County, Albemarle County, Hanover County, Fairfax County, Prince William County, Loudoun County, Chesterfield County, Henrico County, Arlington County, and Stafford County.