St. Louis Fatal Truck Accident Lawyers

What Compensation is Available Following a St. Louis Fatal Truck Accident?

If you have lost a family member or loved one to a fatal truck accident, you are entitled to significant financial compensation. In order to get this compensation, you or another family member need to bring a wrongful death suit to the court. Under Missouri Revised Statute §537.100, you have three years from the date of the fatal accident to file a claim.

With help from Burger Law, financial compensation may be awarded for:

• Medical expenses
• Lost financial support
• Funeral and burial costs
• Pain and suffering
• Caregiving services, if the deceased was the caregiver or guardian to a minor, a senior, or person with a disability
• Loss of care, comfort, guardianship and support
• Loss of companionship

Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim Following a St. Louis Fatal Truck Accident?

Under Missouri Revised Statute §537.080, the claim must be filed by a spouse, parent, child or grandchild of the deceased. If none of these family members are living, then a sibling of the deceased may file, or a child of a sibling if the sibling is no longer living. For individuals with no surviving family members, a representative of the person’s estate can do so. Finally, if there is no representative, another person can petition to be able to file.

Our fatal truck accident lawyers are here to help. Call us now at (314) 500-HURT or contact us online to discuss the specifics of your case.

What Are Some Common Causes of Fatal Truck Accidents in St. Louis?

As with most accidents, the common causes of truck accidents are almost always avoidable. Listed below are some of the most common causes of truck accidents in St. Louis and throughout both Missouri and Illinois:

• Truck Driver Fatigue - Under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s hours-of-service regulations, drivers are only supposed to operate a set number of hours per day. This law was created to keep tired drivers from getting behind the wheel of their truck and causing accidents. Being awake for 18 consecutive hours is equivalent to having a blood alcohol content of .05 percent. When a truck driver operates their truck while tired, they are maneuvering an 80,000lb vehicle, not a small passenger car that maybe weighs 3,000lb. There is a massive difference between the two, and if a truck causes an accident, the injuries are more likely to be fatal, and horrific.
• Truck Equipment Failure - Trucks are massive vehicles with large parts that need to be inspected routinely. They carry thousands of pounds of cargo, and when one of their parts fails it can lead to the failure of the vehicle and even an accident. Truck drivers and trucking companies must routinely inspect their vehicles to make sure all of their parts are in a safe working order, and ensure that any parts that are not up to code are replaced or repaired.
• Speeding - By law, truck drivers are required to go no faster than certain speeds while operating their vehicles. This seems simple enough, as you have to abide by traffic laws when you drive your car, however, your vehicle does not weigh 10,000lbs + and is not carrying extremely heavy cargo that can make it even more dangerous to operate.
• Texting and Driving - Texting and driving is dangerous regardless of the circumstances. Whether you are behind the wheel of a truck or car doesn't matter, it's dangerous and is just as fatal if not more so than drinking and driving or smoking and driving.
• Overloaded Truck - This is yet another law that is designed to make trucking safer in the US, and yet not all truckers follow the law. When a truck is overweight, it can fishtail easily, or the driver can lose control of the truck when driving through tight corners. Overweight trucks are also more prone to flipping and other accidents that arise from overweight trucks. To prevent this, weigh stations are implemented on interstates to make sure truck drivers are following the law.

Any kind of motor vehicle collision can be fatal, especially when one or more of the vehicles involved are traveling at high speeds at the time of the impact. If you or a loved one are seriously injured or killed in a truck accident in St. Louis or elsewhere in Missouri or Illinois, contact a St. Louis fatal truck accident lawyer right away.

Our team of passionate litigators and trial lawyers are dedicated to standing up for the vulnerable and making the negligent pay for the harm they have caused. When a truck accident in Missouri or Illinois becomes fatal, Burger Law’s fatal car accident lawyers demand justice and the maximum recovery for you. Get a free review with an experienced truck accident wrongful death lawyer in St. Louis at (314) 500-HURT or contact us online.