Personal Injury of Nevada

By Farhan Naqvi, Truck Accident Lawyer in Las Vegas

Here’s a scenario: let’s say you are traveling along a Las Vegas highway in your vehicle, when a tractor-trailer unexpectedly swerves into your lane and causes an accident. Because you suffered injuries in the truck wreck, you decide to file a personal injury lawsuit against the trucking company.

Now, the question: does the truck’s cargo have any relevance to the damages in your case?

The answer? Yes and no.

Under the letter of the law, the type of cargo being hauled by a truck should not directly impact the amount of damages to which you are entitled. Those damages are based on traditional factors such as medical bills, property damage, lost wages from work, pain and suffering, and so on. Unless the cargo itself contributed to your damages directly (for instance, if spilled cargo caused damage to your vehicle or additional injuries to you), then it does not factor into the compensation equation.

But the answer to above question is somewhat different in practice.

To understand why, we must first look at the different federal regulations which govern various types of trucking cargo in the U.S. As with passenger vehicles, tractor-trailers are required by law to maintain a minimum amount of liability coverage at all times. But this minimum financial responsibility varies according to the type of cargo being transported.

Federal rules dictate that any tractor-trailer carrying nonhazardous materials must have at least $750,000 in insurance or surety bonded coverage. For trucks hauling certain substances such as petroleum, that minimum amount rises to $1 million. However, any company that transports substances that are classified as hazardous by the federal government must obtain coverage which provides financial responsibility of no less than $5 million.

So what does this have to do with your accident? As a rule, the dollar amount of trucking company coverage affects any accident claims the company may have to pay out. In other words, the higher the minimum financial responsibility amount of a truck involved in an accident, the larger the damage award will be to the victimized motorists if the trucking company is found to be at fault.

An experienced personal injury attorney will be able to figure out the minimum financial responsibility required for the tractor-trailer that was involved in your accident – and then leverage that result to help you collect as much compensation as you deserve. 

About the Editor: Farhan R. Naqvi is a Las Vegas personal injury lawyer who has experience representing victims injured in car accidents, drunk driver crashes, truck wrecks, slip and falls, taxi cab accidents, and bicycle crashes. He also has experience handling spine injury, product liability, underinsured/uninsured driver, and wrongful death cases. If you’ve been seriously hurt in an accident in Summerlin, North Las Vegas, Clark County, Henderson, Boulder City, Green Valley, or Pahrump, give Farhan a call at 702-553-1000 for a free, no-hassle consultation.