Truck crashes are among the most serious accidents on the road because of the size and weight of these large vehicles. A total of 3,235 of these accidents happened in New Mexico in 2022, including 97 fatal accidents and 882 collisions that caused injury according to the New Mexico Department of Transportation.
Accident claims involving trucks can be complicated both because they are more likely to be serious and because certain rules apply that may make more parties accountable for covering your losses. A Santa Fe truck accident lawyer at Caruso Law Offices can help you navigate these complex cases. Our lead attorney has 32 years of experience settling cases for clients and we’ve been named among the Top 10 Trucking Trial Lawyers.
Schedule a free consultation with our Santa Fe truck accident attorney to discuss your case and talk about potential legal Contact us at (505) 883-5000 or by filling out our online form.
Why Choose Our Santa Fe Truck Accident Attorney?
We’ll offer the following advantages to your claim for compensation:
Evidence Gathering and Investigation
Recovering from a truck accident is a serious task, both physically and financially. It’s critical to choose the right law firm for your case.
At Caruso Law Offices, our Santa Fe car accident lawyers only handle car accidents and traffic accidents of all types. Our entire firm dedicates itself to helping car accident victims recover their losses so they can move forward in the best way possible.
We offer the following advantages to your truck accident case:
Results
Our truck accident law firm has a track record of obtaining multi-million dollar verdicts and large settlements for our clients, including recent wins of over $7 million.
Experience
Our attorneys have over two decades of experience navigating New Mexico truck accident claims and court litigation for accident victims. Many of the Santa Fe personal injury attorneys in our firm previously represented insurance companies.
They are deeply familiar with their methods and know the best strategies to recover the maximum compensation. Our Santa Fe truck accident attorney has the power to win your claim.
Compassion
Our attorneys are not only knowledgeable and experienced, but truck accident recovery is what drives us. We have deep compassion for truck accident victims and the ripple effects of serious injuries on a victim’s life and family.
When injuries occur due to someone else’s careless actions, we have a passion for bringing our clients the compensation and sense of justice they deserve.
Who is Liable in a Santa Fe Truck Accident?
You can pursue a claim for compensation after any Santa Fe truck accident in which the driver of a truck was partly responsible for causing you to be hurt. If your loved one died in a truck accident, you can also bring a wrongful death claim.
Many states limit your ability to sue if you share the blame for a crash, but New Mexico isn’t one of them. New Mexico Code Section 41-31-A establishes a rule called a pure comparative fault rule that allows you to hold a defendant accountable for a portion of your losses based on the percentage of blame they share. So if a trucker was 20% responsible for an accident, they’d have to cover 20% of your damages.
How Long Do I Have to File a Truck Accident Claim in Santa Fe?
You do have to act quickly, though, as New Mexico Code Section 37-1-8 imposes a three year statute of limitations on injury claims. If you don’t act in that time, your case could be dismissed on the grounds it is time barred and you’d likely be unable to pursue a claim against the defendant for compensation.
If you are pursuing a truck accident claim based on the wrongful death of a loved one, New Mexico Code Section 41-2-2 sets a rule that the time clock on the three year statute of limitations starts on the day of the death. Our Santa Fe wrongful death attorney can help you get the justice you deserve.
Proving Negligence in a Santa Fe Truck Accident
If a trucker behaved negligently or did something wrong on the road intentionally, you should be able to hold them accountable for harming you. Typically, this means showing:
- The trucker had a duty of care, or an obligation to behave safely and professionally on the road.
- The trucker’s actions fell short and were negligent, or below the standard of what a reasonable person would have done in the same situation.
- The negligence of the truck driver was the direct cause of the accident and the resulting harm you deserve to be compensated for.
While you must prove these elements of your case to pursue a claim against the trucker, the driver of the truck may not be the only party you can sue. Under New Mexico law, companies are vicariously responsible for the actions of their workers who engage in negligent activity on-the-job. A truck driver would be considered an agent of, or acting on behalf of, a company that hires them to transport products. So, that company may be legally liable if the trucker causes harm while transporting their shipment.
As the New Mexico Court of Appeals explained in Medina v. Graham’s Cowboys, Inc., “There are… situations in which a party who is without fault is responsible for paying compensatory damages caused by the fault of another.” Vicarious liability is one of those situations.
You do not have to prove the company employing the trucker was personally careless or negligent in any way to hold them accountable. It’s enough to show that the truck driver caused the incident while performing their work duties.
Our Santa Fe truck accident lawyer can work with you to determine if vicarious liability applies to your case and to help you identify any defendants who might be legally liable for your losses. If you have sustained substantial damages and the trucker has too little insurance or assets to compensate you, being able to make a case against their employer could make all the difference in ensuring you aren’t left uncompensated.
What Compensation Are You Entitled to After a Santa Fe Truck Accident?
The specific types of compensation you’ll be eligible for after a truck accident will vary depending how badly you were hurt and the extent of your damages.
The standard jury instructions in New Mexico state that if the defendant is found liable, the jury should award damages that will “reasonably compensate the plaintiff for the injuries that the plaintiff has sustained as a result of defendants ”wrongful conduct.”
Typically, reasonable compensation includes:
- Payment of medical bills including past and future bills
- Lost wages if your truck accident injuries make work difficult or impossible both now and in the future
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
If your loved one was killed in a truck crash, wrongful death cases can result in compensation for many of these same types of losses, including a lifetime of lost wages, as well as payment for the loss of companionship of the person who has passed.
Contact Our Santa Fe Truck Accident Lawyer
The truck accident lawyers in Santa Fe at Caruso Law Offices have recovered more than $30 million in settlement funds for clients. We’ll help you to fight for full and fair compensation for all losses resulting from the truck crash that you were involved in.
Give us a call today at (505) 883-5000 or fill our our online form to find out how we can put our legal skills to work for you on your accident claim. Free consultations are available.