Common Dangers for Bucket Trucks Accidents in West Virginia
Sometimes called “cherry-pickers,” bucket trucks are complicated machines specifically designed to help workers access high, hard-to-reach spots.
Their long, retractable arms can span across roadways or over front yards. The work up above can be fixing dangerous electrical wires or cutting down heavy tree limbs.
As a result, the list of possible dangers is far longer than a typical truck on the road. Some common causes of bucket truck accidents include:
Electrocution: The electric power companies in Charleston and throughout West Virginia use bucket trucks to maintain their power grids. The trucks are supposed to be properly insulated and grounded to avoid electrical shocks. When they’re not, catastrophe can strike, leading to severe and even deadly injuries.
Defective boom or bucket: Bucket trucks must be designed to keep workers and people on the ground safe. If the boom doesn’t operate properly or has weak or missing bolts, a worker can be thrown from the bucket or a passing car can be struck as it comes crashing down.
Falling debris: Tree limbs and transformers both pose risks to everyone on the ground below a bucket truck. They’re heavy and can cause severe injury if they hit someone.
Tipping over: Because their booms extend high above the chassis, bucket trucks are vulnerable to shifting weight. If the rig isn’t properly buttressed and secured, it can tip over, endangering the worker in the bucket and anyone on the ground.
Traffic accidents: When moving, bucket trucks pose the same risks any heavy machinery does on West Virginia roadways.
The injuries from a bucket truck accident can be severe, damaging both your physical and mental health.
It also strikes at your sense of fairness: You didn’t cause this accident, but you’re paying the consequences.
If you recognize any of the situations above, a legal claim can be the best option. You can recover lost wages, pay your medical bills, and have peace of mind knowing you’ll have help as you try to return to your normal life.
If you have questions about your situation, the skilled personal injury and bucket truck accident lawyers at Shaffer & Shaffer can walk you through your case. And we’ll do it free of charge. You don’t pay any attorney fees until we win your case.
Compensation You Can Receive for a Charleston Bucket Truck Accident
When you’re hurt in a bucket truck accident, financial compensation can help you cover the unexpected expenses and losses you must deal with as you recover.
Medical bills, lost wages, property damage, pain and suffering—even wrongful death can be covered.
If you were on the job during a bucket truck accident in Charleston, you may be entitled to workers compensation for your injuries, lost wages and time out of work.
But if a third party caused your injuries—someone not with your company—and they acted with negligence in causing the accident, you may be able to pursue greater compensation in a personal injury case.
Examples of liable parties could include a subcontractor or a manufacturer who built a defective truck, or the driver of a vehicle who collided with the bucket truck.
If your employer knowingly and deliberately exposed you to harm, you may have a case against them for compensation in addition to workers’ comp benefits.
If a bucket truck caused your injuries and you weren’t an employee of the company using the truck, a personal injury claim against anyone who caused the accident is your main legal recourse.
In Charleston, you can pursue both compensatory and punitive damages against the at-fault party. There is no cap on compensatory damages, which include losses such as wages and medical expenses, as well as more general damages such as pain and suffering, diminished earning potential and reduced quality of life.
West Virginia does have a cap on punitive damages, which are intended to punish the at-fault party and ensure such a terrible accident doesn’t happen again. In these cases, damages are capped at $500,000 or four times the compensatory damage award, whichever is greater.
You can still seek damages even if you were partly to blame for the accident. West Virginia is a comparative negligence state, meaning that as long as the other party was more than 50% responsible, you can file a personal injury claim. Your compensation can be reduced, however, if you shoulder some percentage of the responsibility.
Securing compensation for bucket truck accidents is complicated, requiring a keen understanding of what happened, who acted negligently or carelessly, what evidence to gather and how the law applies.
That’s why Shaffer & You together is the best chance of success.
The West Virginia bucket truck accident lawyers at Shaffer & Shaffer know what it takes to help you move forward.
Shaffer & You: Why Work with Us?
Everyday West Virginians can get legal help from one of the most established and respected law firms in the state: Shaffer & Shaffer. Our firm is over a century old and still going strong because we put the needs of our clients first—always.
West Virginia lawyers Ryan Walters and Chip Shaffer in the office at Shaffer & Shaffer.
Have a Question about Personal Injury Claims?
After a life-altering accident, you’re understandably upset, confused and full of questions. To help you get a sense of what’s next, we’ve prepared answers to common questions about personal injury claims and other legal cases.
Injury FAQs »
