Independent truckers know the value of every mile. For oversized and heavy haul, the stakes are even higher. Experienced and professional heavy haul truckers have highly specialized equipment, strict timelines for deliveries, and very desirable dedicated load contracts. But what happens when a simple parking lot accident takes your valuable equipment out of service? Suddenly, your livelihood is parked right alongside your rig in the shop.
Why Parking Lot Accidents Are Especially Damaging
For an owner-operator, repair-related downtime isn’t just inconvenient—it’s costly. While the shop works on your truck, loads are missed, clients look elsewhere, and steady income dries up. But the bills keep rolling in. Truck payments, business loans, insurance, and personal living expenses don’t wait for income to start again. It’s frustrating because the accident wasn’t even your fault, yet you’re the one bearing the financial burden.
Why Insurance Companies Push Back
Owner-operators in heavy haul trucking shouldn’t have to absorb these losses. Recovering income during repair downtime is recoverable in most states. However, it requires more than persistence; it often requires legal backing. Adverse adjusters with self-insured companies and insurance companies may minimize or deny legitimate claims, leaving drivers without fair compensation.
What You Can Do Next
If you’re an independent trucker facing lost income after a parking lot accident, don’t settle for excuses. Protect your finances and your business by hiring experienced trucking attorneys to recover all of your repair-related downtime losses.
Protect Every Dollar After an Accident
If you’ve been sidelined by a parking lot accident that wasn’t your fault, you shouldn’t be stuck paying the bill. Call Eckert & Associates, P.A. at (904) 278-7688 or visit DowntimeClaims.com today for a free consultation. We help truckers recover every possible loss—downtime, diminished value, and more.
Kelsea Eckert enjoys helping clients resolve their insurance and downtime claims. She is active in the trucking community and is always willing to speak with groups about transportation topics.
Kelsea was raised in the Bloomington, Illinois area and has practiced law since 1988. She lives in Florida and Kentucky, representing clients across the United States.
Over the years, she has written numerous books, including: The Illinois Legal Filing Directory, Small Claims Court Without a Lawyer, How to Form Your Own Corporation, Getting Paid in Full, Lawsuits of the Rich and Famous, and Selling Internationally, Without a Product.
Kelsea regularly speaks at trade shows, podcasts, and radio shows on transportation issues. She writes articles for newsletters, magazines and the Eckert & Associates, PA blog. Some of her writings and interviews are available on Transport Topics, Landline Media, Expediters Online, Service Truck Magazine, and other transportation media networks.
Kelsea attended Illinois State University and University of Georgia during her undergraduate years. She graduated from Southern Illinois University School of Law. She is a member of the Illinois Bar and Florida Bar.
Kelsea is on the board of the Transportation Club of Jacksonville as the Driver Advocate Chair. She is involved in her community through volunteering, and she and her husband have two amazing children.