How Long Does It Take to Settle a Semi-Truck Accident?

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) estimates that large truck crashes cause approximately 100,000 injuries and 5,000 fatalities each year. After a serious semi-truck accident, victims often suffer from debilitating injuries that prevent them from working while increasing monthly medical and household expenses. Many families injured by negligent truck operators wonder how long it takes to recover needed compensation after a semi-truck crash.

From truck driver fatigue to a tire blowout, every accident involves unique facts, injuries, and insurers. As such, it may take time to recover monetary damages after a tractor-trailer crash. Experienced truck accident lawyers may help families estimate a claim’s settlement time frame based on similar cases, but various factors may delay or expedite this process. If you’re wondering whether to accept a settlement, return to work against medical advice, or contact an attorney for assistance, consider how the following circumstances impact large truck cases in the United States.

Approximating a Settlement Timeline for Semi-Truck Accidents

Settling auto accident cases involving large trucks is an art. Lawyers and their clients must balance the case’s actual value (direct damages) and insurance value (policy limits) with the claimant’s unique injuries and financial needs. Ultimately, claimants control settlement decisions. They must review and approve all proposed settlements in truck accident cases and may accept lower payments for faster claims resolutions.

Knowledgeable truck accident attorneys could help clients estimate their settlement timelines in viable truck accident cases. Moreover, they can efficiently maximize your recovery.

Top Five Factors Affecting Tractor-Trailer Settlement Timelines

Various conditions dictate if and when you might settle a truck accident claim. One factor may weigh more than others when insurers agree to a monetary payout. Experienced truck accident lawyers will leverage every favorable issue to achieve the quickest, highest settlement available following a semi-truck crash. Attorneys and insurance adjusters generally begin their case analysis by considering the following five factors surrounding a commercial trucking accident.

Liability (What Happened?)

Not every truck accident results in a financial settlement. To claim damages from a trucking company or commercial insurer, injured parties must generally show that the truck driver or company’s unlawful behavior caused or contributed to the crash.

The most common mistakes resulting in truck accidents include:

Most truck accidents give rise to legal claims for negligent or reckless driving. Negligence claims require proof that the driver violated a legal duty to safely operate the truck and that his careless conduct caused the claimant’s injuries. The same principle applies to trucking companies, owners, and manufacturers if a mechanical defect contributed to or caused a crash. In some cases, claimants may demand compensation for driver recklessness. Reckless conduct, such as operating an 18-wheeler while drunk or with serious disregard for other drivers’ safety, may support higher settlement awards.

When the evidence supports truck driver negligence, the commercial insurer typically accepts liability. Important evidence includes video footage, photographs, witness testimony, and the police report. If the truck driver denies liability, the claimant does not have direct evidence of negligence, or a multi-vehicle collision occurred, it may take time to determine fault. Factual disputes surrounding the accident’s cause and investigative delays often extend the settlement timeframe. Sometimes, insurance adjusters and attorneys cannot agree on a set of facts and must bring the case before a jury.

Injuries (What’s the Damage?)

Only claimants who suffered from actual damages – physical/emotional injuries or property loss – may request compensation from liable parties. Four different categories of injuries generally inform the settlement amount and time frame after a semi-truck crash.

Soft tissue injuries. The FMCSA estimates that nearly one-third of truck accidents involve rear-end collisions. When an 18-wheeler rear-ends a small passenger vehicle, even low-speed accidents send powerful shock waves through vehicle occupants. This force often throws passengers forward before seatbelts or airbags snap them back. The sudden forward and backward movement commonly strains (pulls or tears) the muscle and tendons running down the neck and back. For this reason, the majority of post-truck accident injuries involve whiplash and back pain.

Truck accident lawyers and insurers commonly refer to muscle strains as soft-tissue injuries. This term generally includes the following medical conditions:

Because the muscles surrounding the spinal cord weaken with age, middle-aged and older vehicle occupants may suffer from more traumatic back and neck damage. Some drivers carry small personal injury insurance policies (PIP or no-fault coverage) to cover losses associated with soft-tissue injuries. Most soft-tissue damage heals within a few weeks or months without the need for intensive treatment. Still, some injured vehicle occupants may need a few months of physical therapy or arthroscopic surgery to repair minor tears. In either case, semi-truck crashes resulting only in soft tissue damage often result in small settlement offers within six months.

Claimants should submit evidence of necessary treatment, including medical bills and lost wages during the recovery process. However, claimants should wait to request an appropriate settlement until cleared by medical professionals, i.e., no lingering pain or disc damage, or when recommended by an attorney.

Short-term disabling injuries. Due to the inherent weight differential between tractor-trailers and passenger cars, many tailgating accidents result in herniated discs, concussions, and fractures. These injuries often accompany soft-tissue damage but frequently necessitate surgery, prolonged physical therapy, and lifestyle modifications following the crash.

Spinal damage, such as slipped and ruptured discs, often requires a course of physical therapy before doctors recommend surgery. However, patients may still suffer from lasting nerve pain, lost range of motion, and associated limitations even after surgery. It may take years before claimants reach maximum medical improvement or heal from their truck accident injuries. Serious fractures might also require surgery and prolonged physical therapy, while head trauma may result in cognitive dysfunction.

These cases often cause financial setbacks as claimants lose wages while struggling to pay for household help and rehabilitation. Nevertheless, most people recover from these injuries within a few years. Truck insurers frequently make settlement offers during the claimant’s recovery process, but accepting a settlement has risks.

It may take months or years before doctors determine the claimant needs another surgery or can no longer work due to prolonged pain. Accepting a settlement during the treatment process generally means you cannot request additional money for subsequent losses and injuries stemming from the crash.

Truck accident lawyers may ask medical, occupational, and economic experts to estimate your case’s probable value in such situations. These calculations typically include past damages and future anticipated lost wages and medical costs.

Claimants may then work with insurers to either settle a claim during the treatment process or wait until they’ve reached maximum medical improvement. You may opt to recover a lesser sum earlier in the treatment process or wait until you have a firm prognosis to request a higher sum.

Permanent and long-term conditions (partial and total disability). Some of the most common types of truck accidents, including jackknifing, undercarriage, rollover, and tire blowouts, cause life-altering injuries to innocent vehicle occupants and bystanders.

If you suffered from the following injuries, commercial insurers might quickly payout the insurance policy, i.e., offer the maximum available settlement under the trucking insurance contract:

• Amputations
• Crushing injuries resulting in organ damage and organ system failures
• Severe traumatic brain injuries resulting in a coma, vegetative state, or permanent cognitive disabilities
• Paralysis (paraplegia or quadriplegia)
• Permanent spinal and nerve damage
• Blindness
• Extensive full-thickness burns
• Fibromyalgia

These injuries commonly result in complete or partial disabilities, leaving you unable to work or enjoy previous hobbies and activities. In the following cases, even an insurance payout might not adequately compensate claimants for their lifetime losses. Experienced truck accident attorneys may file truck accident litigation against the truck driver, trucking company, and truck owner to obtain both private and insurance settlement offers. This process may take time, but it is often the best way to get essential compensation for permanent disabilities.

If doctors immediately certify the victim suffered a disabling injury, attorneys might quickly retain experts to calculate future needs and damages. These calculations might result in quicker settlements for retired persons or returning to work despite their disabilities. However, sometimes short-term conditions develop into long-term disabilities. These cases may take longer to settle as the parties wait and see if the claimant will recover following medical intervention.

Local lawyers can generally help seriously injured claimants understand their financial recovery rights, applicable claims’ deadlines, and realistic case value. These cases may settle for the commercial policy limit or a higher amount following litigation. Some of the largest truck accident settlements in the United States involved permanent disabilities and settled for tens of millions following litigation.

Death. Semi-truck crashes resulting in fatalities may take time to settle due to administrative procedures. Filing wrongful death litigation and related claims generally involve a prolonged probate process. Families may disagree on an executor or estate matter, which could delay your right to seek compensation for a loved one’s fatal injuries.

Further, settling wrongful death claims after a truck crash often involves the following damages:

• Direct claims payable to the decedent’s estate, i.e., compensation for the decedent’s pain and suffering
• Dependents’ claims for their loved one’s lost income, benefits, and emotional support, and
• Direct claims payable to relatives, i.e., compensation for funeral costs, trauma counseling expenses, and vehicle damage

Disputes often arise between families and trucking insurers over the value of the life lost. Wrongful death lawyers must typically retain family economic and occupational experts to calculate lifetime lost wages, including lost insurance and retirement benefits. Dependents—spouses, minor children, or other qualifying parties—must also testify about their emotional losses and pain. Insurers may disagree on this value, and attorneys may file wrongful death litigation to pressure insurers into a reasonable settlement. Legal professionals highly recommend connecting with a local truck accident attorney immediately following a fatal truck crash.

Available Insurance (What Are the Policy Limits?)

Most large trucks travel over state lines, implicating specific federal insurance requirements and guidelines. The FMCSA requires semi-truck owners to carry at least a $750,000 liability policy when transporting non-hazardous cargo. This minimum increases depending on the freight transported, and certain hazardous cargo has a $5 million policy minimum.

Many states have additional insurance requirements, and trucking companies may purchase larger insurance plans to protect their assets. Injured claimants and their lawyers may demand the semi-truck’s insurance policy information following a crash. Liable commercial motor vehicle insurers typically settle most truck accident cases within applicable policy limits. Attorneys often recommend accepting reasonable insurance settlements—rather than demanding compensation from drivers and companies directly—because major insurers often provide quicker, lump-sum payouts.

In some instances, lawyers recommend suing the semi-truck owner or manufacturer directly. Large trucks often cause serious chain-reaction crashes on highways, meaning multiple parties may claim a portion of the insurance policy. These accidents could leave seriously injured claimants without a viable settlement offer.

A lawyer may file litigation against the truck driver, vehicle owner, and semi-truck company before demanding private insurance policy information and settlements. Wealthy trucking companies and corporations may carry additional insurance policies or offer to settle claims on a cash basis. This process typically takes longer than traditional insurance settlement tactics and often necessitates legal action.

State Law (Can the Claimant Legally Sue or Recover Compensation?)

A handful of states have no-fault insurance laws prohibiting certain claimants from filing truck accident litigation. Instead, vehicle owners must carry PIP policies to compensate them for minor soft-tissue injuries. Only claimants who suffered from a serious injury, sometimes called a threshold injury, may file truck accident cases in these states. Claims barred by these threshold limitations, generally soft-tissue cases, often result in minor settlement offers.

Additionally, a few states have rigid motor vehicle accident laws prohibiting recovery when certain factors exist. Claimants must also review the statute of limitations in their jurisdiction to avoid unintentionally waiving their compensation rights. Local lawyers may review these factors with injured parties after semi-truck crashes and recommend accepting a quicker, smaller settlement due to legal barriers.

Litigation (What’s the Likelihood of a Successful Verdict?)

Insurance adjusters and attorneys typically settle viable semi-truck accident cases without filing litigation, i.e., suing the truck driver. Most states give claimants a few years to decide whether to take the case to court. However, injured plaintiffs must file litigation within the applicable statute of limitations.

Lawyers often recommend suing the truck driver, his employer, and/or the semi-truck owner in the following cases:

• Expiring statute of limitations
• The insurance company refuses to offer a reasonable settlement
• Parties contest liability
• Parties disagree on actual damages
• The claimant needs compensation above insurance policy limits
• Insurers act fraudulently or in bad faith
• Parties disagree on applicable laws
• Trucking company violated federal and state trucking regulations
• The truck driver and/or employer refuses to turn over essential evidence
• A semi-truck caused a major chain-reaction crash

While litigation can take time, most cases settle before trial. Some even settle as soon as lawyers serve the legal complaint. Litigation generally extends the settlement timeline but may result in higher settlement payouts.

Identifying Potential Liability for Corporate FMCSA Violations

Semi-truck accident cases often differ from traditional car crash litigation because truck drivers operate corporate, not personal, vehicles. Most states automatically assign liability for operator negligence to the truck’s registered owner and truck driver’s employer. This principle, called vicarious liability, permits eligible claimants to recover financial compensation from the truck’s owner or driver’s employer for the operator’s negligence conduct. Nearly all truck accident cases implicate vicarious liability principles, but sometimes lawyers obtain evidence of direct corporate negligence.

Multiple federal safety regulations apply to eighteen-wheelers. These laws govern everything from mandatory tire pressure checks and cargo limitations to truck driver health. Attorneys sometimes discover that the truck owners did not perform scheduled maintenance immediately before the crash, approved cargo overloads, or pressured the driver into forging hourly logs and driving while fatigued. Such conduct may support settlement demands directly against the liable companies if these legal violations caused or contributed to a crash.

Similarly, injured claimants might demand compensation from the vehicle manufacturer if a mechanical defect or failure contributed to the crash. Claimants may not recover double damages, i.e., full damages from each liable party, in truck accident cases. However, clear evidence of safety violations often supports accelerated negligence judgments and persuades adjusters to offer reasonable settlements.

Relieve Financial Distress During Settlement Negotiations

Legal professionals understand that sudden injuries often result in sudden financial difficulties. Claimants without sufficient health, no-fault, or disability insurance may struggle to cover medical, transportation, and household costs during the recovery process. Many injured claimants settle truck accident claims for less than their maximum value to obtain temporary financial relief.

While quick lump-sum settlements may seem tempting, accepting an insufficient offer has long-term consequences. Signing for a settlement check generally means waiving all remaining claims and demands for financial compensation related to the truck accident. Courts strictly enforce these waivers to encourage settlement, but inadequate payouts may leave claimants struggling with chronic injuries without future financial recourse.

Truck accident lawyers empathize with clients suffering from the physical, social, emotional, and financial effects of a serious semi-truck collision. Claimants typically inquire about settlement timelines while experiencing economic strain, but they could have other options. Compassionate truck accident attorneys may help clients obtain temporary financial relief without waiving their compensation rights.

A lawyer may recommend reputable litigation loan companies, prepare SSDI and disability paperwork for clients, appeal adverse insurance benefits decisions, or even request partial settlements from minor defendants. In cases with multiple defendants—such as multi-vehicle collisions—a lawyer could settle the claim with one party while filing suit against the trucking company. This option often provides claimants with temporary financial relief during an extended claims process.

Ways to Accelerate Semi-Truck Accident Settlements

When claimants cannot obtain temporary financial relief, experienced attorneys may push for an accelerated but slightly reduced payout. They often do so by emphasizing medical records linking serious injuries to the crash, police reports indicating truck driver liability, FMCSA safety violations, and expert calculations estimating substantial future losses.

Lawyers may also file truck accident complaints and request settlement before insurers must retain potentially expensive legal defense services. Sometimes parties will agree to alternative dispute resolution proceedings, such as arbitration and guided mediation, which often result in faster settlements. The litigation process generally yields higher payments, but sometimes the time and expense of lawsuits outweigh the case’s value. Consider discussing these accelerated options with your family and private legal counsel.

Calculating the Maximum Value of Tractor-Trailer Crash Cases

Truck accident settlements compensate claimants for losses attributable to negligent conduct. As such, the value of your truck accident claim depends on your actual damages. The same semi-truck crash may yield dramatically different settlement amounts based on the claimant’s lost wages, age, and family situation. Settlements do not punish the truck driver and will not generally exceed your reported losses. However, you may demand compensation for past losses, future anticipated expenses, and damages for pain, suffering, and frustration. Spouses and minor children might also demand payment for lost family companionship and emotional support.

Damages Available Through Settlement Negotiations

Claimants may demand money for direct and indirect economic losses and non-economic damages associated with the case. Due to the time limitations applicable to truck accident claims, these losses may include demands for future anticipated damages related to the collision.

Economic (monetary) losses commonly include demands for:

• Emergency room and ambulance expenses
• Doctors and physical therapy bills
• Medical equipment and pharmacy costs
• Lost wages
• Lost insurance benefits and retirement contributions
• Lost career advancement and opportunities
• Expenses associated with necessary career changes and training
• Medical transportation expenses
• Home and workplace modification costs
• At home nursing and caretaker expenses, including help with daily activities
• Vehicle and personal property damage

Claimants may submit medical bills, pharmacy receipts, house cleaning invoices, pay stubs, and doctors’ reports to support these alleged losses. Economic and medical experts may also use the value of past losses to infer future damages.

Non-economic damages refer to recoverable losses without a calculable value, i.e., pain, mental anguish, frustration, and loss of life’s enjoyments. Examples include lost enjoyment of recreational activities, canceled family vacations, or the frustration associated with lost sleep. Physically painful injuries, such as third-degree burns and nerve damage, often support higher pain and suffering awards. Emotionally painful injuries do the same. Life-changing disabilities, including amputations, paralysis, and traumatic brain injuries, often contribute to depression, social difficulties, and family turmoil. You may claim compensation for these losses associated with a semi-truck accident.

Lastly, spouses may claim direct compensation for their frustrations by demanding a loss of consortium damages. Legally married persons generally qualify for additional damages related to lost affection, physical companionship, and emotional support. One spouse may also demand compensation for undertaking additional household responsibilities, driving an injured spouse to doctor’s appointments, and any lost wages associated with caretaker functions.

Calculating Pain and Suffering Damages After a Semi-Truck Accident

Many truck accident claimants report that the emotional suffering and frustrations stemming from a truck crash outweigh their direct financial losses. However, pain and suffering damages typically correspond to reported direct damages.

Attorneys may increase the value of a settlement offer by highlighting grossly negligent truck driver conduct. Semi-truck crashes caused by deliberate FMCSA safety violations, drunk drivers, or reckless driving might commend higher pain and suffering awards, as do life-altering injuries such as disfigurement, amputations, and paralysis. The second method of calculating pain and suffering damages involves assigning a daily monetary value to the claimant’s distress. For example, facial burns and scarring may not result in high direct losses but often cause lifetime emotional distress.

By correctly calculating your legally compensable losses and submitting appropriate evidence supporting the same, you may maximize the case’s value. Speak with an attorney about the compensable damages available in your state and retain proof of all expenditures related to the truck accident. Legal professionals may also ask claimants to keep journals chronicling the pain, emotional distress, and daily frustrations during the recovery process. More evidence generally leads to high insurance payouts after a semi-truck crash.

Determining a Realistic Settlement Demand

Many attorneys prepare settlement demands for insurance adjusters after gathering evidence of your direct losses. These settlement packages commonly include medical and treatment records, pay stubs, expense receipts, and testimony regarding your pain and suffering. Lawyers might also submit expert economic calculations extrapolating the value of your future losses. Financial demands typically set forth the case’s anticipated litigation value and request a lower amount in exchange for a lump-sum payout. Adjusters frequently make a counteroffer, and negotiations proceed from there.

While settling your case for a lower amount may seem unreasonable, the right offer typically benefits both parties. Lawsuits may require claimants to address extensive discovery requests, prepare affidavits, meet with lawyers, attend depositions, and even testify. Further, legal fees and costs generally increase during litigation, and it may take time to obtain a payout. Claimants must also prove every element of their case, including compensation demands, during trial. It’s always possible plaintiffs may receive nothing from the court. A local truck accident lawyer can generally help you calculate your case’s reasonable settlement value after reviewing the evidence.

Assessing the Take-Home Value of a Truck Accident Settlement

Motor vehicle cases involving semi-trucks typically settle for between 50 and 70 percent of the demand amount. Once a claimant accepts a proposed settlement, the insurance company generally sends the attorney or unrepresented claimant a certified check within 30 days. Attorneys must typically deposit these checks into an escrow account while calculating their fees and paying priority claims.

Most truck accident lawyers operate on a contingency fee basis, meaning they do not take payment upfront. Instead, they generally accept a percentage of the settlement amount as compensation and reimburse themselves for any prepaid case expenses. The attorney must then pay any liens associated with the case, including demands from health and disability insurers, child support authorities, litigation lenders, expert witnesses, and doctors. Following these disbursements, the claimant receives the remaining balance. Consider your truck accident claim’s realistic take-home value before agreeing to a settlement.

The Benefits of Retaining Legal Counsel After a Semi-Truck Crash

Without retaining legal counsel, few claimants receive the maximum settlement available after a truck accident. Lawyers typically add substantial experience and strategic value to semi-truck accident cases. Insurance adjusters often take advantage of unrepresented claimants, and lowball injured parties struggling to cover their living expenses. Some even unlawfully give claimants legal advice about their case’s value.

Only a local truck accident lawyer familiar with commercial motor vehicle regulations should advise claimants about how long it will take to settle their truck accident claims. Be open with legal counsel about your case’s facts and your financial concerns. There’s typically little to no risk associated with contacting a truck accident lawyer who may help maximize the value of your semi-truck accident settlement.