Any time you or someone you love has suffered a personal injury in an accident that a truck driver caused, you should seek the assistance of an experienced truck accident attorney in your jurisdiction. Even though a truck driver’s negligence may have caused the accident, the truck driver or the trucking company’s insurer will not be on your side.
Regardless of how badly you were injured, the insurance company is looking out for itself first and foremost. In effect, this means that the insurance company is going to do everything that it possibly can to downplay the severity of your injuries and damages, in an attempt to save itself as much money as possible.
As with other personal injury cases, time is of the essence in truck accident cases. Victims of truck accidents do not have an unlimited amount of time in which to file a claim or lawsuit for accident-related injuries. Depending upon the jurisdiction where your truck accident occurred, you may only have one or two years from the date of your accident to bring a claim or file a lawsuit in your case. Consequently, the sooner that you contact an experienced truck accident attorney in your jurisdiction, the better off you will be.
A knowledgeable truck accident lawyer can help you file a claim against the at-fault truck driver or trucking company. If the insurance company refuses to compensate you fully and fairly for your injuries along with everything else you suffered because of the accident, your lawyer can file a truck accident lawsuit on your behalf and help you pursue the monetary compensation that you deserve through the state court system.
Steps to Take Before Hiring a Truck Accident Lawyer
Truck accident injuries are serious and can include bone fractures and breaks, soft tissue injuries, traumatic head or brain injuries, and spinal cord injuries. If you have suffered an injury in an accident that a negligent truck driver caused, having experienced legal counsel on your side is essential. However, there are certain important steps that you should always take following your accident before you hire a lawyer.
Those steps include all of the following:
- Making sure that the responding police officer prepares a police report – Truck accidents are often very serious and may involve multiple vehicles. After those types of accidents, police officers typically respond to the accident scene and prepare a police report. The police report is an important piece of evidence, as it typically notes which driver was at fault for the accident, as well as whether or not the police officer issued the at-fault driver a citation.
- Speaking with eyewitnesses – In cases where liability—or fault—is in dispute, eyewitnesses to the accident become key. These individuals can testify about what they observed at the accident scene, the relative speeds of the involved vehicles, and who likely caused the accident.
- Obtaining medical treatment for your injuries – One of the most important steps you should take following a truck accident is to seek immediate medical care. Injuries can become worse if untreated, and an insurance company may become skeptical of the severity of your injuries if you do not seek immediate care. Always follow up with all treatment recommendations, including following up with a treating healthcare provider, specialist (such as an orthopedic doctor), or primary care doctor—especially if your symptoms continue to get worse. A personal injury truck accident attorney can then handle all of the legal aspects of your case while you receive treatment for your injuries and focus your attention on recovering.
What a Lawyer Can Do for You in Your Personal Injury Truck Accident Case
If you have suffered injuries in a truck accident that a negligent truck driver caused, your primary focus should be on getting the medical treatment you need to address your symptoms and recover from your injuries. In the meantime, a truck accident lawyer in your jurisdiction can handle the legal aspects of your case and promptly move it forward.
An experienced truck accident lawyer can assist you by:
- Gathering potential evidence and other documentation – When it comes to personal injury truck accident cases—especially those that involve serious injuries—evidence and documentation become key. An experienced lawyer can begin gathering this documentation while you continue treatment for your injuries. For example, your lawyer can obtain a copy of the police report, any lost wage documentation that you or your employer may have, and copies of all of your medical records and bills that are available to date.
- Preparing a demand package – Once you have finished treatment for the injuries which you suffered in your truck accident, your lawyer can assemble all of the medical records and bills into a demand package, followed by submitting this settlement demand to the insurance company for the negligent truck driver or trucking company. Since truck accident victims’ injuries are often very serious (depending upon the type and length of treatment the accident victim underwent), the accident victim’s attorney may be in a position to make a settlement demand for policy limits. Insurance coverage is not usually an issue in truck accident cases because truck drivers and trucking companies usually have large policies of insurance in place.
- Negotiating with the insurance company – Once your lawyer has submitted the settlement demand, the truck driver/trucking company’s insurance adjuster will review the demand, along with all of the attached medical documentation. The insurance company may then make an offer to settle the case. In some instances, these initial offers will be extremely low, and there is often much more money which is actually on the table. Your lawyer can negotiate with the insurance company’s adjuster in an attempt to reach a more favorable settlement offer in your case. If the parties can’t reach a settlement both agree on, then the lawyer can file a lawsuit against the negligent truck driver, trucking company, and any other potentially responsible party, in state court. Just by filing a lawsuit, however, does not guarantee that the case will proceed all the way to trial. In fact, the majority of truck accident cases settle out of court. Filing a lawsuit merely involves the court in the process.
- Filing a lawsuit and litigating the case in the state court system – If you and the insurance company cannot settle your truck accident case, your lawyer can file a lawsuit against all potentially responsible parties on your behalf. During the litigation stage of the case, you and your lawyer will answer interrogatories. Interrogatories are written questions about how your accident occurred, as well as the nature of your injuries and any permanent effects the injuries have caused. The truck driver or trucking company’s lawyer may also take your oral deposition to find out more about the accident, your injuries, and treatment. If the case does not settle following your deposition, you may decide to take your case to trial—or you may decide to pursue some form of alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation or arbitration.
Filing a Lawsuit Against All Potentially Responsible Parties
A lawyer can help you pursue monetary compensation for the injuries that you suffered in your truck accident, by filing a lawsuit against all potentially responsible individuals or entities. Specifically, a lawyer can assist you with bringing your claim, and if necessary, filing a lawsuit against the negligent truck driver and anyone else who was potentially responsible for your accident.
A successful claim or lawsuit against a truck driver must demonstrate that the truck driver acted unreasonably and that the accident occurred as a result, causing you to sustain injuries. Breaking the law by speeding, engaging in distracted driving, failing to abide by state and federal motor carrier regulations (such as load limits, safety lights, overhead/undercarriage lights, and securing mechanisms), or operating a truck while intoxicated, are all forms of negligent driving that can lead to a serious collision with another vehicle.
In some instances, the trucking company that employs the negligent truck driver may also be on the hook. If the driver is on the job at the time the accident occurs, and is acting within the scope of his or her employment, then the employer truck company may be vicariously liable for all of the truck driver’s actions and inactions, under agency law. Trucking companies may also be responsible for truck driver accidents when these companies fail to hire qualified drivers with good driving records. If a trucking company hires or retains a truck driver with a problematic history, and that driver causes an accident, then the trucking company may be responsible for any injuries and damages that result from the accident.
In addition to filing a lawsuit against a negligent truck driver and the truck driver’s employer (such as the trucking company) in an accident case, you may also file a lawsuit against a negligent parts manufacturer or repair facility that recently performed work on the tractor or trailer.
Parts manufacturers are responsible for making sure that they produce quality products and that these products are not defective. If an accident victim can demonstrate, through expert testimony, that a defective truck part caused or contributed to the accident, then the accident victim may make the parts manufacturer a defendant in any lawsuit that he or she files.
Moreover, truck repair facilities that perform maintenance work on tractors and trailers are responsible for performing all repairs in a safe and responsible manner. If the accident victim can demonstrate that an accident occurred because of unsafe repair work that a facility performed, then the accident victim can name the repair facility in any lawsuit that he or she files.
An experienced truck accident lawyer in your area will take care to name all potentially responsible parties in your truck accident case. If one or more of these named individuals was not negligent after all, your attorney may dismiss that entity from your case. However, when in doubt, it is always best to name any individual or entity that may potentially be responsible for your accident and the injuries that you suffered.
Helping You Pursue and Recover the Damages You Deserve
In addition to assisting you with filing a lawsuit against all potentially responsible parties in your truck accident case, a lawyer can help you pursue and recover the damages that you deserve. The primary purpose of monetary damages in a truck accident case is to make you feel whole to the greatest extent possible. Even though money is ultimately an inadequate compensation for a lifelong injury or impairment, it is the only means that the law uses to compensate accident victims who suffer injuries in truck accidents.
In addition to pursuing monetary compensation for all medical treatment bills and hospital stays, injured victims of truck accidents may pursue the compensation for:
- Lost earnings from a job
- Physical suffering, pain, and inconvenience which you endure due to your injuries
- Mental distress and emotional anguish
- Permanent injury or disability
- Extended or lifetime care in a facility, such as a nursing home or assisted living center
- Loss of spousal or family care and support
The types of monetary compensation for which you are eligible depend largely upon the nature and extent of your injuries. Generally speaking, the more serious your injuries and the more extensive your treatment, the higher your potential for obtaining a favorable damage award in your truck accident case. An experienced truck accident attorney in your jurisdiction will work hard to help you pursue much-needed monetary compensation on your behalf.
If you or a person you love has suffered an injury in a truck accident that might have been avoided, you should contact an experienced lawyer to represent you right away. As soon as you do that, your lawyer can begin assisting you with your claim and working towards obtaining monetary compensation on your behalf.
