With a large number of tractor-trailers, semi-trucks, and big rigs that traverse area highways every day, it is no wonder that crashes involving large trucks are unfortunately all too common. When a large tractor-trailer hits a much smaller vehicle, such as a passenger vehicle, bicycle, or motorcycle, the injuries that victims suffer can be permanent, catastrophic, and sometimes deadly. In addition, injured drivers and passengers might need to undergo prolonged medical treatment for their injuries, often at a significant monetary cost.
If you recently sustained injuries in a truck crash, you likely have questions and concerns about your legal rights, as well as your potential legal options. Therefore, you should always retain a skilled truck accident attorney in your area to represent you as quickly as possible after your collision.
A truck accident lawyer can answer all your questions and help you file a personal injury claim with the at-fault party’s insurance company.
Your attorney can also help you settle or litigate your case, depending on the circumstances. Finally, your lawyer can help you make informed and intelligent decisions throughout your case and help you maximize the total monetary compensation you obtain for your truck accident injuries.
Injuries Do Not Always Appear Right Away
When a large truck hits a much smaller vehicle, it is usually the occupants of the smaller vehicle who become injured. In fact, the injuries that truck accident victims suffer are all too frequently catastrophic and permanent. Injuries that a driver or passenger may suffer in a truck crash typically depend upon the truck’s speed, the general circumstances surrounding the accident, the directions of the involved vehicles, and the driver or passenger’s bodily movements in the vehicle when the crash occurred.
Truck accident victims’ most common injuries include open cuts and abrasions, bruises, soft tissue contusions, rib fractures, broken bones, traumatic head and brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, paralysis, internal organ damage, and death.
One thing you should know following a truck accident is that injuries do not always appear right away. In fact, it may take many days or weeks for these injuries to become fully apparent. One of the best ways to ensure your injuries do not worsen is by seeking ongoing medical treatment following your truck accident and completing any recommended treatment regimen.
While you focus all of your attention on your medical treatment, a knowledgeable truck accident attorney can start gathering your medical records and bills today to date, obtaining copies of police records or body cam footage, and organizing everything into a settlement demand package. After you complete the majority of your medical treatment, your lawyer can submit this information to the insurance company adjuster and begin pursuing the total settlement compensation you deserve for your injuries.
The Insurance Company Is Not on Your Side
In any truck accident scenario, accident victims should remember that insurance companies – and in particular, the at-fault truck driver’s insurance carrier, are not on their side. Despite what insurance companies relate in their advertisements, they are only interested in keeping as much of their own money in-house as possible, not paying out sizable personal injury settlements to accident victims. In fact, an insurance company might stand to lose a lot of money if it has to pay out significant settlement compensation to an injured truck accident victim.
Moreover, if the at-fault truck driver’s insurance company sees you are representing yourself, they will almost certainly take advantage of your situation and attempt to settle your case for as little money as possible. Insurance companies and their adjusters frequently believe that unrepresented individuals do not have the necessary legal or negotiation skills to obtain a favorable result in their own case. Therefore, insurance company adjusters typically lowball any offers they make to unrepresented accident victims.
You should always allow your attorney to handle all written and oral communications with insurance companies and their adjusters. Moreover, you should never agree to provide the insurance company with a recorded statement. As part of a recorded statement, an insurance company adjuster typically asks an accident victim various questions, but they may try to trick the accident victim into saying something that’s damaging to their case. The insurance company may then use this statement as a basis for denying liability (or fault) in the case. Given the dangers associated with recorded statements, accident victims should never agree to provide one without having a lawyer present with them.
A skilled truck accident attorney in your area can negotiate with insurance company representatives and try to obtain the highest possible offer in the case. Moreover, a lawyer can threaten the insurance company adjuster with litigation if they refuse to offer the accident victim monetary compensation that is both fair and reasonable.
Truck Drivers Usually Cause the Accident
In most situations, negligent and inattentive truck drivers are the cause of severe truck accidents. These accidents usually occur when truck drivers drive in a negligent, reckless, or careless manner. A negligent truck driver is one who acts unreasonably under the circumstances, such as by violating one or more traffic laws. For example, a negligent truck driver might fail to yield the right-of-way to another driver at the appropriate time, break the speed limit, or fail to use their turn signals when switching lanes on a busy highway.
Truck driver negligence may also involve road rage, such as when a truck driver becomes overly aggressive and tailgates another vehicle – or cuts the vehicle off in traffic. Accidents may also happen when truck drivers fail to use their side view mirrors at the appropriate times, thereby causing an accident with an oncoming vehicle.
Some truck accidents occur when truck drivers are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. While passenger vehicle drivers are legally intoxicated if they have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of at least 0.08 percent, a stricter BAC cut-off applies to commercial truck drivers.
Truck drivers are operating vehicles that weigh many tons, and if they negligently cause their vehicle to careen out of control and strike another vehicle or pedestrian, the results are often deadly. Alcohol, in particular, can significantly alter a truck driver’s mindset and concentration abilities. An intoxicated truck driver may also become unable to watch the road attentively or use their reflexes, preventing them from stopping their truck before causing an accident.
Finally, some truck accidents happen when truck drivers fail to observe the road. In some cases, a truck driver might be fiddling with a radio or GPS navigation device, texting on a cellular device, or listening to loud music in the cab of their vehicle. All of these activities can divert a truck driver’s attention from the road, preventing them from seeing an approaching vehicle in the vicinity.
If you suffered injuries in a recent accident that resulted from a truck driver’s negligence, you can assert a legal claim against the truck driver’s insurance company. A skilled truck accident attorney in your area can explore your legal options with you and help you file a claim with the appropriate insurer. Your lawyer can then help you negotiate a fair settlement offer that fully compensates you for all of your accident-related losses.
Other Individuals/Entities Besides Truck Drivers May Contribute to an Accident
In addition to negligent truck drivers, other individuals or entities may share in the liability for a truck accident. For example, some truck accidents result from defective repair work that a facility recently performed on a large truck or tractor-trailer.
For example, a repair facility might have performed improper maintenance work on the truck’s steering mechanism or braking system, causing the truck to malfunction on the road and bringing about the subject accident. If a truck accident victim, through expert testimony, can show that a crash happened because of negligent repair work, a truck accident attorney can file a claim directly against the responsible repair facility.
At other times, truck accidents result from defective products, such as braking systems or other trucking components that malfunction because of a manufacturing or design defect. If a truck accident victim can show that a particular accident resulted from a defective product or product component, the accident victim, through their lawyer, can assert a claim against the part manufacturer, distributor, or some other legal entity in the chain of product distribution.
A skilled truck accident attorney can help you identify potentially responsible parties for your truck accident and help you file the necessary claim or lawsuit.
You Need Experienced Legal Representation in Your Corner at All Times
If you recently suffered injuries in a truck accident that resulted from someone else’s negligence, you should understand the need for experienced legal counsel throughout your case. First, truck accident victims only have two years from their accident date to file a personal injury claim or lawsuit seeking monetary damages. If an accident victim does not file their claim or lawsuit in a timely manner, they effectively waive their right to recover any monetary damages for their injuries. Therefore, you should involve a knowledgeable truck accident attorney in your case as quickly as possible.
Once an attorney enters an appearance in your case, they can:
- Investigate the circumstances of your accident
- File a personal injury claim with the at-fault truck driver’s insurance company for you
- Negotiate with claims adjusters to secure a favorable settlement of the case
- File a lawsuit against all potentially responsible parties
- Handle every step of litigation, including both written and oral discovery
- Present your case at a jury trial and introduce evidence for you
- Pursue alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation or binding arbitration, if appropriate
You Have the Sole Legal Burden of Proof in Your Truck Accident Case
You should also remember that in a truck accident claim or lawsuit, you, as the accident victim, have the only legal burden of proof. Therefore, you must satisfy each element of your claim or lawsuit to recover monetary compensation and damages for your injuries.
First, you must demonstrate that another individual or entity, such as a negligent truck driver, deviated from the prevailing standard of care. For example, the at-fault truck driver might have turned their head away from the road or violated one or more traffic laws just prior to the accident. Next, you must show that as a direct result of this deviation, the accident occurred, and you suffered one or more physical injuries.
A skilled truck accident attorney can help you prove these legal elements by presenting the necessary evidence at trial, including written documentation or oral testimony from an expert witness, such as a medical provider. In particular, a medical provider can causally relate a certain injury to the subject truck accident or state on the record that you suffered one or more permanent injuries in your accident that are unlikely to improve over time.
You May Recover Monetary Damages in Your Case
Finally, you should be aware you may be eligible to recover various types of monetary damages if you can prove the legal elements of your truck accident claim. The damages you receive in your case will depend upon the severity and extent of your injuries, as well as the cost of your medical treatment.
Monetary damages could compensate you for all of your:
- Medical expenses
- Lost earnings
- Loss of the ability to work
- Past and future pain and suffering
- Inconvenience
- Mental anguish
- Loss of spousal companionship
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of the ability to use a particular body part
- Permanent disfigurement
- Permanent scarring
A truck accident attorney near you can assist with maximizing your monetary damages, either through a favorable financial settlement award or a favorable litigation result in your case.
Speak With an Experienced Truck Accident Attorney Near You Right Away
If you recently suffered injuries in a truck accident, time is of the essence. Retain skilled legal counsel to represent you in your case as quickly as possible so you obtain all of the medical treatment you need.
Your attorney can advocate for you at every stage of the proceedings, including during settlement negotiations and litigation. Your lawyer will do everything they can to help you achieve the best possible result in your case and make you whole again as much as possible. Reach out to a personal injury lawyer.