How Trucking Accident Lawyers Can Help You Recover After a Collision

After a truck accident, you may be entitled to compensation. However, your right to compensation does not necessarily mean that you will receive fair damages. The truth is that there are significant challenges to obtaining compensation. Trucking accident lawyers overcome the obstacles standing between you and the money you are owed.

Free Consultation and Case Review

Trucking accident lawyers first help you by reviewing your case for no charge during an initial consultation. You will get important preliminary information about your case and what options you might have for compensation. Because the meeting is free, victims lose nothing by attending but have much to gain.

Meticulous Accident Investigation

Once you become a client, your attorney will begin investigating your case. Experience and resources are necessary to carry out proper investigations, during which your attorney will be seeking strong evidence to build a case for compensation.

Identifying the liable party or parties is at the top of the list of investigation objectives. Your truck accident lawyer, guided by the laws of trucking accident liability, will find all at-fault parties and target them for compensation recovery.

Determining Liability

In trucking accident cases, the potential for multiple liable parties is greater than it is with regular traffic accidents. In trucking cases, the driver, as well as the following parties, may be held liable:

• The driver’s employer (often a trucking company or large business)
• Shipping companies that load a driver’s truck
• Truck repair shops
• Truck and truck parts makers
• Road construction contractors

Generally speaking, your attorney will be looking for acts of negligence or unlawful acts, such as traffic violations, negligent hiring, or faulty cargo loading.

Calculating Damages

Thoroughly investigating your damages is also crucial. It is vital for your trucking accident attorney to thoroughly document and calculate every compensable damage you suffer, which typically includes economic and non-economic compensation.

Common damages in trucking accident cases are meant to cover the following impacts and consequences of crashes:

• Medical and hospital bills
• Lost wages
• Expenses related to the accident, such as home health care and medical equipment
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of consortium
• Pain and suffering
• Mental and emotional anguish

You can expect the insurance company and the defendants to fight against paying reasonable damages. But your attorney will fight just as hard or harder.

Comprehensive Claim Management

What are the exact procedures and steps required in a trucking accident compensation claim or lawsuit? What are the relevant laws and rules you must follow when pursuing a compensation claim?

With an attorney representing you, you won’t need to know the answers to these important questions. Your lawyer will handle all matters related to your claim in a legally compliant fashion.

Additionally, your lawyer will confidently navigate the plethora of federal and state trucking regulations on the books, including hours-of-service regulations and regulations relating to the size and weight of trucks.

With an attorney managing everything, you’ll never have to worry about running afoul of procedural rules, missing filing deadlines, or misapplying the law to your case. However, you will always be an active participant in your case. Your attorney will keep you in the loop while fiercely protecting your interests.

Aggressive Negotiations

Since most accident cases end in settlement, your attorney will likely be aggressively negotiating with insurance companies rather than fighting them in court. Before negotiations begin, your attorney will determine an appropriate compensation range and seek a payout within that range.

In other words, your attorney will determine what is reasonable and demand as much from the insurance company or companies. If they do not want to pay a reasonable amount, litigation is the next step.

Effective Litigation

Litigation involves using the law to compel a party to act. The end result is typically a trial unless the parties settle before going to court is necessary. Alternative dispute resolution, such as mediation, may also take place.

During litigation, more facts and evidence come to light, which often leads one party to settle. Attorneys engage in discovery and take depositions to flush out more of the truth of an accident. With an experienced auto accident attorney litigating for you, your compensation interests will be in good hands.

FAQ

What Is the Deadline for Seeking Trucking Accident Compensation?

Victims do not have unlimited time to seek compensation for a truck accident. Instead, a deadline, known as a statute of limitations, requires truck accident victims to take legal action for compensation within a time set (depending on the state or jurisdiction, this may range from a number of months to a number of years of their crash, typically).

If you do not meet the statute of limitations, your right to compensation will likely disappear. This means that you will have no right to demand compensation from the person who harmed you, no matter how much you have suffered.

Keep in mind that there are some exceptions to the statute of limitations. Minor victims of truck accidents, for example, have more time. For this class of victims, the statute of limitations does not take effect until they turn 18 in many jurisdictions.

How Much Compensation Can You Get Me?

It all depends on your case. Each trucking accident is different. Victims in each case have unique losses. Although injuries may be similar or identical from case to case, the manner in which they impact each victim can vary widely.

Can I Sue if I Lost a Loved One in a Trucking Accident?

In Wyoming, wrongful death lawsuits are handled a bit differently than in other states. In other states, family members of the personal representative of the decedent may take legal action for wrongful death. However, in Wyoming, the only party authorized to file a wrongful death claim is the decedent’s wrongful death representative.

While the law does not specify exactly who must serve as a decedent’s wrongful death representative, the court will typically choose a party who has the best interests of the surviving family members at heart.

Speak With a Trucking Accident Lawyer Today

The first step toward getting justice for your truck accident is meeting with an experienced truck accident attorney. The Spence Law Firm offers free initial consultations to potential clients and is ready to discuss your case. Reach out and get the legal representation you deserve.