If you or a loved one has been injured in a semi-truck or other commercial vehicle accident that was not your fault, you should immediately retain a truck accident attorney with years of experience. Flora Templeton Stuart Accident Injury Lawyers have over 45 years of representing the seriously injured in big truck accidents. We only collect a fee if we win, and the evidence may be lost if we do not act quickly after an accident and preserve the evidence with experts on the scene.
In today’s consumer-driven market, there is increased pressure on manufacturers and businesses to reduce delivery time. As it stands, the trucking industry is the most reliable delivery method for the manufactured products in North America. With the increased pressure to deliver on time, truck accidents have also increased significantly.
Statistics show that about 130,000 people are injured in truck-related accidents every year. The most common injuries include back and neck, broken bones, head trauma, internal bleeding, whiplash, and spinal cord damage.
If you are involved in any truck accident, you need immediate medical attention. Fortunately, with the help of a qualified, experienced, and caring truck accident lawyer, you can leverage for compensation that will help you through your recovery process.
Here, we explain the benefits of hiring a competent truck accident lawyer and give details on the right time to hire one.
What’s In This Article:
- When to Contact a Truck Accident Attorney and Why
- Benefits of Truck Accident Lawyers
- Is it Worth Hiring an Attorney?
When to Contact a Truck Accident Attorney and Why
When you or your loved one suffers from truck-related accident injuries, you will be in a lot of pain and require immediate medical help. You also must determine your subsequent legal actions, especially if you feel the truck driver’s negligence caused the accident. An experienced truck accident lawyer will send a preservation letter for all evidence, such as logs, vehicles, etc., and get to the scene to investigate.
A truck accident lawyer can help you identify the liable party or parties, collect evidence, and negotiate for a better settlement on your behalf. Simply put, a truck accident attorney can take care of all aspects of your case as you focus on healing or taking care of your injured family member.
You need a truck accident attorney when:
- Multiple parties could be held liable.
- Negotiations could involve multiple parties.
- You need to develop the perfect legal strategy to get the compensation that you deserve.
- You have been involved in a truck accident, and you need to focus on your recovery.
The best time to contact a truck accident lawyer is immediately after the accident has happened. If you are not able to do it yourself, you can ask a relative or friend to do it for you. The longer you wait, the more the following negative aspects are likely to occur:
- The lawyer needs to gather evidence as quickly as possible. Taking a long time before contacting a lawyer may lead to insufficient evidence because the witness’s memories fade fast.
- Contacting a professional personal injury lawyer earlier means you get the best legal advice from the start.
- It gives you peace of mind- you know that someone is working on your case even as you continue to recover.
- The statute of limitations may run after two years in Kentucky and one year in Tennessee after the accident.
Benefits of Truck Accident Lawyers
In most truck-related accidents, truck accident lawyers are beneficial because:
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They help to determine liability in a truck accident case
Truck accidents cases are more complex than vehicle-to-vehicle crash cases. Even though you might feel that the truck driver is to blame for your injuries, sometimes there might be more than one party to hold responsible, making the case more complex.
In most common cases, potential defendants can include (but are not limited to):
- The truck driver
- The truck manufacturer
- The trucking company
- The leasing company
- The owner of the trailer
- The maintenance company
- Contractors, especially for independent trucking companies
Having an experienced truck accident lawyer can help you establish who the defendant/s are in your case. Knowing who to file a case against is very important in guaranteeing the success of your legal suit.
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Preserve the evidence
Establishing liability after a truck accident and determining who was at fault is the cornerstone of any personal injury case. The best way to ensure that the facts of the accident are not manipulated is to quickly preserve evidence and document anything that may be important in your case. However, you do not have to do this alone. A personal injury lawyer will help preserve evidence, such as:
- Truck logs
- Inspection of damaged truck
- Black box of vehicles involved
- Locating witnesses and getting statements
- Driver statements
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Can help you build a compelling case
Regardless of who the defendant is, a truck accident attorney can help you build a compelling case. As you focus on your recovery, your lawyer can:
- Investigate and collect the required evidence to make your case. The evidence can include police reports, photos and videos from the accident scene, and any other data that can be used to build a compelling case.
- Gather and compile all your medical bills and other expenses that you may have incurred during your recovery process for compensation.
- If the insurance companies do not want to settle, the attorney can take the case to trial.
- Refer you to excellent physicians to get the care you need after a serious accident.
- Sep up PIP in Kentucky and MedPay in Tennessee to pay medical bills.
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They can handle complex negotiations
The negotiations between you, the victim, and defendants such as the insurance company can be very complex. The insurance companies will look for ways to try to cut your compensation as much as they can or even try to shift the blame on you to avoid compensating you.
Fortunately, competent and experienced truck accident lawyers know every trick in the book that can be used to leverage for maximum compensation, depending on your case. At Flora Templeton Stuart Accident Injury Lawyers, we often know the insurance companies and adjustors, which gives us an advantage in negotiations.
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Provide appropriate legal strategy
Being a truck accident victim, you probably do not know much of how the law works, and innocently so. However, you still need legal help, right? This is where truck accident attorneys come in; they can help you analyze your case, find the required evidence to make your case, and, more importantly, come up with a winning legal strategy.
Different truck accidents require different approaches depending on the gathered evidence, who the defendants are, and how the defendants want to operate. An experienced truck accident attorney will know what strategy to apply and when. This is critical in determining whether your legal suit will be successful or otherwise.
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Ensure comparative fault laws are applied correctly
You might not be aware of what comparative fault laws are, but truck accident attorneys do. Kentucky and Tennessee are comparative fault states, which may play a huge role in determining how much compensation you will get for your personal injury. A strong lawyer can represent you and ensure that the law is applied fairly.
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Guide you through the legal process
There is no doubt that the legal process can be very overwhelming and lengthy. As you continue to recover or take care of your loved one involved in a truck-related accident, your lawyer can deal with the trucking company and minimize the burden on your end. While at it, your attorney will guide you on the steps to take until you receive your compensation.
Is it Worth Hiring an Attorney?
You can hardly go wrong with hiring an attorney for your truck accident case or any other personal injury case, for that matter. These lawyers are well-trained, experienced, and committed to helping their clients get the compensation they deserve.
However, the type of truck injury attorney that you hire will eventually determine whether it was worth it or not. During the whole negotiation or litigation process, your ideal lawyer should work with you closely and come up with a winning strategy.
At Flora Templeton Stuart Accident Injury Lawyers, we care about you. We are committed to getting results, which is evident with the number of cases that we have recovered/won (90%) for our personal injury cases for our clients.
Suppose you reside in or around Kentucky or Tennessee, and you are looking for a truck accident lawyer or any injury lawyer for that matter, our experienced, well-trained, and empathetic attorneys are here for you. We do not back down against insurance companies and will not hesitate to go to trial if push comes to shove.
Call or chat with us today for a free case evaluation. We travel to our injured clients and can meet at an office close to you in Kentucky and Tennessee. There is no fee unless we win, so there’s no risk in speaking with an attorney today.