At Flora Templeton Stuart Accident Injury Lawyers, we go to work immediately when a client has been injured by a commercial truck through no fault of their own. Our team, including accident reconstructionists, will investigate the scene of the accident in serious injury cases to document the evidence, gather witness statements, and take photos. Our experienced attorneys will notice all parties (insurance, trucking companies, drivers, etc.) to not destroy evidence. We will get our clients to excellent physicians if necessary and begin working these complex cases.
What’s In This Article:
- Determining Liability in a Truck Accident Case
- Building a Compelling Case
- Gathering Evidence to Support Your Truck Accident Claim
- Obtaining Medical
- Proving Your Truck Accident Case
- Is It Worth Hiring a Truck Accident Lawyer?
- Deal with the Insurance Company
- Use Blackbox Information to Negotiate Your Claim
- Recover Damages After the Accident
Determining Liability in a Truck Accident Case
If you or your loved one has been in a truck accident, you understand how painful, devastating, and costly the healing process can be. You’re faced with medical bills, ongoing treatments, and lost wages due to the injuries from the accident. That’s why it’s essential to file a personal injury claim to help you get justice from the responsible person.
Unfortunately, determining liability in a truck accident case is not as easy as it sounds since not all accidents result from the driver’s negligence. For instance, if the accident occurred due to faulty truck parts, the truck manufacturer or the assembler are held responsible. Where the accident occurred due to overloading, the cargo loader is held accountable. In some cases, liability could fall on more than one person.
A truck accident lawyer examines all the possible factors surrounding the accident to determine the liable party. Potentially, one or more of the following parties could be held responsible for a truck accident:
- The driver
- The driver’s employer
- The cargo company
- Truck parts assemble
- Truck parts manufacturer
- The truck owner
- The leaser
Flora Templeton Stuart Accident Injury Attorneys know how to investigate the accident and find the liable party in your trucking accident.
Building a Compelling Case
After a truck accident, you need to contact an insurance company or file for a personal injury case. The insurance company will do its best to lower your potential claim. On the other hand, the liable party will hire an attorney to represent them in the personal injury case against them.
While these two parties are working against you, your truck accident lawyer will do anything possible to help you win the case. The attorney builds a compelling case by:
Gathering Evidence to Support Your Truck Accident Claim
Gathering and compiling evidence is very crucial in building your case, but it’s also very complicated. Even if you have evidence from your accident, your attorney also needs to start collecting evidence immediately. Important information that the lawyer requires include:
- Photographs & video of the accident scene, measurements with experts
- Eyewitnesses and their contact information
- Statements from potential witnesses
- Medical bills, wages, and other expenses you incurred as a result of the accident
- A statement made by the law enforcement
- Preservation of evidence and logs
The attorney uses the information gathered to try and create a clear picture of how the accident occurred and how the whole experience has affected your life.
Obtaining Medical
The medical records help strengthen your case by showing the timeline of your injury, the cost of the medical bills, and the impact the accident will have on your life. The attorney can use these records to prove to the jury of the insurance company that your injuries are real. They can also show the prognosis of your future medical needs, long-term treatments, pain, and suffering. With the availability of such information, it will be hard for the defendants to win the case.
Proving Your Truck Accident Case
Even though you’re sure you are not at fault for your accident, you still need to prove it to the insurance company or the court. Proving the negligence of the liable party requires:
- Gathering expert testimonials
- Examining the truck’s data from the black box
- Reviewing the driver’s call records when the accident happened
- The truck’s maintenance records
- The number of hours the driver was on the road before the accident occurred
- Collecting any circumstantial evidence
Proving that someone else was at fault for the accident is hard, especially if the trucking company is unwilling to cooperate. For instance, the company may refuse to provide you with the truck’s black box, maintenance records, parts manufacturer, and assembler. In other cases, they may have the vehicle repaired or disposed of before you can examine it.
Your truck accident lawyer helps you overcome these challenges by ensuring that the truck company doesn’t destroy the evidence intentionally or circumstantially.
Is It Worth Hiring a Truck Accident Lawyer?
If you or your loved one gets involved in a truck accident, you should seek an attorney immediately to help you through the process. A truck accident law firm should have years of experience representing clients hurt in truck accidents. We can help you:
Deal with the Insurance Company
After the accident, the insurance company will confuse you to compensate you less than you deserve. An experienced truck accident lawyer helps you dodge any loopholes the insurance company may use to trap you. Before you contact your insurance company, talk to your lawyer. You should also avoid any conversations with the insurance company as they may record the call and later use it against you. Also, avoid signing any paperwork in the absence of your lawyer.
Use Blackbox Information to Negotiate Your Claim
The black box contains information such as:
- Any mechanical failure that might have caused the accident
- The truck’s speed during the accident
- Amount of force and impact during the accident
- The truck’s braking patterns. The attorney can use this information to determine whether the driver was reckless or not.
- Speed and seatbelt usage.
The attorney will use this information to prove your case and overcome any challenges you face trying to access the black box data.
Recover Damages After the Accident
The attorney helps you recover any damages that might have occurred due to the accident, such as:
- Pain and suffering- refer to any emotional trauma and stress that may have occurred due to the accident. It also refers to any physical injuries, impairment, permanent disfigurement, and scarring caused by the accidents.
- Wrongful death- in worst-case scenarios, death may occur. Unfortunately, no compensation can help you recover from this, but it’ll ease the burden.
- Property damage- although most people overlook this type of damage, it’s as equally important as other damages. For example, you might not be in a position to replace your car after the accident, in which case your attorney will help you get compensation.
- Medical costs- the medical costs after the accident can be huge depending on the accident’s severity. Be sure to keep all the bills and medical records from the accident injuries. The attorney uses these records to get you back these costs.
Flora Templeton Stuart Accident Injury Lawyers Can Help You
Considering the pain, suffering, and costs from the truck accident, hiring a truck accident attorney is essential. When you contact Flora Templeton Stuart Accident Injury Attorneys, you’ll get one of our professional attorneys to evaluate your case. With over 45 years of experience handling truck accident cases, our team can negotiate a fair settlement and maximize the value of your claim. We will help you handle all the legal complexities and get you the justice you deserve.
