The Process of a Truck Accident Lawsuit
Many truck accidents cause victims to suffer lifelong and severe injuries. These accidents can lead to significant medical expenses, lost income, and psychological injuries.
Your lawyer will file a Summons and Complaint against all responsible parties. The process could last for several years. Your lawyer can assist you determine if any shared responsibility has been properly assessed and assigned.
Investigations
When someone is injured in a collision with a truck, there is a lot more at stake than a car crash. A truck accident could result in life-changing effects. The consequences are more complex due to the weight and size. These accidents also require more complex investigation.
To protect their interests trucking companies or insurance companies usually investigate immediately following a crash. The victims are left to deal with their injuries and are not able to gather evidence. This puts them at a disadvantage when compared to the insurance provider and trucking companies.
A lawyer for truck accidents with experience will search for evidence from a variety of sources, including police reports, witness testimony and vehicle inspections. A lawyer who is experienced will not rely on the reports of police officers alone since they are typically not sufficient for civil litigation. Police officers are not trained to conduct an effective investigation and might not gather all the evidence needed for a lawsuit.
Other kinds of data include logbook records maintenance and service records for the truck and other equipment, data from the event data recorder (also called a black box) and more. A skilled attorney will ask both the driver of the truck and trucking company for these types and other types of evidence and then carefully analyze them to determine the cause of the accident.
Expert Witnesses
A expert witness in a truck accident can aid your lawyer in proving various elements of the case. Medical experts is a good example. They can provide proof to your lawyer that the crash caused your injuries. Experts will also testify on how your injuries will impact your quality of life in the future. Expert witnesses can assist your lawyer calculate the value of your damages, which could include lost income and loss of future earning capacity.
Your expert can review the physical evidence and explain the impact of your injury on your future. A medical expert is a good example. They can explain how the accident could affect your mental and physical health. Another type of expert is a metallurgist, who can examine the reasons why a part of a car failed. There are also experts who can examine the way in which weather conditions could have caused the crash.
Your expert's role is to offer an honest and objective view after analyzing the evidence. Some experts could be a liability to your case when their opinions are skewed or they are associated with the defendants. Your lawyer can conduct a background check to find these risks and ensure that you have the most qualified expert witnesses on your side.
Aside from experts, your lawyer will also question you and other eyewitnesses, such as people who saw the crash take place before it happened. It is important to remember that the defendants' insurance companies will attempt to force you to admit fault or to make statements they can twist and alter to undermine your claim.
Litigation
As with all drivers truck drivers also have a obligation to observe traffic rules and to exercise reasonable care when they travel. If they fail to comply with these rules and their negligence leads to a crash, then they could be held responsible for the injuries that victims are left with.
To establish the defendant's negligence, our lawyer will collect a array of evidence from witnesses who witnessed the crash and provide written or oral evidence about how the crash occurred. Our team will also look at other evidence like skidmarks and points of impact, and conduct crash testing.
Sometimes, the reason for the truck crash is complex, involving multiple parties. For instance, if the truck crash was caused by defective equipment or poor maintenance, we may be able to sue the makers of that equipment or the trucks themselves. We could also claim against the mechanic who did the repairs or the repair shop.
We will attempt to settle your dispute out of court, however should the trucking company or its insurance company is unwilling to make an acceptable settlement offer then we will prepare for trial. During the trial the jury or judge will decide on the merits of the dispute like who was at fault for the accident and what amount of compensation you must receive. The total amount of your legal damages will be based on the losses you have documented that include financial, physical and emotional suffering.
Statute of limitations
Although the legal process after a truck accident can be complex, understanding the way these cases are handled will help you understand what's ahead and provide you with a better understanding of how long your case could take.
Finding out who is responsible is one of the most crucial steps. It is likely that a trucker who was drowsy, distracted, or otherwise impaired will be held responsible for the harm you suffered. There could be other parties equally responsible. If the crash was the result of poor repair and/or a mechanic, then the company that manufactured the truck or its components could be held responsible according to the legal theory of respondeat superior.
It's also possible the responsible party has may have committed a more serious reckless act that might entitle you to punitive damages. To prove this, we must prove that they behaved in a reckless and reckless manner, with no regard for your safety as well as that of others.
It is important to work with an attorney who is familiar with the complexities involved in truck accidents. bend truck accident lawyer and attorneys of the at-fault parties are frequently wolves in sheep's clothing and will try to get statements from you that they could use against you in the future. You can avoid these traps by hiring an attorney to manage your communications.