The Process of a Truck Accident Lawsuit
Many truck accidents result in victims suffering serious and lifelong injuries. These accidents can cause massive medical expenses, loss of income and psychological traumas.
Your attorney will issue a Summons & Complaint to all parties liable. This process could take several years. Since New York uses comparative fault rules, your lawyer will ensure that any shared responsibility is properly determined and assigned to defendants.
Investigations
A truck crash can be more serious than an auto collision. The consequences of a truck accident can be life-changing and the impact can be more complicated due to the weight and size of commercial trucks. These accidents also require more sophisticated investigation.
This is why insurance companies and trucking firms often conduct investigations right after an accident to protect their interests. The issue is that the injured are left to handle their injuries and aren't capable of obtaining evidence. This puts them at a disadvantage compared to the insurance provider and trucking companies.
A skilled attorney for truck accidents is able to find evidence from numerous sources, including police reports, witness statements and inspections of vehicles. A seasoned attorney will not rely solely on police reports, however, because these documents are often inadequate for civil litigation purposes. Police officers aren't properly trained to conduct a proper investigation, and they may not gather all the evidence needed to support the filing of a lawsuit.
Other types of data include logbook entries maintenance and service records for the truck as well as data from the event data recorder (also known as a black box) and many more. A competent attorney will demand these and other forms of evidence from the truck driver and trucking company and carefully examine them to determine the cause of the accident.
Expert Witnesses
A professional witness can help your attorney prove various elements of your truck accident case. A medical expert is a good example. They can give evidence to your lawyer that the accident caused your injuries. Your expert can also testify as to how your injuries will affect your future quality of life. Expert witnesses can assist your lawyer calculate the amount of damages including lost income and your future earning capacity.
Experts can examine the physical evidence and explain how your injury will affect your future. For example an expert in medical science can show how your accident can impact your mental and physical well-being. https://vimeo.com/707306113 of expert is a metallurgist who will determine the reason why a component of a vehicle failed. There are also experts who examine the way in which weather conditions could have caused the crash.
The role of an expert witness is to offer an honest and objective opinion after having examined the evidence. However, some expert witnesses could be an issue in your case if they are biased or have ties to the defendant's companies. Your attorney can perform a background check to identify the risks and ensure that you have the best experts in your case.
Your lawyer will question you, along with any other eyewitnesses that witnessed the incident before it occurred. It is important to remember that the insurance companies of defendants will try to get you to admit that they are at fault or make statements they can twist and alter to weaken your claim.
Litigation
As with all drivers, truck drivers have a obligation to observe traffic laws and to exercise reasonable care while driving. If they fail to fulfill this duty and their negligence causes an accident, they could be held accountable for injuries incurred by those who were injured in the collision.
To establish the defendant's negligence, our attorney will gather a range of evidence from eyewitnesses who witnessed the crash and provide oral or written evidence of how the collision occurred. Our team will also examine other evidence, including skidmarks and points of impact and conduct crash testing.
Sometimes, the reason for an accident involving a truck is complex and involves multiple parties. If the accident was caused by defective equipment, or improper maintenance, we could sue the manufacturer or the trucks. We could also sue the mechanic or repair shop who performed the repairs.
We will try to resolve your dispute out of court, but should the trucking company or its insurer is unable to make an equitable settlement offer, we will prepare for trial. During the trial the judge or jury will decide on the merits of the dispute such as who was at fault for the accident and what amount of compensation you should be awarded. The legal damages you receive will be determined based on the total of your losses, including physical, financial, and emotional suffering.
Statute of Limitations
While the legal process after a truck accident can be a bit complicated, knowing how these cases typically proceed can help you plan for what is ahead and provide you with a better understanding of how long your case could take.
One of the most crucial steps is establishing the responsibility. It is possible that a trucker who was drunk, distracted, or otherwise impaired will be held accountable for the damage you suffered. There may be other parties that are also accountable. If the accident was caused by faulty repairs, then a mechanic or company that made the truck or its components could be held accountable in the context of the law governing respondeat superior.
You could also be entitled to damages for punitive if the guilty party committed an act of recklessness that was more serious. To establish this, we have to establish that the liable party acted with reckless disregard for your safety or that of others.
It is essential to work with an attorney who is familiar with the complexities of truck accidents. Insurance companies and attorneys for the at-fault parties are often wolves in sheepskins and will attempt to convince you to make statements that they later use against you. By having an attorney manage all communications, it is possible to avoid these pitfalls.