The Process of a Truck Accident Lawsuit
Accidents with trucks can cause severe and permanent injuries. These accidents can result in significant medical costs, lost income and psychological damages.
Your attorney will issue a Summons & Complaint to all parties liable. This process could take several years. Your lawyer can assist you determine whether any shared responsibility has been properly assessed and assigned.
Investigations
When someone is injured in a collision with a truck there is much more at stake than in an auto collision. A truck accident can have life-changing consequences. The consequences are more complicated due to the size and weight. These incidents also require more complicated investigation.
Because of this, insurance companies and trucking firms often conduct their own investigations right after the incident to protect their interests. The victims are left to deal with their injuries, and are not able to gather evidence. This puts them at a disadvantage in comparison to the trucking company and insurance companies.
A lawyer for truck accidents who has experience will look for evidence in a variety of sources, such as witness testimony, police reports and inspections of vehicles. A lawyer who is well-informed will not rely on reports from the police as they can be insufficient for civil litigation. Police officers aren't taught to conduct an appropriate investigation and may fail to gather all the evidence required to file an action.
Other kinds of information include logbook records, maintenance and service records for the truck, data from the event data recorder (also known as a black box), and more. An experienced attorney will seek these and other forms of evidence from the truck driver and the trucking company, and then analyze them to determine what caused the accident.
Expert Witnesses
A expert witness in a truck accident can assist your attorney in proving various elements of the case. For example an expert in medicine can give your lawyer proof that the crash resulted in your injuries. Experts can also testify as to how your injuries will affect your life's quality of living in the future. Expert witnesses can also assist your lawyer calculate the value of your damages, including lost income and loss of earning capacity in the future.
Your expert can review physical evidence and explain the impact of your injury on your future. For example medical experts will explain how the accident can impact your physical and mental well-being. Another kind of expert is a metallurgist that can analyze why a vehicle part failed. There are also experts who determine if the weather could have contributed to the crash.
The role of an expert witness is to give an impartial and objective view after analyzing the evidence. Certain expert witnesses could be a liability to your case if their opinions are biased or they have connections to the defendants. Your lawyer can conduct a background check on the expert witness in order to identify any risks that could be present.
Your attorney will conduct an interview with you, along with any other eyewitnesses that witnessed the accident prior to it taking place. You should be aware that the insurance companies of the defendants will attempt to convince you to admit your fault or give statements that they can twist or alter to weaken your case.
Litigation
Just like other drivers truckers are required by law to adhere to a duty to obey traffic laws and to use reasonable care while driving. If they do not comply with this duty and their negligence results in a crash, they may be held responsible for damage to the victims of that collision.
To demonstrate the defendant's culpability, our lawyer will collect a number of eyewitnesses who witnessed the crash and give oral or written evidence of the circumstances of the collision. Our team will also study an array of other evidence, including skid marks and points of collision, and conduct crash tests.
Sometimes, the cause of the truck crash is complex that involves multiple parties. If the accident was caused by defective equipment, or improper maintenance, we could sue the manufacturer or the trucks. We might also sue the mechanic or repair shop responsible for performing the repairs.
We will try to resolve your case without going to the courtroom. However, if the trucking company or its insurer refuses an equitable settlement or offer, we'll prepare to go to trial. During the trial, a judge or jury will decide on issues that are disputed, such as who was at fault for the crash and what amount of compensation you must receive. The amount of your legal damages will be determined based on your documented losses, which comprise financial, physical and emotional pain.
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Although navigating the legal system following a crash with a truck can be confusing, knowing the way these cases are handled will help you anticipate what's to come and provide you with a better understanding of the length of time your case may take.
Finding out who is responsible is one of the most crucial steps. It is probable that a driver who was drunk, distracted, or otherwise impaired will be held responsible for the damage you suffered. However, there could be other parties who are liable as well. For instance, if the crash was caused by poor repairs for instance, an individual mechanic who did the work or a business who made the truck or its parts might be held responsible in the legal concept of respondeat superior.
It is also possible that the liable party was guilty of a more serious act of recklessness, which might entitle you to punitive damages. To prove this, we need to prove that the responsible party acted recklessly to your safety, or that of others.
It is essential to work with a lawyer who is familiar with the complexities involved in truck accident cases. Insurance companies and the attorneys of the at-fault parties are often as wolves in sheep's clothes and will try to collect statements from you which they can use against you later. You can stay clear of these pitfalls by having an attorney handle your communications.