Accidents with commercial trucks can cause serious problems for the victims, including severe injuries, emotional trauma, and long recovery times. Along with these physical and mental struggles come complex legal matters where a victim may be left wading through complicated commercial laws and regulations to make sense of their case and fight for the compensation they rightfully deserve.
Even without trying to work on recovery, this process can be overwhelming, which is why hiring a commercial truck accident lawyer is one of the best decisions you can make following one of these devastating accidents. When you know that there is a dedicated legal professional fighting to get you the money you deserve, you can focus on your recovery without the added stress.
This guide will give you several of the top reasons why hiring a proven attorney, like those at LJW Law, is essential after a truck accident.
Commercial Liability Is Complicated
Determining liability after a commercial truck accident is often more complicated than after a passenger vehicle accident. Many times, an accident involving a commercial truck has a number of liable parties, whereas a passenger vehicle crash typically places liability on one of the drivers — although there are always exceptions. This complexity is something that a truck accident lawyer is experienced with, and they can make the process much more straightforward for you.
Multiple Liable Parties
There are a number of different stakeholders who may have some degree of liability in a truck accident, depending on a variety of different circumstances.
The Truck Driver
The driver may be at fault for many different reasons, including negligence, distracted driving, fatigue, or other issues. In cases where the driver’s actions or inactions were to blame, they may be the only liable party.
The Trucking Company
There are many truck accidents that stem from things like mechanical issues caused by improper maintenance, or driver issues because they were pushed to work past the legal limits set forth by the FMCSA, known as the Hours of Service.
The Vehicle Manufacturer
There are many complicated and interdependent systems at work in a semi-truck at all times, and faulty components or defective designs can make a manufacturer, supplier, or installer liable for an accident.
Cargo Loaders
In many shipping operations, there is a separate team of people who load the cargo and are responsible for all issues pertaining to the contents of the trailer. Improper loading can cause cargo to fall, shift, or destabilize the whole trailer, and in this case, the team that signed off on the cargo would be liable.
Multiple Involved Parties
There are times when there are a few parties that share liability, in which case your attorney would seek the maximum compensation allowable for each party’s percentage of liability they assume. For example, the trucking company may have pushed a driver to work past their Hours of Service limits, and they got into an accident while in violation because of faulty brakes. Determining the degree of liability for each involved party can be tricky, but it’s important to get it right.
Understanding Trucking Regulations
Commercial truckers are regulated by both state and federal laws, including laws imposed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), such as the aforementioned Hours of Service. The laws written by the FMCSA address other areas, such as vehicle maintenance, cargo loading, inspections, weight maximums, and more. An experienced commercial truck accident lawyer knows these regulations inside and out and will be able to identify any violations that may have contributed, if not outright caused the accident. By pinpointing each relevant violation, your lawyer can build a strong case that will increase your chances of success.
Navigating Insurance Negotiations
Insurance companies are very focused on paying claimants as little as possible, so the process of getting the money you deserve can be an uphill battle from the start. Insurance adjusters will work to minimize your settlement amount and will resort to tactics that undervalue your damages or may put you in a position where they can deny it outright. When you have a lawyer handling this back and forth, it can make all the difference.
Insurance Coverage Complexities
Insurance coverage is designed to be complex legalese in order to overwhelm victims to the point where they aren’t able to advocate for themselves. This is even more true when it comes to commercial truck accidents, because they often have much larger insurance policies due to the added risks associated with large vehicles and high miles. To further complicate matters, you may find that there are multiple insurers representing the driver, the trucking company, and any third-party contractors.
Dealing With Insurance Adjusters
Insurance adjusters are focused exclusively on protecting the interests of their employer, meaning that they will make it as hard as possible to get a fair settlement. Some tactics they use include:
- Shifting blame onto the victim
- Pressuring victims into accepting quick, low settlements
- Using recorded statements against victims
- Manipulating victim statements to invalidate legal rights
Your lawyer will be well-versed in these tactics and will handle all communications back and forth between you and the insurance company. They won’t be strongarmed into accepting low settlements and will fight to get you the compensation you deserve.
Maximizing Compensation
Truck accident attorneys are highly educated on the process of evaluating accidents and their related injuries, including medical bills, recovery expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and much more. They will meticulously go through the details of your case and fight for the maximum possible compensation to protect your financial future.
Evidence Collection and Preservation
The evidence from your accident is critical when it comes to proving your case, and gathering, preserving, and organizing it all is crucial. Truck accidents — especially when there is a potential for a large settlement — will require extensive investigations that a commercial truck accident lawyer can lead.
Types of Evidence Collected
The key evidence in your case will depend on the unique situations of the accident, but the most common include:
Driving Logs
Truck drivers are required to maintain Hours of Service records that show how long they were on the road in any given period of time. Drivers often violate these limits to make deliveries faster and earn more money, which increases the chances of fatigue-related crashes.
Black Box Data
Commercial trucks, like airplanes, have electronic logging devices known as “black boxes” that record vital information like the truck’s speed, braking, acceleration, and other important factors that can help determine the cause of a crash. Obtaining and interpreting this data is best left to a professional.
Maintenance Records
Your attorney will obtain historical maintenance records and use these to determine whether or not maintenance could play a factor in the crash. This is particularly important if there is a mechanical failure believed to be at the center of the accident.
Witness Statements
Witness interviews may help to add more details to the timeline of the accident, but they must be gathered promptly while eyewitnesses’ memories are fresh. It’s also important to know what questions to ask, and how to ask them in order to get the most useful and comprehensive accounts.
Evidence Preservation
Your attorney will send something known as a “spoilation letter” to the insurance companies, truck company, driver, and all other associated parties. This letter is also known as a preservation of evidence letter, and officially requests that the other involved parties take all necessary steps to preserve evidence related to the case.
Calculating Accurate Damages
If all of this doesn’t sound complicated enough, another important reason to hire a commercial truck accident lawyer is to make sure that all of your damages (financial losses) are accurately calculated and aggressively sought after. Truck accidents often lead to significant damages going well beyond physical injuries and vehicle damage, and making sure they are accurately quantified can be very complicated without proper training.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are the measurable costs and losses associated with a truck accident, including:
Medical Expenses
Hospital bills, surgeries, medications, co-payments, physical therapy, and long-term care costs are all calculated as medical expenses. Other medical expenses may include things like assistive devices (such as building a temporary handicap ramp into your home, renting a wheelchair-capable van, etc.) and projected future medical costs.
Lost Wages
If you are unable to work, either at all or to your full ability, for a period of time, your attorney will calculate these losses. They will also project any impacts on your future earnings in the event that the case is settled or resolved before you are able to return to your full work capacity. In the event that you are permanently affected, there will be additional calculations to factor those losses into your damages, as well.
Property Damage
This is the total cost to repair or replace your vehicle, as well as any other property that may have been damaged or destroyed in the accident (phones, electronics, other possessions). These damages are typically straightforward, but you may be surprised to discover some of the things your attorney will help you recover compensation for.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages can be tricker to calculate, but they are just as important as the ones that come with receipts:
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering are the actual physical pain and associated emotional suffering you endured as a result of the accident and your injuries. These pains can be both physical (broken bones, whiplash, etc.) and emotional (PTSD, anxiety, fear, depression), and the suffering associated with any pain must be compensated fairly and accurately
Loss of Consortium
If the accident has negatively affected a victim’s relationships, they can also seek compensation for these losses and impacts.
Punitive Damages
In certain cases, it may be determined that the liable party’s behavior was so egregious and reckless that the victim is entitled to punitive damages. These damages punish the liable party to deter them (and others) from repeating the conduct.
Calculating Comprehensive Damages
Economic damages are straightforward to calculate since they are a 1:1 reimbursement for measurable damages. These calculations can get tricky when projecting future damages, such as future treatments or lost wages, but primarily, these damages are calculated by adding up the measurable losses.
Non-economic damages, on the other hand, are subjective and based on a victim’s self-reported suffering. There are a few different ways an attorney can quantify these damages and will then need to justify and defend these calculations during settlement negotiations. Knowing the right calculation method to use in a certain situation comes with experience.
Punitive damages are not factored into damage or settlement calculations. These damages are rewarded solely by a judge and/or jury at the end of a lawsuit — meaning that a settlement will not come with punitive damages. There are instances when the liable party recognizes the severity of their behavior and may offer additional money in a settlement to avoid public legal proceedings, but your attorney will never calculate punitive damages into the total amount they believe you are owed.
Filing Claims and Providing Legal Representation
Filing a legal claim isn’t as simple as filling out a form. It involves adherence to strict guidelines, including timelines and documents, compiling extensive documentation, and a number of legal procedures that must be followed to the full letter of the law. Missteps in this process may lead to a dismissal.
Filing Deadlines
The statute of limitations is the length of time between an accident (or, in certain instances, when a victim first realized they were injured) and when they can no longer file a lawsuit. While this statute may seem like plenty of time, oftentimes between 2 and 4 years from the time of the crash, this time is well spent gathering information and building a case. The sooner you hire an attorney, the more time they will have to develop a strategy and ensure everything is filed correctly.
Legal Representation in Court
Many people are surprised to learn that lots of truck accident cases are settled before a lawsuit is filed, but some do go to court. If you need to go to trial, having a skilled and experienced attorney to represent you is invaluable.
Why Hire a Commercial Truck Accident Lawyer?
The team at LJW Law is ready to help you fight for the money you deserve. As you can see from the information above, truck accidents are much more complicated than other types of vehicle crashes due to the size of the vehicle, the number of potentially liable parties, the damages involved, and the state and federal regulations truckers adhere to.
A commercial truck lawyer will:
- Help determine liability
- Handle all communications and negotiations with insurers to maximize your compensation
- Gather and preserve evidence
- Calculate all damages accurately
- Handle court claims, filings, and prepare to represent you in court if necessary
To learn more about how to find the right lawyer, you can consult the Florida Bar’s recommendations for hiring a lawyer. Contact the team at LJW Law right away for a free consultation to speak with an experienced legal professional today. During your consultation, we will go over the relevant details of your situation and give you advice on how to move forward, including information on how we can support you through this process. If you or a loved one has been hurt or killed in a truck accident, don’t wait — we’re ready to help you today.
