The Process of a Truck Accident Lawsuit
Accidents with trucks can cause severe and permanent injuries. These can result in significant medical expenses, lost wages and psychological trauma.
Your attorney will make a Summons and Complaint to all the parties responsible. The process can take a few years. Your lawyer can help you determine whether any shared responsibility been properly assessed and assigned.
Investigations
If someone is injured in a truck crash, there is a lot more at stake than in an auto collision. The consequences of a truck crash could be catastrophic and the impact is more complex due to the size and weight of commercial trucks. These accidents also require more intricate investigation.
To protect their interests trucking companies or insurance companies usually conduct their investigations immediately after a crash. The victims are left to deal with their injuries and are unable to collect evidence. This puts the injured at a disadvantage to the insurance company and trucking companies.
A seasoned attorney for truck accidents will seek evidence from various sources, including police reports, witness statements and vehicle inspections. A lawyer who is experienced cannot rely solely on reports from the police since they are typically not sufficient for civil litigation. Police officers are not trained to conduct a proper investigation and may fail to gather all of the evidence needed to support a lawsuit.
Other types of information might include logbook records, maintenance and service records from the truck. Data from the device for recording events (also known by the name black box) is also available. A competent attorney will request these and other forms of evidence from the truck driver and the trucking company and carefully examine the evidence to determine what led to the accident.
Expert Witnesses
An expert witness can help your attorney prove various elements of your truck accident case. For instance, a medical expert can prove to your lawyer that the crash resulted in your injuries. Your expert can also testify about how your injuries will impact your life's quality of living in the future. Expert witnesses can also assist your lawyer assess the value of your injuries, which includes lost income and loss of future earning capacity.
Experts can examine the physical evidence and explain how your injury will impact your future. For instance medical experts can explain how your accident can impact you in terms of mental and physical well-being. Another type of expert is a metallurgist who can analyze why a vehicle part failed. Experts can determine if the weather was the cause of the crash.
Your expert's responsibility is to give an impartial and objective opinion after examining the evidence. However, certain experts can be risky for your case if they are biased or have connections to the defendants' businesses. Your lawyer can conduct an identity check to identify the risks and ensure that you have the best experts on your side.
Your lawyer will interview you, as well as any other eyewitnesses who witnessed the incident before it occurred. Be aware that the insurance companies of the defendants will try to convince you to admit fault or give statements that they can twist and deform to make it appear as though they are trying to undermine your case.
Litigation
Truck drivers are also required to follow traffic laws and drive with reasonable care. If they do not comply and their negligence results in a crash, then they could be held liable for the accident damages that victims are left with.
Our lawyer will gather evidence from eyewitnesses and seek either oral or written evidence to prove that the defendant was negligent. Our team will also look at other evidence such as skidmarks and points of impact. They will also conduct crash testing.
Sometimes, the reason for an accident involving a truck can be complex and involves multiple parties. For instance, if the truck accident was caused by defective equipment or inadequate maintenance, we might seek to sue the producers of that equipment or the trucks themselves. We could also sue the mechanic who made the repairs or the repair shop.
We will try to resolve your case outside of the courtroom. If, however, the trucking firm or its insurer is unwilling to accept a fair settlement and we are unable to reach a fair settlement, we will go to trial. During new hampshire truck accident attorney , a jury or judge will decide on the dispute such as who was responsible and how much compensation you should get. The legal damages you receive will be calculated based on the total of your losses, which include physical, financial, and emotional pain.
Statute of Limitations
While navigating the legal process following a crash with a truck can be complicated, understanding how these cases typically proceed can help you plan for the future and give you a better idea of how long your case could take.
Establishing liability is one of the most important steps. It is possible that a trucker who was drowsy or distracted or impaired will be held accountable for the damage you suffered. However, there might be other parties liable as well. If the crash was the result of poor repairs and/or a mechanic, then the company that manufactured the truck or its components could be held liable under the legal theory of respondeat superior.
You could also be entitled to damages for punitive if the guilty person acted in a manner of recklessness that was more severe. To be able to prove this, you need to prove that the responsible party was reckless to your safety, or that of others.
It is crucial to choose an attorney who is familiar with the complexities of truck accident cases. Insurance companies and the at-fault parties' attorneys are frequently wolves in sheep's clothing and will attempt to obtain statements from you that they may use against you later. You can avoid these pitfalls by hiring an attorney to manage your communications.