11 Methods To Completely Defeat Your Truck Accident Attorneys
The Process of a Truck Accident Lawsuit
Accidents with trucks can cause severe and permanent injuries. They can result in substantial medical costs, lost wages and psychological damage.
Your lawyer will issue a Summons & Complaint to all the parties responsible. The process can take a few years. Because New York uses comparative fault rules, your lawyer will ensure that any shared liability is properly assessed and allocated to defendants.
Investigations
A truck accident could be more severe than an auto crash. The consequences of a truck accident could be catastrophic and the impact is far more complicated due to the size and weight of a commercial truck. These incidents also require more complicated investigation.
Due to this, trucking companies and insurance providers often conduct their own investigations following a crash to protect their interests. The problem is that victims are left to manage their injuries and are not capable of obtaining evidence. This puts them at a disadvantage in comparison to the trucking company and insurance companies.
A truck accident lawyer who is skilled will look for evidence in a variety sources, such as police reports, witness testimony and vehicle inspections. A lawyer who is knowledgeable cannot rely solely on reports from the police as they can be not sufficient for civil litigation. Police officers aren't properly trained to conduct a proper investigation and could fail to gather all of the evidence needed for a lawsuit.
Other kinds of records include logbook data maintenance and service records for the truck, data from the event data recorder (also known as a black box) and many more. A skilled attorney will request these and other forms of evidence from the truck driver as well as the trucking company and carefully examine them to determine the cause of the accident.
Expert Witnesses
A truck accident expert witness can assist your attorney in proving various aspects of the case. For example an expert in medicine will provide your lawyer with evidence that the crash caused your injuries. Experts can also testify about the impact your injuries will have on your life-style and quality of living. Expert witnesses can assist your lawyer determine the extent of your injuries, such as lost income and your future earning capacity.
Your expert can review physical evidence and discuss the consequences of your injury on your future. A medical expert, for example, can explain how your accident might affect your mental and physical health. Another type of expert is a metallurgist who will determine the reason why a component of a vehicle failed. There are also experts who can assess the ways in which weather might have contributed to the crash.
birmingham truck wreck lawyer of your expert witness is to evaluate the evidence and offer an objective and impartial opinion. However, some expert witnesses could be risky for your case if they are biased or have ties to the defendant's companies. Your attorney can conduct an investigation into their background to determine these risks and ensure that you have the top experts on your side.
Alongside expert witnesses, your attorney will also question you and other eyewitnesses. This includes witnesses who witnessed the accident taking place before it happened. Be aware that the insurance companies of the defendants will attempt to convince you to acknowledge your responsibility or make statements which they can twist and deform to make your case more difficult.
Litigation
Like any other driver truck drivers also have a obligation to follow traffic laws and to take reasonable care while driving. If they do not comply with this duty and their carelessness causes a crash, they could be held accountable for the accident damages suffered by the victims of that crash.
To prove the defendant's negligence, our lawyer will collect a array of evidence from witnesses who witnessed the crash and give written or oral evidence about the circumstances of the collision. Our team will also review other evidence like skidmarks and points of impact. They will also conduct crash testing.
Sometimes the reason for the truck crash is complex and involves multiple parties. If the truck accident was caused by defective equipment or improper maintenance, then we can sue the makers or the trucks. We might also bring a lawsuit against the mechanic that performed the repairs or the repair shop.
We will attempt to settle your case outside of court. If, however, the trucking firm or its insurance company refuses to negotiate an equitable settlement, we will prepare to go to trial. In the trial, a jury or judge will decide on the dispute like who was the culprit and the amount of compensation you are entitled to. The amount of your legal damages will be based on your documented losses, which comprise financial, physical and emotional pain.
Statute of Limitations
Knowing how these cases typically go about their business can help you prepare for what is to come and give you an idea of the time it might take to settle your case.
One of the most crucial steps is establishing the extent of liability. It is possible that a trucker who was drunk or distracted or impaired will be held accountable for the damage you suffered. However, there may be other parties who are liable as well. If the crash was caused by poor repairs, then a mechanic or company that manufactured the truck or its components could be held responsible in the context of the law governing respondeat superior.
It's also possible the liable party was guilty of a more serious reckless act that could result in punitive damages. To be able to prove this, you need to establish that the liable party acted in reckless disregard for your safety or that of others.
It is important to work with an attorney who is familiar with the complexities involved in truck accidents. Insurance companies and attorneys for at-fault parties are often wolves in sheepskins and will try to force you to make statements which they later use against you. You can steer clear of these pitfalls by having an attorney manage your communications.