The Process of a Truck Accident Lawsuit
Accidents involving trucks can cause serious and permanent injuries. They can result in substantial medical expenses, lost wages and psychological damage.
Your attorney will issue a Summons and Complaint to the parties who are liable. This process could take several years. Your lawyer can help determine if any shared responsibility has been properly assessed and assigned.
Investigations
When someone is injured in a collision with a truck there is more at stake than an auto crash. A truck accident could have life-changing consequences. The impact is also more complex due to the size and weight. These accidents also require more complicated investigation.
To protect their interests the trucking companies and insurance companies will usually conduct their investigations immediately after an accident. The issue is that victims are left to deal with their injuries, and aren't being able to gather evidence. This puts them at a disadvantage comparison to the trucking company or insurance companies.
A skilled truck accident lawyer is able to find evidence from numerous sources such as police reports, witness statements, and vehicle inspections. A skilled lawyer should not depend solely on police reports, however, as these documents are usually not sufficient for civil litigation purposes. Police officers might not be properly trained to conduct an investigation properly and may not gather all the evidence needed to file a lawsuit.
Other kinds of records include logbook data maintenance and service records for the truck and other equipment, data from the event data recorder (also known as a black box) and more. A competent attorney will request these and other forms of evidence from the truck driver and trucking company, and then analyze them to determine what caused the accident.
Expert Witnesses
An expert witness can aid your lawyer prove the various elements of your truck accident case. A medical expert is a good example. They can provide evidence to your attorney that the accident resulted in your injuries. Your expert can also testify regarding how your injuries will impact your future quality of life. Expert witnesses can also assist your lawyer determine the value of your damages, which could include lost income and loss of earning capacity in the future.
Your doctor can look over physical evidence and discuss the consequences of your injury on your future. Medical experts for instance, can explain how your accident might affect your physical and mental health. A metallurgist, for instance, is another kind of expert that can examine the reasons why a car component failed. There are also experts who can examine the way in which weather conditions could have contributed to the crash.
The role of an expert witness is to offer an honest and objective opinion after having examined the evidence. Some experts could be a liability in your case when their opinions are skewed or they have ties with the defendants. Your attorney can perform an investigation of the background of the expert witness to determine any risks.
Apart from suffolk truck accident attorney , your lawyer will also question you and other eyewitnesses, such as witnesses who witnessed the crash taking place prior to when it happened. Be aware that the insurance companies of the defendants will try to convince you to admit guilt or provide statements that they can twist and deform to weaken your case.
Litigation
Truck drivers are also required to follow traffic laws and operate with reasonable care. If they fail to do so and their negligence results in a crash, then they could be held accountable for the injuries that victims suffer.
Our lawyer will obtain evidence from eyewitnesses as well as either oral or written evidence to prove that the defendant was negligent. Our team will also study an array of other evidence, such as skid marks and areas of collision, and conduct crash tests.
Sometimes, the cause of an accident involving a truck is complex and involves multiple parties. If the truck accident was caused by defective equipment or improper maintenance, we could sue the manufacturers or the truck. We might also bring a lawsuit against the mechanic that performed the repairs or the repair shop.
We will try to resolve your case outside of court. However, if the trucking company or its insurer does not agree to a fair settlement then we will prepare to go to trial. In trial, a jury or judge will decide on disputed issues like who was the culprit and how much compensation you should receive. The legal damages you receive will be calculated based on the total of your losses, which include financial, physical, and emotional pain.
Statute of limitations
Understanding how these cases typically take place can help you prepare for what lies ahead and provide you with an idea of how long it could take to resolve your case.
One of the most crucial steps is to establish the responsibility. It is likely that a trucker who was drunk, distracted, or otherwise impaired will be held accountable for the damage you suffered. There could be other parties as well. If the crash was the result of poor repairs, then a mechanic or company that manufactured the truck or its components could be held responsible under the legal theory of respondeat superior.
It is also possible that the person who is responsible was guilty of a more serious reckless act that could be grounds for you to receive punitive damages. In order to prove this, you must prove that they acted in a reckless, impulsive manner that was reckless and in disregard for your safety and 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 representing the parties at fault are often wolves in sheep's clothing and will try to obtain information from you that they could use against you in the future. If you hire an attorney to handle all communications, it is possible to avoid these traps.