The Process of a Truck Accident Lawsuit
Many truck accidents cause victims to suffer serious and lifelong injuries. They can result in substantial medical expenses, lost wages and psychological harm.
Your attorney will issue an Summons & Complaint to all parties that are responsible. The process can take a few 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 a lot more at stake than in a car crash. The consequences of a collision with a truck can be life-altering and the resulting damage is more complex due to the size and weight of commercial trucks. These accidents also involve more complicated investigation.
As a result, insurance companies and trucking companies typically conduct their own investigations immediately following an accident to safeguard their interests. The issue is that the injured are left to take care of their injuries, and aren't being able to gather evidence. This puts them at a disadvantage comparison to the trucking company or insurance provider.
A skilled truck accident lawyer can find evidence from numerous sources, including police reports, witness statements, and inspections of vehicles. A seasoned lawyer won't just rely on police reports, however, since these reports are not always sufficient for civil litigation purposes. Police officers might not be trained to conduct an inquiry correctly and may not collect all the evidence required for an action.
Other types of information may include logbook entries and maintenance and service records from the truck. The data from the device for recording events (also called a black box) is also available. A skilled attorney will ask the driver of the truck as well as the trucking company for these and other kinds of evidence, and then look over them to determine cause of the accident.
Expert Witnesses
An expert witness can help your lawyer establish the various aspects of your truck accident case. For example an expert in medical science can give your lawyer proof that the crash resulted in your injuries. Your expert may also testify regarding how your injuries will affect your future quality of life. Expert witnesses can assist your lawyer assess the value of your losses, including lost income and loss of future earning capacity.
An expert can look over the physical evidence and explain how your injury will impact your future. Medical experts, for example, can explain how your accident might affect your physical and mental health. A metallurgist, for instance, is another kind of expert who can analyze the reasons why a car component failed. Experts can determine whether the weather was a factor in the crash.
The main function of your expert is to evaluate the evidence and give an unbiased opinion. However, some experts can be a liability risk for your case if they're biased or have ties to the defendants' companies. Your lawyer can conduct an investigation into the background of the expert witness to identify any risks.
Your lawyer will interview you, as well as any other eyewitnesses that witnessed the incident before it occurred. It is important to note that the defendants' insurance firms will try to get you to admit that they are at fault or to make claims they can twist and alter to undermine your claim.
Litigation
Like any other driver truck drivers also have a obligation to observe traffic laws and to exercise reasonable care on the road. If they fail to comply with these rules and their negligence leads to an accident, they could be held responsible for the damages caused by the accident the victims suffer.
bolingbrook truck wreck lawyer will collect evidence from eyewitnesses and seek either oral or written evidence to prove the defendant was negligent. Our team will also examine other evidence, such as skidmarks as well as points of impact. We will also conduct crash testing.
Sometimes, the cause of an accident involving a truck can be complex and involves multiple parties. For instance, if the truck crash was caused by defective equipment or poor maintenance, we may bring a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the equipment or the trucks themselves. We could also sue the repair shop or mechanic who performed the repairs.
We will attempt to resolve your dispute out of court, however should the trucking company or its insurance company is unwilling to accept an acceptable settlement offer, we will prepare for trial. During the trial the jury or judge will decide on issues that are disputed, such as who was responsible for the accident and the amount of compensation you must be awarded. The total amount of your legal damages will be determined based on the losses you have documented that include financial, physical, and emotional pain.
Statute of Limitations
While navigating the legal process following a truck crash can be complicated, understanding the way these cases are handled can help you prepare for what is ahead and give you a better sense of how long your case will take.
One of the most important steps is to establish the responsibility. It is likely that a trucker who was drowsy or distracted or impaired will be held accountable for the damages you have suffered. There could be other parties also liable. If the accident was caused by poor repairs and/or a mechanic, then the company that manufactured the truck or its components could be held liable under the legal theory respondeat superior.
You could also be entitled to damages for punitive harm if the accountable person committed an act of recklessness that was more serious. In order to prove this, you must prove that they behaved in a reckless, impulsive manner, with no regard for your safety as well as that of others.
It is essential to work with an attorney who is familiar with the complexities of truck accidents. Insurance companies and lawyers for the at-fault party are usually the wolves in sheepskins who attempt to convince you to make statements that they can later use against you. You can steer clear of these pitfalls by having an attorney handle your communications.