Truck Accident Attorneys It's Not As Hard As You Think
The Process of a Truck Accident Lawsuit
Many truck accidents result in victims suffering severe and lifelong injuries. These accidents can result in substantial medical expenses, loss of income, and psychological injuries.
Your attorney will file a Summons and Complaint against all responsible parties. This process can last several years. Because New York uses comparative fault rules, your lawyer will ensure that any shared responsibility is appropriately defined and allocated to defendants.
Investigations
A truck crash could be more severe than an auto accident. The consequences of a truck crash can be life-changing and the resulting damage is more complex due to the weight and size of a commercial truck. These accidents also require more intricate investigation.
As a result, trucking companies and insurance providers typically conduct their own investigation immediately following the incident to protect their interests. berkeley truck accident lawyer are left to deal only with their injuries, and they are unable to collect evidence. This leaves them in a position of disadvantage compared to the insurance company and trucking companies.
A lawyer for truck accidents with experience will search for evidence in a variety sources, including police reports, witness testimony, and vehicle inspections. A lawyer with experience cannot rely solely on the reports of police officers alone as they can be insufficient for civil litigation. Police officers may not be trained to conduct an inquiry properly and might not gather all the evidence required to support an action.
Other kinds of data could include logbook records, maintenance and service records from the truck. The data from the event data recording device (also known by the name black box) is also available. An experienced attorney will ask the truck driver and the trucking company for these and other types of evidence and then carefully examine them to determine the causes of the accident.
Expert Witnesses
A expert witness from a truck accident can aid your attorney in proving different aspects of the case. An expert in medicine could, for instance, give evidence to your attorney that the accident resulted in your injuries. Your expert can also testify regarding how your injuries could affect your quality of life in the future. Expert witnesses can assist your lawyer determine the extent of your injuries including lost income and your future earning capacity.
Experts can review physical evidence and discuss the consequences of your injury on your future. A medical professional can, for instance, explain how the accident could affect your mental and physical health. Another type of expert is a metallurgist who will analyze why a vehicle part failed. There are also experts who can assess the ways in which weather might have caused the crash.
Your expert's job is to provide an unbiased and objective opinion after having examined the evidence. However, certain experts can be a liability risk in your case if they're biased or have ties to the defendant's businesses. Your attorney can use an identity check to identify these risks and ensure that you have the most qualified expert witnesses on your side.
Your lawyer will question you, along with any other eyewitnesses who saw the accident before it happened. It is important to keep in mind that the insurance companies of the defendants will attempt to force you to admit that they are at fault or to make statements they can twist and deceive to diminish your case.
Litigation
As with all drivers truck drivers also have a obligation to follow traffic laws and take reasonable care while driving. If they fail to comply with these rules and their negligence leads to a crash, they could be held accountable for the damage that the victims are left with.
To show the defendant's negligence our lawyer will gather a range of evidence from eyewitnesses who witnessed the crash and provide written or oral evidence about how the collision occurred. Our team will also study the various other evidence, including skid marks and points of impact, and conduct crash tests.
Sometimes, the cause of an accident on the road is complicated, involving multiple parties. If the truck crash was caused by defective equipment, or improper maintenance, we could sue the producers or the trucks. We might also bring a lawsuit against the mechanic that performed the repairs or the repair shop.
We will try to resolve your dispute out of court, however should the trucking company or its insurer is unable to make an equitable settlement offer then we will prepare for trial. In a trial in which a judge or jury will decide on issues that are disputed such as who was responsible and how much compensation you should get. Your legal damages will be determined in accordance with the totality of your losses. This includes financial, physical and emotional pain.
Statute of Limitations
Knowing how these cases typically take place can help you prepare for the future and give you an idea of how long it could take to resolve your case.
One of the most crucial actions is to establish the responsibility. It is possible that a trucker who was drunk or distracted or impaired will be held responsible for the damages you suffered. There could be other parties as well. For instance, if the crash occurred due to poor repairs for instance, a mechanic who performed the work or a business who made the truck or its components could be held accountable under the legal theory of respondeat superior.
You could also be entitled to damages for punitive harm if the accountable person acted in a manner of recklessness that was a lot more serious. To establish this, we have to establish that the liable party was reckless for your safety or that of others.
It is essential to work with an attorney who is experienced with the complexities involved in truck accident cases. Insurance companies and the at-fault parties' attorneys are often as wolves in sheep's clothes and will try to collect statements from you that they may use against you in the future. If you have an attorney handling all communications, you'll stay clear of these traps.