The Process of a Truck Accident Lawsuit
Accidents with trucks can cause severe and permanent injuries. These accidents can lead to massive medical expenses, loss of income, and psychological damage.
Your attorney will issue a Summons and Complaint to all parties that are responsible. This process can take several years. Your lawyer can help you determine whether the shared responsibility has been properly assessed and allocated.
Investigations
If someone is injured in a crash involving a truck, there is a lot more at stake than a car crash. The effects of a crash involving a truck could be catastrophic and the impact is more complicated due to the size and weight of a commercial truck. These incidents also require more complicated investigations.
To protect their interests trucking companies or insurance companies usually conduct their investigations as soon as they are aware of a crash. The issue is that victims are left to handle their injuries and are not being able to gather evidence. This puts them at a disadvantage in comparison to the trucking company or insurance company.
A skilled truck accident lawyer will seek evidence from many sources such as police reports, witness statements and inspections of vehicles. A knowledgeable lawyer will not rely solely on police reports, however, as these documents are not always sufficient for civil litigation. Police officers aren't trained to conduct an effective investigation and could not gather all the evidence required for the filing of a lawsuit.
Other kinds of records include logbook data, maintenance and service records for the truck, data from the event data recorder (also called a black box) and more. A skilled attorney will ask both the driver of the truck and trucking company for these and other kinds of evidence, and then examine them to determine the root of the accident.
Expert Witnesses
A expert witness in a truck accident can aid your lawyer in proving different aspects of the case. Medical experts could, for instance, give evidence to your lawyer that the accident led to your injuries. Your expert may be able to testify on how your injuries will impact your future quality of life. Expert witnesses can also assist your lawyer determine the value of your losses, including lost income and loss of earning capacity in the future.
Your expert can review physical evidence and discuss the consequences of your injury on your future. For example medical experts will explain how the accident can affect you in terms of physical and mental health. Another kind of expert is a metallurgist who will determine the reason why a component of a vehicle failed. There are also experts who can examine the way in which weather conditions could have contributed to the crash.
Your expert's job is to provide an impartial and impartial opinion after having analyzed the evidence. Expert witnesses can be a liability in your case when their opinions are biased or they have ties with the defendants. Your attorney can perform an investigation into the background of the expert witness to find out any risks that could be present.
Aside from experts, your lawyer will also question you and other eyewitnesses, including any people who saw the crash take place before it happened. You should be aware that the insurance companies of the defendants will attempt to convince you to admit guilt or make statements that they can twist and change to reduce your chances of winning.
Litigation
Like all drivers truck drivers also have a obligation to follow traffic laws and to exercise reasonable care on the road. If they fail to fulfill this obligation and their negligence results in an accident, they could be held accountable for damage to those who were injured in the collision.
Our lawyer will collect evidence from eyewitnesses, and get written or oral evidence to prove the defendant was negligent. Our team will also examine other evidence such as skidmarks and points of impact. kalamazoo truck accident lawsuit will also conduct crash testing.
Sometimes, the reason for an accident on the road is complicated, involving multiple parties. For example, if the truck crash was caused due to defective equipment or insufficient maintenance, we could seek to sue the producers of that equipment or the trucks themselves. We could also sue the mechanic or repair shop responsible for performing the repairs.
We will try to resolve your case outside of the courtroom. If, however, the trucking firm or its insurer does not agree to a fair settlement, we will prepare to go to trial. During the trial in court, a jury or judge will decide on the merits of the dispute like who was responsible for the crash and the amount of compensation you should be awarded. The total of your legal damages will be determined based on your documented losses that include financial, physical and emotional suffering.
Statute of Limitations
Although the legal process after a truck accident can be complicated, understanding the way these cases are handled will help you anticipate the future and give you a better idea of the length of time your case might take.
One of the most crucial steps is to establish the extent of liability. It is possible that a trucker who was drunk or distracted or impaired will be held responsible for the damage you suffered. There may be other parties that are as well. If the accident was the result of poor repair and/or a mechanic, then the company that made the truck or its components could be held liable according to the legal theory of respondeat superior.
It's also possible that accountable party may have committed a more serious risky act, which might entitle you to punitive damages. To prove this, we must establish that they acted in a willful and wanton manner that was reckless and in disregard for your safety and that of others.
It is essential to work with an attorney who understands the complexities of truck accidents. Insurance companies and the attorneys of the at-fault parties are often sheep in sheep's clothes and will try to get statements from you which they can use against you later. You can avoid these pitfalls by having an attorney handle your communications.