5 Common Problems That Are Resolved By a Truck Accident Attorney

Filing a car insurance claim should not be an exercise in frustration. However, far too many auto insurance companies exploit the problems faced by claimants when seeking compensation. After you get involved in a car crash, you should follow a series of steps that help you receive the compensation you deserve.

First, you should call 911 followed by moving your automobile into a safe zone. Then, gathering physical evidence and speaking with witnesses provides you with the information you need to file a successful car insurance claim. If you sustained serious enough injuries, a trip to the nearest healthcare facility leads to the diagnosis and treatment of your injuries. The most important step to take after a car accident involves contacting an experienced auto collision lawyer. Getting legal support helps you resolve five common problems that are associated with an auto collision.

Gathering Evidence

Getting involved in a car accident can overwhelm you, especially if you have to deal with one or more injuries. The rapid flow of thoughts might make you forget to look for physical evidence and/or speak to witnesses that confirm what transpired before, during, and after the car accident. An experienced car accident attorney from Schiff & Associates immediately accesses the official police report to review physical evidence, as well as obtain the names and contact information of witnesses.

Gathering evidence helps your lawyer determine the cause of the crash, which can help resolve the next problem on our list.

Proving Negligence

To win a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages, your car accident attorney must show the judge hearing your case the presence of the four elements of negligence. First, your lawyer must demonstrate the other party owed you a duty of care to protect you against harm. Second, your attorney must submit persuasive evidence that establishes a violation of the duty of care doctrine. Third, the crash must have caused you to sustain injuries. Finally, you must have generated financial losses to become eligible for compensation.

Calculating a Fair Value for Compensation

Calculating a fair value for compensation seems like a straightforward process. All it appears that you have to do is add up the bills associated with your case. However, many auto accidents trigger mental and emotional issues such as acute anxiety that makes it difficult to assign a price tag. Hiring one of the proven car accident lawyers from Schiff & Associates ensures you receive compensation for non-monetary damages, such as the value of compensation for living with the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Negotiating a Settlement

An insurance adjuster and/or the lawyer representing the other party might want to negotiate a settlement to avoid the costly and lengthy litigation process. Negotiating a settlement requires the legal expertise of an experienced car accident attorney. You resolve the negotiation problem by receiving legal support that ensures you receive what you deserve in compensation. Your lawyer submits an initial offer, which the other party either accepts or rejects. If the other party rejects your initial offer, you might receive a counteroffer or a formal letter that requests you to move on to the next step in the process.

Filing a Civil Lawsuit

Without the legal support provided by an experienced car accident attorney from Schiff & Associates, you cannot expect to resolve the issues that arise by filing a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. A car accident attorney interacts with the judge and the other party’s legal representative, as well as files your civil lawsuit before the expiration of the statute of limitations. Each state sets the deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit, with most states establishing the statute of limitations between two and four years.

Why Should Owner Operators Keep a Truck Accident Attorney on File?

Truck owners and operators have to take steps to prevent their rigs from getting involved in an accident. Two of the most important steps to take include following federal driving regulations and performing regular maintenance on their 18-wheelers. Another important precautionary step involves keeping a truck accident attorney on file. Keeping a truck accident attorney on file requires hiring a lawyer on retainer. A retainer arrangement gives an owner or operator quick access to legal representation in case a truck driver gets involved in a collision.

Why Do I Need to Have a Truck Accident Attorney on File?

Keeping a truck accident attorney on file dramatically reduces the amount of time it takes to hire a lawyer to represent you during a truck accident case. In addition to quick access to legal representation, truckers benefit from keeping a lawyer on file for several additional reasons.

Conduct a Thorough Investigation

The key to gaining approval for an insurance claim, as well as winning a favorable legal judgment, involves gathering sufficient physical evidence to support an insurance claim and a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. To collect persuasive physical evidence, your truck accident attorney conducts a thorough investigation that includes gathering physical evidence such as traffic and/or security camera footage. Your attorney also reviews the official police report and interviews witnesses as part of a detailed investigation.

Interacts With the Insurance Adjuster

A truck accident lawyer from Schiff & Associates helps you file a convincing insurance claim, as well as acts as an intermediary to prevent an insurance adjuster from taking advantage of you. By working with an experienced truck accident attorney, you can considerably reduce the amount of time it takes to get an insurance claim settled. You also can focus your attention on other issues, such as recovering from any injuries sustained as the result of a truck accident.

Submit a Reasonable Request for Compensation

One of the most common reasons for truck accident claims to come back denied is an unreasonable request for compensation. By hiring an experienced truck accident attorney, you submit a fair value for compensation that leads to the approval of your claim. Your truck accident lawyer considers the value of economic damages, such as the cost of medical bills and repairing property damage. Then, your lawyer calculates a value for non-economic damages, which can include treating the symptoms associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Prove Another Party Committed Negligence

To win a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages, your truck accident attorney must prove the presence of the four elements of negligence. First, your lawyer must show another party owed you a duty of care to prevent a truck accident. Second, another party must have committed at least one act that violated the duty of care doctrine. Third, you must prove that the truck accident caused your injuries. Fourth, the truck accident has to generate financial losses, such as medical bills and payments to repair the damage done to your rig.

Negotiate a Settlement

Hiring a truck accident attorney provides you with an experienced negotiator to represent your financial interests for an insurance claim, as well as a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. Negotiations start with your lawyer submitting the initial offer, which the other party accepts or rejects. If the other party rejects the initial offer, you might receive a counteroffer or a certified letter that requests both parties move on to the next step of the insurance claim and/or civil lawsuit process. Several counteroffers can follow the initial offer until both parties resolve their differences or decide to take another action.

5 Examples of Commercial Truck Accidents Being More Complex Than Car Accidents

If you have experienced the aftermath of a car accident, you understand that a legal case can get complex quickly. From a lack of physical evidence to confusing insurance jargon, you can get bogged down in a car accident case for months on end. Although car accident cases often turn into complicated legal messes, they do not compare in complexity to the complex issues that arise from a commercial truck accident case.

Why Are Commercial Truck Accidents More Complex Than Car Accidents?

Accidents involving commercial trucks represent some of the most devastating accidents that occur on American roads and highways. Victims of a commercial truck accident frequently develop severe, even life-threatening injuries as a result of colliding with a massively sized commercial truck. In addition, truck accident insurance claims typically introduce many more complex factors than the insurance claims filed for other types of motor vehicle accidents.

Damages and Injuries

The sheer size and weight of a commercial truck cause more property damages and serious injuries than any other type of auto accident. Determining the extent of property damage and serious injuries requires a much more thorough investigation that introduces complex legal and insurance issues.

The more serious the injuries and the higher the value of property damages, the more complex the commercial truck accident case.

Liability

Liability boils down to ownership, which varies among the drivers of commercial trucks. Although most truck drivers are considered owners/operators of their vehicles, a substantial percentage of commercial truck drivers operate big rigs that are owned by a company. Legal and insurance issues concerning liability become even more complex if a truck driver operates an 18-wheeler to haul loads for another party.

Since ownership is often difficult to ascertain, a truck accident case can create issues that make it difficult to determine the liable party. Liability also is problematic because the type of cargo can make a truck driver not liable for causing a collision.

Laws and Regulations

Truck drivers must follow more laws and regulations than the average driver. For example, truck drivers cannot operate a big rig for more than a certain number of hours a day. A truck driver who exceeds the maximum number of operating hours and then causes a commercial truck accident might be guilty of operating a commercial truck while fatigued.

Due to a large number of laws and regulations, discovering fault in a commercial truck accident case generates several complex legal and insurance issues.

State Laws

Although the United States Department of Transportation issues the regulations for operating a commercial truck, each of the 50 states has implemented laws that vary in the types and strength of regulations. The actions taken by a commercial truck driver in one state might produce different legal and insurance ramifications for the same actions taken in another state.

Truck Data

Many truck drivers carry a black box that records a wide variety of data, such as the different speeds traveled throughout the day. The data recovered from a truck’s black box helps investigators determine the cause of a commercial truck crash. However, any discrepancies between the data recovered from a black box and the physical evidence gathered at the scene can turn a relatively easy commercial truck accident case into a difficult case to resolve.

Top 5 Questions to Ask Your Truck Accident Attorney

If you sustained one or more injuries as the result of a truck accident, you should act with a sense of urgency by contacting an experienced truck accident lawyer to schedule a meeting to discuss your case. Most truck accident attorneys offer a free case evaluation for potential clients to discuss their cases. During the first meeting with a truck accident attorney, the lawyer reviews your case to determine what type of action to take, which can include filing a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages.​

The attorney reads the official police report of your case, examines the physical evidence collected by the responding law enforcement agency, and interviews witnesses that describe what transpired before, during, and after the truck collision. You learn about how to file a persuasive insurance claim, as well as discuss the steps required to take legal action to recover the financial losses generated by the truck accident. Toward the end of the first meeting with a truck accident attorney, you get the opportunity to ask questions to help you decide whether the lawyer sitting across from you is the right one to handle your case.

What Type of Questions Should I Ask the Truck Accident Attorney?

The questions that you ask a truck accident lawyer can determine the direction you take for your case. You should ask questions that pertain to the attorney’s legal background, as well as clarify how the lawyer approaches handling truck accident cases that result in a victim sustaining one or more injuries. You also should ask questions that explain the legal process, as well as educate you on what you need to do to boosting the strength of your case.

Here are the top five questions to ask a truck accident attorney:

Do You Specialize in Handling Truck Accident Cases?

Personal injury lawyers typically specialize in one, maybe two areas of personal injury law. You want to determine whether the attorney sitting across from you specializes in handling truck accident cases. Truck accident laws vary from other types of personal injury cases such as medical malpractice and premises liability. Although case and truck accident cases share many similarities, there are enough legal differences to require a truck accident attorney to handle your case.

Do You Work on a Contingency Fee Basis?

Hiring a truck accident attorney can cost a considerable amount of money, especially if a lawyer charges clients for legal services by the hour. You want to hire an attorney who operates on a contingency fee basis, which means the lawyer gets paid when you receive compensation from an insurance company and/or a personal injury lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. Truck accident attorneys who charge on a contingency fee basis receive a percentage of a client’s compensation.

Will You Work on My Case from Start to Finish?

The truck accident attorney that you meet for an initial consultation might not be the same attorney who helps you file an insurance claim and/or a personal injury lawsuit. You want to avoid hiring a truck accident lawyer who meets with you for an initial consultation, only to delegate legal responsibilities to a paralegal or a less experienced litigator.

Do You Negotiate Settlements?

Your goal as a victim of a truck accident is to receive compensation in the least amount of time. You can accomplish this goal if your truck accident attorney is willing to negotiate a settlement with the insurance company processing your claim, as well as the defendant in a civil case.

How Much Time Do I Have to File a Personal Injury Lawsuit?

Each state has established a deadline to file a personal injury lawsuit. Although most states have set the statute of limitations to take legal action between two and four years, other states have set the deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit as long as six years or as short as one year. Regardless of the statute of limitations established by the state where you live, you should act with a sense of urgency to recover your financial losses.

Rig Repair is Costly Unless You Have a Good a Truck Accident Attorney

If you are involved in a truck accident, the first item on your to-do list is to check on the health of everyone involved in the collision. If you sustained one or more injuries as the result of a truck accident, you should seek immediate medical care. If you do not act with a sense of urgency to receive medical care, you might have a difficult time getting an insurance claim approved, as well as winning a legal judgment that awards you compensation. Truck accidents typically require the presence of law enforcement personnel to conduct an investigation that leads to the submission of the official accident report.

Although the cost of medical bills can put you in a deep financial hole, the repairs to your rig can cost as much, if not more than medical expenses such as diagnostic tests, treatment programs, and physical therapy sessions. The Technology and Maintenance Council of the American Trucking Association reported that in the last quarter of 2021, the average cost of labor and parts for truck repairs climbed more than four percent. This means big rig repair is costly unless you have a good truck accident attorney on your side of a legal dispute.

Filing an Insurance Claim

You have two possible sources of compensation after a truck accident: Filing an insurance claim and a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. Filing an insurance claim requires the legal support of a personal injury lawyer who specializes in handling truck accident cases. An attorney calculates a fair value for compensation, as well as acts as an intermediary between you and the insurance adjuster. Without the legal support of an experienced lawyer, the insurance adjuster might deny a valid claim or approve a claim for much less than what you deserve in compensation.

A truck accident attorney also closely monitors the progress of your claim to ensure the insurance adjuster processes it in a timely manner.

Types of Compensation for a Civil Lawsuit

Paying for the substantial costs associated with rig repair also can come from the monetary damages awarded by a judge hearing a personal injury lawsuit. Judges award economic damages to help plaintiffs pay for the costs associated with medical and truck repair bills. To receive compensation for rig repair, you must submit copies of repair bills for the judge to review.

You also might qualify for non-economic damages and punitive damages. Non-economic damages pay for the costs associated with pain and suffering, while punitive damages punish the defendant for committing one or more acts of negligence.

File a Personal Injury Lawsuit

Rig repair is costly if you do not file a civil lawsuit before the expiration of the statute of limitations. Each state has established a deadline for taking legal action, with most states setting the deadline between two and four years. Although you have plenty of time to take legal action, you should act with a sense of urgency for two important reasons. First, you must pay rig repair bills as they come due. Without receiving compensation from a favorable legal judgment, you can quickly fall into debt. Second, your truck accident attorney needs to interview witnesses as soon as possible after the collision. Witness accounts tend to lose credibility the longer they are given after a personal injury incident..