The Process of a Truck Accident Lawsuit
Accidents involving trucks can cause serious and permanent injuries. These accidents can result in significant medical expenses, lost income, and psychological injuries.
Your attorney will issue an Summons and Complaint to all parties liable. This process can take several years. Since New York uses comparative fault rules, your lawyer can ensure that any shared liability is properly determined and assigned to defendants.
Investigations
A truck crash can be more serious than an auto accident. The consequences of a collision with a truck could be catastrophic and the impact is far more complex due to the size and weight of commercial trucks. These accidents also require more sophisticated investigations.
To protect their interests the trucking companies and insurance companies usually conduct their investigations as soon as they are aware of an accident. The victims are left to deal only with their injuries and are not able to gather evidence. This puts them at a disadvantage compared to the insurance provider and trucking company.
A skilled truck accident lawyer will seek evidence from various sources that include police reports, witness statements, and vehicle inspections. A lawyer who is knowledgeable is not relying on only police reports, as they are often insufficient for civil litigation. Police officers are not trained to conduct an appropriate investigation and could fail to gather all of the evidence needed to support the filing of a lawsuit.
Other kinds of information include logbook records, 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 skilled attorney will request these as well as other types of evidence from the truck driver and trucking company and carefully examine the evidence to determine what led to the accident.
Expert Witnesses
An expert witness can aid your lawyer to prove different elements of your truck accident case. A medical professional is a good example. They can provide evidence to your attorney that the accident resulted in your injuries. Your expert may also testify as to how your injuries could affect your future quality-of-life. Expert witnesses can also help your lawyer calculate the value of your damages, including lost income and loss of future earning capacity.
Your doctor can look over physical evidence and discuss the consequences of your injury on your future. Medical experts is a good example. They can explain how the accident could impact your physical and mental health. A metallurgist is another type of expert who will analyze the reasons why a car component failed. There are also experts who can analyze how the weather may have contributed to the crash.
The role of an expert witness is to give an impartial and objective opinion after having examined the evidence. However, certain expert witnesses could be a liability risk for your case if they are biased or have connections to the defendant's companies. Your lawyer can conduct a background check to find these risks and make sure that you have the best expert witnesses available.
Your lawyer will question you, as well as any other eyewitnesses who witnessed the accident prior to it taking place. Be aware that the insurance companies of the defendants will try to convince you to acknowledge your responsibility or give statements that they can twist or alter to weaken your case.
Litigation
Like all drivers truck drivers also have a obligation to follow traffic laws and to use reasonable care when they travel. If they fail to comply with these rules and their negligence results in an accident, they could be held accountable for the injuries that victims suffer.
Our lawyer will gather evidence from eyewitnesses and obtain oral or written testimony to prove that the defendant was negligent. Our team will also examine other evidence like skidmarks and points of impact, and conduct crash testing.
Sometimes, the reason for an accident involving a truck is complex and involves multiple parties. If the accident was caused by defective equipment, or improper maintenance, we could sue the manufacturer or the trucks. We could also sue the mechanic who made the repairs or the repair shop.
We will try to settle your case outside of court. However, if the trucking company or its insurer refuses an equitable settlement and we are unable to reach a fair settlement, we will go to trial. In a trial in which a judge or jury will rule on disputes such as who was responsible and what amount of compensation you'll receive. The amount of your legal damages will be determined based on the losses you have documented, which include financial, physical, and emotional suffering.
Statute of Limitations
Understanding how these cases usually are handled can help you prepare for what lies ahead and provide you with an idea of how long it may take to resolve your case.
winston salem truck accident law firm of the most crucial actions is to establish liability. If the truck driver was tired or distracted, as an example the chances are that they will be held responsible for your losses. There may be other parties as well. For instance, if the crash resulted from faulty repairs, for instance, an individual mechanic who did the work or a business which made the truck or its components could be held accountable in the legal concept of respondeat superior.
You could also be entitled to damages for punitive acts if the responsible person committed an act of recklessness that was a lot more serious. To prove this, we need to prove that the responsible party acted recklessly for your safety or the safety of others.
It is crucial to choose an attorney who is experienced with the complexities involved in truck accident cases. Insurance companies and lawyers for the at-fault party are often the wolves in sheepskins who attempt to convince you to sign documents that they later use against you. You can avoid these pitfalls by having an attorney manage your communications.