The Process of a Truck Accident Lawsuit
Many truck accidents result in victims suffering severe and permanent injuries. These can lead to significant medical costs, lost wages and psychological harm.
Your lawyer will prepare a Summons and Complaint to all the parties responsible. This process can take several years. Since New York uses comparative fault rules, your lawyer will ensure that any shared responsibility is correctly assessed and allocated to defendants.
Investigations
If someone is injured in a collision with a truck there is much more at stake than in a car crash. The consequences of a collision with a truck can be life-changing and the impact can be more complex due to the weight and size of a commercial truck. These accidents also require more complex investigation.
To protect their interests in the event of a crash, trucking firms or insurance providers will often investigate immediately following an accident. The victims are left to deal with their injuries, and they are unable to collect evidence. This leaves them at a disadvantage when compared to the insurance provider and trucking company.
A seasoned attorney for truck accidents knows to look for evidence from various sources that include police reports, witness statements and vehicle inspections. A lawyer who is experienced cannot rely solely on police reports alone as they can be insufficient for civil litigation. Police officers aren't taught to conduct an effective investigation and may fail to gather all of the evidence required to file an action.
Other types of data 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 competent attorney will ask the truck driver and the trucking company for these types and other types of evidence and then carefully analyze them to determine the reason for the accident.
Expert Witnesses
A expert witness in a truck accident can assist your attorney in proving different elements of the case. A medical professional, for example, can provide evidence to your lawyer that the accident caused your injuries. Your expert can also testify about how your injuries will affect your future quality of life. Expert witnesses can also help your lawyer assess the value of your damages, which could include lost income and loss of future earning capacity.
league city truck accident attorney can look over physical evidence and discuss the consequences of your injury on your future. For instance, a medical expert can explain how your accident will affect you in terms of physical and mental well-being. A metallurgist is an additional type of expert that can examine the causes behind why a component failed. Experts can determine if the weather played a part in the crash.
Your expert's responsibility is to provide an unbiased and objective opinion after examining the evidence. However, some expert witnesses could pose an issue in your case if they're biased or have connections to the defendant's businesses. Your attorney can perform an investigation of the background of the expert witness to find out any potential risks.
Your lawyer will interview you, along with witnesses who were present at the accident prior to it taking place. It is crucial to remember that the defendants' insurance companies will try to get you to acknowledge fault or to make statements they can twist and alter to undermine your claim.
Litigation
Like all drivers truckers are required by law to adhere to a obligation to follow traffic laws and to take reasonable care while driving. If they do not comply with this duty and their negligence causes a crash, they could be held liable for the damages caused by the accident to the victims of the collision.
Our lawyer will obtain evidence from eyewitnesses as well as written or oral testimony to prove the defendant was negligent. Our team will also review a wide range of other evidence, including skid marks or points of collision, and conduct crash tests.
Sometimes, the cause of an accident involving a truck can be complex and involves multiple parties. For instance, if the truck accident was caused by defective equipment or poor maintenance, we might seek to sue the producers of that equipment or the trucks themselves. We might also sue the repair shop or mechanic who performed the repairs.
We will try to settle your case outside of the courtroom. If, however, the trucking firm or its insurer does not agree to a fair settlement then we will prepare to go to trial. In trial, a jury or judge will decide on disputed issues like who was the culprit and what amount of compensation you'll receive. Your legal damages will be calculated based on the total of your losses, which includes financial, physical and emotional suffering.
Statute of Limitations
Understanding how these cases usually proceed can help prepare you for what lies ahead and give you an idea of the time it might take to settle your case.
Liability is one of the most crucial steps. It is possible that a trucker who was drowsy, distracted, or otherwise impaired will be held accountable for the harm you suffered. However, there could be other parties accountable as well. For instance, if a crash occurred due to poor repairs such as a mechanic who did the work or a company who made the truck or its components could be held liable under the legal theory of respondeat superior.
You may also be entitled to damages for punitive acts if the responsible party committed an act of recklessness that was more serious. In order to prove this, you must establish that they acted in a reckless, impulsive manner with a disregard for your safety and the safety of others.
It is vital to hire an attorney who is familiar with the complexities of truck accident cases. Insurance companies and the attorneys representing the parties at fault are frequently sheep in sheep's clothes and will try to get statements from you that they may use against you in the future. You can stay clear of these pitfalls by having an attorney manage your communications.