You need a truck accident lawyer if the demands of a truck accident lawsuit intimidate you. You may shy away from the demands of such a lawsuit for many reasons—truck accident cases are notoriously complicated.
You may also hire a truck accident lawyer simply because a lawyer can do a more capable job than you. This is no knock on your abilities but rather a recognition that lawyers seek justice for accident victims for a living.
When You Need a Truck Accident Lawyer Guide
- Notable Reasons Why You May Hire a Truck Accident Lawyer
- Primary Benefits of Hiring a Truck Accident Lawyer
- What, Exactly, Does a Truck Accident Lawyer Do for Their Clients?
- Your Lawyer Will Seek Compensation for Your Accident-Related Damages (Including These)
- Find a Truck Accident Lawyer Who Will Fight for Your Financial Recovery, and Donât Wait
Notable Reasons Why You May Hire a Truck Accident Lawyer
Each truck accident victim has their reasons for hiring a lawyer, and some motivations you may consider are:
Your Diminished Health
Trucks are overrepresented in fatal accidents, a nod to the fact that trucks often outweigh the vehicles they hit—by a lot. Accident victims with any injury may hesitate to lead their own case. If you have substantial injuries, you may be even more hesitant.
Attempting to lead a truck accident case when you suffered an injury can:
- Slow the recovery process
- Worsen injuries from your truck accident
- Create new health complications
- Substantially reduce your quality of life
Liable parties may even claim that your attempt to lead your own case proves that your accident-related injuries are not as severe as you claim.
Your health issues may also affect the quality of your case. Without a strong case, you may not get the compensation you deserve. Therefore, your health problems are a primary reason to consider hiring a lawyer for your truck accident case.
The Complicated Nature of Trucks
Passenger vehicles, like cars, are simpler machines than large, 18-wheel trucks. While a blown tire or brake failure can cause a car to collide with another, trucks have many more components that can malfunction and cause a collision.
An attorney will work with experts in the automotive industry to diagnose precisely why your accident happened. They will consider the possibility of equipment failure and examine the truck to document any defects that led to your accident.
If you had to diagnose a truck defect, can you? Or, if you had to hire an expert to diagnose such defects, can you afford to pay that expert's fee?
These types of questions lead truck accident victims to hire an attorney.
The Complicated Regulations Governing the Trucking Industry
The trucking industry is highly regulated, and for a good reason. Trucks' weight, dangerous cargo, and the strains that truck drivers face are all reasons for the industry's many rules.
As one example, under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) rules, drivers must take mandatory, regimented breaks. These mandatory breaks are called hours of service regulations, and drivers or trucking companies who defy these regulations put others at risk.
Your lawyer may understand the complex regulations relevant to a truck accident case. They may also work with experts to interpret these regulations in the context of your case.
The Need to Get Crucial Evidence from a Trucking Company
In many truck accident cases, the liable trucking company has a crucial piece of evidence: the truck involved in the accident.
To get this evidence, a lawyer may need to:
- Draft and file a letter of spoliation, which requires the trucking company to preserve all evidence related to the accident.
- Visit the trucking company’s premises to access the vehicle.
- Understand which components on a truck are worth examining, including the black box (which contains data about the truck’s movements) and portions of the truck that have sustained damage.
A trucking company may resist providing evidence that proves its liability for the accident. Such resistance can further complicate the process of securing evidence.
The Trucking Company’s Legal Resources
Trucking companies manage large fleets of truckers, and accidents are a certainty in the trucking industry. Any competent company will have attorneys on standby, ready to fight against any negligence claims the company faces.
If a trucking company's leadership is smart, it will hire capable lawyers on its payroll. For trucking accident victims, this means that you will want a competent lawyer of your own.
The High Stakes of Winning or Losing Your Case
Truck accidents can cause serious injuries, which may warrant an extensive financial recovery. Therefore, if you lose your case, you may miss out on significant compensation. These high stakes lead many truck accident victims to entrust their cases to an experienced attorney.
The Possibility of a Trial
Most civil cases settle, including truck accident cases. However, liable parties may not offer a fair settlement, especially if they owe the accident victim significant compensation.
During a trial, you (or your lawyer) may need to:
- Complete the discovery process
- File pre-trial motions
- Give an opening argument
- Present and interview witnesses
- Present evidence
- Give a closing argument
A trial requires an attorney to respond to the other side's case in real time. For example, your lawyer may lodge objections to inappropriate questions by a civil defense attorney.
If you are unfamiliar with trials (or are simply not a lawyer), effectively completing a trial may be extremely difficult.
You may need a truck accident lawyer to complete your case for many compelling reasons. While you can complete your own case, you must ask yourself whether you can present a case of the same quality that a lawyer can present.
Primary Benefits of Hiring a Truck Accident Lawyer
Those who choose to hire a truck accident lawyer realize several benefits, as they:
Can Focus Intently on Recovery
Truck accident victims are generally living full lives when their accidents occur. Responsibilities like work, childcare, and personal relationships don’t disappear because a truck accident happens—and yet, truck accident victims must also recover and seek compensation for their accident-related damages.
By allowing a lawyer to handle your pursuit of compensation, you can focus intently on your recovery.
The recovery process may require:
- Regular doctors’ visits
- Long periods of rest
- Limiting your mobility
- Medical imaging to monitor the progress of your recovery
- Other responsibilities
Those who don’t hire a lawyer will need to juggle their recovery and their legal case or claim. This can prove difficult and detrimental to your health.
Avoid the Stress of Completing a Lawsuit or Claim
Those who hire a truck accident lawyer outsource stress and worry to their attorneys. You will not have to concern yourself with the steps required to complete your lawsuit, gather evidence, speak with witnesses, or negotiate a settlement—your law firm will handle these responsibilities and more.
Avoiding stress may quicken your recovery and help restore your mental health.
Receive Significant Financial Support
Law firms help their clients during difficult financial times.
Because truck accidents place victims under significant financial stress, a law firm can provide great relief by:
- Paying for all case-related expenses, including the cost of hiring experts
- Requiring no upfront payment from the client
- Only receiving an attorney’s fee if they get compensation for the client
Personal injury law firms accept the financial risk of the cases they handle. These firms are generally confident that they can win and that their percentage of the financial recovery will be worth the time and effort. On the other hand, clients get end-to-end legal services without paying a dollar out of their pocket.
Harness a Lawyer’s Network of Experts and Investigators
Your attorney may have an existing network of paralegals, investigators, and experts who can assist with your case.
Experts can:
- Have an authoritative knowledge of truck mechanics, trucking industry regulations, and other areas specific to your case
- Testify on your behalf, lending credibility to your case for compensation
- Help calculate the cost of your damages
- Reconstruct the truck accident
- Assist your case in other ways
Credible expert testimony and services can substantially boost a truck accident case. Your attorneys may know experts whose opinions carry weight in truck accident cases.
Benefit from the Lawyer’s Experience and Training
If you hire a truck accident lawyer who has handled cases like yours, their experience can prove very valuable.
Prior experience may:
- Allow your lawyer to anticipate and overcome challenges that may arise during your case
- Familiarize your lawyer with winning legal strategies for truck accident cases
- Familiarize your lawyer with the courts where your truck accident case will take place
Experience is always a benefit in the field of personal injury law.
In many cases, the benefits of hiring a lawyer contribute to the truck accident victim getting the compensation they deserve. There is no telling whether the truck accident victim can have gotten the same compensation on their own. However, these victims’ decision to hire a lawyer delivered the outcome they hoped for.
What, Exactly, Does a Truck Accident Lawyer Do for Their Clients?
A truck accident lawyer fights for their client's total financial recovery.
To achieve this goal, an attorney generally:
Attorneys and their paralegals also handle all case-related paperwork and communications. By maintaining complete control over the legal process, your lawyer will fashion the best case possible.
Your Attorney Will Protect Your Rights
Your lawyer’s first duty is protecting you.
This means protecting you from:
- Unwanted contact from insurance companies, civil defense attorneys, and those responsible for your truck accident
- Any attempt to breach your rights
- Any other circumstances that can jeopardize your financial recovery
Insurance representatives will need to go through your attorney. Your lawyer will respond to requests for documentation, statements, and evidence from insurance companies. If you need to make an on-the-record statement to insurers, your lawyer may help you craft a written account of your accident.
Your Lawyer Will Seek Compensation for Your Accident-Related Damages (Including These)
Case values typically increase when injuries are serious. For example, the average economic cost of a motor vehicle accident that causes disabling injuries can reach hundreds of thousands. Note that this figure does not cover non-economic damages (like pain and suffering), that can increase your case value.
Recoverable damages in a truck accident case may include:
- Medical bills
- Lost income
- Diminished earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Property expenses
- Temporary transportation
If your loved one died from injuries suffered in a truck accident, a compassionate attorney can lead your wrongful death case.
Recoverable damages in fatal truck accident cases may include:
- Funeral costs
- Lost financial support
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of the decedent’s household services
- Medical bills
Trust a lawyer to uncover and value all of your damages. They will fight for the compensation you deserve.
Find a Truck Accident Lawyer Who Will Fight for Your Financial Recovery, and Don’t Wait
Research local personal injury attorneys who will seek the money you deserve. You deserve justice if you've suffered injuries or lost a loved one. You also deserve to focus on your health and recovery, so let a lawyer manage your case.