The Process of a Truck Accident Lawsuit
Truck accidents can result in severe and permanent injuries. Accidents can result in massive medical expenses, loss of income, and psychological injuries.
Your attorney will file a Summons and Complaint to all the parties responsible. The process could last for several years. Because New York uses comparative fault rules, your lawyer can ensure that any shared responsibility is correctly determined and assigned to defendants.
Investigations
When someone is injured in a truck crash there is more at stake than a car crash. The effects of a crash involving a truck can be devastating and the resulting damage is more complex due to the weight and size of commercial trucks. These accidents also involve more intricate investigations.
As a result, insurance companies and trucking firms often conduct their own investigations right after the incident to protect their interests. The issue is that the injured are left to manage their injuries and are not in a position to gather evidence. This leaves them in a position of disadvantage compared to the insurance provider and trucking companies.
A skilled attorney for truck accidents knows to look for evidence from many sources such as police reports, witness statements and vehicle inspections. A lawyer who is experienced does not rely on the reports of police officers alone as they can be not sufficient for civil litigation. Police officers aren't always properly trained to conduct an investigation properly and might not gather all the evidence required to support an action.
Other kinds of information could include logbook records and maintenance and service records from the truck. merced truck accident attorney from the event data recording device (also known as the black box) is also available. An experienced attorney will seek these and other forms of evidence from the truck driver as well as the trucking company and carefully examine the evidence to determine what led to the accident.
Expert Witnesses
A truck accident expert witness can aid your lawyer in proving various aspects of the case. For example medical experts will provide your lawyer with evidence that the crash resulted in your injuries. Your expert can also testify about how your injuries will impact your future quality of life. Expert witnesses can also assist your lawyer determine the worth of your damages, which could include lost income and loss of earning capacity in the future.
Your expert can review the physical evidence and explain the impact of your injury on your future. For example medical experts can explain how your accident will impact your physical and mental health. Another type of expert is a metallurgist who will determine the reason why a component of a vehicle failed. There are also experts who can determine if the weather could have caused the crash.
Your expert's role is to give an impartial and objective opinion after having examined the evidence. However, some expert witnesses can become an issue in your case if they're biased or have ties to the defendant's businesses. Your attorney can perform a background check on the expert witness to determine any potential risks.
Aside from experts, your lawyer will also interview you as well as other eyewitnesses, including any people who saw the crash take place before it occurred. It is important to keep in mind that the defendants' insurance firms will try to get you to admit fault or to make claims they can twist and distort to diminish your case.
Litigation
Truck drivers must also adhere to traffic laws and operate with reasonable care. If they do not comply with this duty and their negligence results in a crash, they could be held accountable for the damages caused by the accident to those who were injured in the crash.
Our lawyer will collect evidence from eyewitnesses, and get written or oral testimony to prove the defendant was negligent. Our team will also review other evidence like skidmarks as well as points of impact. We will also conduct crash testing.
Sometimes, the cause of an accident involving a truck is complex and involves multiple parties. If the truck crash was caused by defective equipment or maintenance that was not done properly, we could sue the producers or the trucks. We might also sue the mechanic who made the repairs or the repair shop.
We will attempt to resolve your dispute outside of court, but should the trucking firm or its insurer is unable to make a fair settlement offer and we prepare for trial. During the trial in court, a jury or judge will rule on disputed issues such as who was at fault for the accident and what amount of compensation you must receive. The total of your legal damages will be based on the losses you have documented, which include financial, physical, and emotional suffering.
Statute of Limitations
Knowing how these cases typically proceed can help prepare you for what's to come and give you an idea of how long it may take to settle your case.
Liability is one of the most crucial steps. It is likely that a trucker who was drunk, distracted, or otherwise impaired will be held accountable for the damage you suffered. There could be other parties that are also liable. If the crash was the result of poor repairs such as a mechanic or company that manufactured the truck or its components could be held liable according to the legal theory of respondeat superior.
It's also possible that accountable party committed a more severe act of recklessness, which could result in punitive damages. To prove this, we need to prove that the liable party acted with reckless disregard of your safety or that of others.
It is vital to hire an attorney who is familiar with the complexities involved in truck accident cases. Insurance companies and attorneys for the at-fault party can be seen as wolves in sheepskins and will try to force you to sign documents that they later use against you. If you hire an attorney to handle all communications, you can avoid these pitfalls.