The Process of a Truck Accident Lawsuit
Truck accidents can cause severe and permanent injuries. These accidents can result in significant medical costs, lost income and psychological traumas.
Your lawyer will issue an Summons & Complaint to the parties who are liable. This process can take several years. Since New York uses comparative fault rules, your lawyer can ensure that any shared responsibility is appropriately evaluated and distributed to defendants.
Investigations
When someone is injured in a crash involving a truck there is much more at stake than in an auto accident. The consequences of a truck accident could be catastrophic and the impact can be more complicated due to the weight and size of a commercial truck. These accidents also involve more complex investigations.
To protect their interests the trucking companies and insurance companies will usually conduct investigations right after the accident. The problem is that victims are left to deal with their injuries and aren't able to collect evidence. This leaves the injured at a disadvantage to the insurance company and trucking company.
A skilled truck accident lawyer is able to find evidence from various sources that include police reports, witness statements and vehicle inspections. A lawyer who is knowledgeable will not rely on only police reports because they are usually not sufficient for civil litigation. Police officers may not be trained to conduct an investigation correctly and may not collect all the evidence required to support a lawsuit.
Other types of data include logbook entries, maintenance and service records for the truck and the event data recorder (also known as a black box) and more. A competent attorney will ask the driver of the truck and the trucking company for these and other forms of evidence and then carefully analyze them to determine the cause of the accident.
Expert Witnesses
An expert witness can aid your attorney prove various elements of your truck accident case. For example, a medical expert can provide evidence that the crash resulted in your injuries. Your expert will also testify on how your injuries will impact your life's quality of living in the future. Expert witnesses can also help your lawyer calculate the value 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 how your injuries will impact your future. For example, a medical expert can explain how your accident will affect your physical and mental well-being. Another type of expert is a metallurgist who will examine the reasons why a part of a car failed. There are experts who can determine if weather was a factor in the crash.
The main function of your expert witness is to review the evidence and give an objective opinion. Certain expert witnesses could be a liability to your case if their opinions are biased or if they have ties to the defendants. Your attorney can perform an investigation of the background of the expert witness to identify any risks.
Alongside louisiana truck accident attorney , your lawyer will also speak with you and other eyewitnesses. This includes people who saw the accident taking place before it happened. You should be aware that the insurance companies of the defendants will try to get your to admit fault or give statements that they can twist and alter to make it appear as though they are trying to undermine your case.
Litigation
Just like other drivers truck drivers are also required to obey traffic laws. obligation to follow traffic laws and to exercise reasonable care while driving. If they fail to comply with these rules and their carelessness causes an accident, they could be held liable for the injuries that the victims suffer.
Our lawyer will collect evidence from eyewitnesses and obtain written or oral testimony to prove that the defendant was negligent. Our team will also review other evidence, including skidmarks and points of impact and conduct crash testing.
Sometimes, the cause of an accident involving a truck is complex and involves multiple parties. For example, if the truck crash was caused due to defective equipment or insufficient maintenance, we could seek to sue the producers of that equipment or the trucks themselves. We might also sue the mechanic who performed the repairs or the repair shop.
We will attempt to resolve your dispute outside of the courtroom. However, if the trucking firm or its insurer is unwilling to accept an equitable settlement and we are unable to reach a fair settlement, we will go to trial. During the trial the judge or jury will decide on the merits of the dispute like who was at fault for the crash and what amount of compensation you are entitled to be awarded. The total amount of your legal damages will be based on the losses you have documented that include physical, financial and emotional suffering.
Statute of limitations
Understanding how these cases normally proceed can help prepare you for the future and give you an idea of how long it could take to resolve 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 responsible for the damage you suffered. However, there could be other parties who are equally responsible. For instance, if the crash resulted from faulty repairs such as a mechanic who completed the work or a company which made the truck or its parts might be held responsible according to the legal doctrine of respondeat superior.
It's also possible that accountable party was guilty of a more serious risky act, which might entitle you to punitive damages. To prove this, we need to prove that the liable party acted in reckless disregard of your safety or that of others.
It is vital to hire an attorney who is experienced with the complexities of truck accident cases. Insurance firms and attorneys for the at-fault party can be seen as sheepskin wolves and will try to get you to give statements that they later use against you. By having an attorney manage all communications, it is possible to avoid these pitfalls.