The Process of a Truck Accident Lawsuit
Many accidents involving trucks cause severe and lifelong injuries. These can result in significant medical expenses, lost wages and psychological trauma.
Your lawyer will prepare an Summons and Complaint against all parties liable. This process can last several years. Since New York uses comparative fault rules, your lawyer can ensure that any shared liability is properly assessed and allocated to defendants.
Investigations
A truck accident can be more severe than an auto accident. A truck crash can have life-altering consequences. The consequences are more complex due to its weight and size. These accidents also require more intricate investigation.
To protect their interests in the event of a crash, trucking firms or insurance companies often conduct their investigations as soon as they are aware of the accident. The victims are left to deal only with their injuries and are unable to collect evidence. This puts them at a disadvantage when compared to the insurance provider and trucking companies.
A skilled truck accident lawyer knows to look for evidence from many sources, including police reports, witness statements and inspections of vehicles. A lawyer who is experienced will not rely on the reports of police officers alone because they are usually insufficient for civil litigation. Police officers are not trained to conduct an appropriate investigation and may fail to gather all of the evidence needed to support the filing of a lawsuit.
Other kinds of records include logbook data, maintenance and service records for the truck, data from the event data recorder (also known as a black box) and many more. An experienced attorney will ask the truck driver and the trucking company for these and other kinds of evidence and then carefully examine them to determine the cause of the accident.
Expert Witnesses
A truck accident expert witness can help your attorney prove different elements of the case. Medical experts for instance, can give evidence to your lawyer that the accident led to your injuries. Your expert can also testify about how your injuries will impact your life in the future. Expert witnesses can help your lawyer determine the extent of your injuries, such as lost income and your future earning capacity.
A medical professional can analyze the physical evidence and explain how your injury will affect your future. For example, a medical expert will explain how the accident can affect your physical and mental health. Another kind of expert is a metallurgist who will analyze why a vehicle part failed. There are experts who can determine if weather was a factor in the crash.
A key role of an expert witness is to examine the evidence and offer an objective opinion. Some experts could be a liability in your case in the event that their opinions are biased or they have connections to the defendants. Your attorney can conduct a background check to identify these risks and ensure that you have the top expert witnesses available.
Apart from expert witnesses, your lawyer will also question you and other eyewitnesses, including any people who saw the accident taking place before it happened. You should be aware that the insurance companies of the defendants will attempt to convince you to admit your fault or give statements that they can twist and change to reduce your chances of winning.
kenner truck accident attorney
Like all drivers truck drivers are also required to obey traffic laws. duty to obey traffic laws and to exercise reasonable care when they travel. If they do not follow the rules and their negligence causes a crash, then they could be held accountable for the damage that victims are left with.
Our attorney will collect evidence from eyewitnesses, and get either oral or written evidence to prove that the defendant was negligent. Our team will also look at other evidence, including skidmarks and points of impact, and conduct crash testing.
Sometimes, the cause of an accident on the road is complicated and involves multiple parties. For example, if the truck accident was caused by defective equipment or inadequate maintenance, we may sue the manufacturers of that equipment or the trucks themselves. 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 in the event that the trucking company, or its insurer refuses to accept an equitable settlement offer, we will prepare for trial. In a trial the judge or jury will decide on issues that are disputed such as who is at fault and how much compensation you are entitled to. The amount of your legal damages will be determined based on your documented losses that include financial, physical and emotional suffering.
Statute of limitations
Understanding how these cases usually take place can help you prepare for what's to come and provide you with an idea of how long it will take to resolve your case.
The process of establishing liability is among the most important steps. It is probable that a driver who was drowsy, distracted, or otherwise impaired will be held accountable for the harm you suffered. However, there may be other parties who are liable as well. If the crash was caused by poor repairs such as a mechanic or company that manufactured the truck or its components could be held responsible in the context of the law governing respondeat superior.
It's also possible the liable party may have committed a more serious reckless act, which could be grounds for you to receive punitive damages. To prove this, we need to establish that the liable party acted recklessly for your safety or that of others.
It is important to work with an attorney who understands the complexities involved in truck accidents. Insurance companies and lawyers for the at-fault parties are often sheepskin wolves and will attempt to convince you to give statements that they later use against you. By having an attorney handle all communications, you'll avoid these pitfalls.