The Process of a Truck Accident Lawsuit
Many truck accidents cause victims to suffer lifelong and severe injuries. Accidents can result in massive medical expenses, loss of income and psychological damages.
Your attorney will issue a Summons & Complaint to all the parties responsible. The process can take a few years. Because New York uses comparative fault rules, your lawyer can ensure that any shared responsibility is properly determined and assigned to defendants.
Investigations
If someone is injured in a truck accident there is much more at stake than an auto crash. The consequences of a truck accident can be life-altering and the impact is more complex due to the size and weight of a commercial truck. These accidents also require more intricate investigations.
To protect their interests, trucking companies or insurance companies will usually investigate immediately following an accident. The issue is that victims are left to deal with their injuries and aren't able to collect evidence. This puts them at a disadvantage in comparison to the trucking company and insurance provider.
A seasoned truck accident attorney is able to find evidence from various sources, including police reports, witness statements, and inspections of vehicles. A seasoned attorney will not depend solely on police reports, however, as these reports are often inadequate for civil litigation. Police officers aren't always properly trained to conduct an investigation properly and may not gather all the evidence needed for the court case.
Other types of information include logbook records maintenance and service records for the truck, data from the event data recorder (also known as a black box), and more. A skilled attorney will request these and other forms of evidence from the truck driver as well as the trucking company, and then analyze them to determine the cause of the accident.
Expert Witnesses
An expert witness can assist your lawyer establish the various aspects of your truck accident case. For example, a medical expert can prove to your lawyer that the crash caused your injuries. Experts can be able to testify on how your injuries will affect your quality of life in the future. bakersfield truck wreck lawyer can also help your lawyer determine the worth of your losses, including lost income and loss of future earning capacity.
Experts can examine the physical evidence and explain how your injury will affect your future. For example, a medical expert can demonstrate how your accident will impact you in terms of physical and mental health. Another type of expert is a metallurgist who will analyze why a vehicle part failed. There are also experts who can assess the ways in which weather might have caused the crash.
The primary role of an expert witness is to evaluate the evidence and give an objective and impartial opinion. However, certain experts can be a liability risk for your case if they are biased or have connections to the defendant's businesses. Your lawyer can conduct a background check on the expert witness to determine any potential risks.
Aside from expert witnesses, your attorney will also speak with you and witnesses, including people who saw the crash taking place prior to when it happened. Be aware that the insurance companies of the defendants will try to convince you to admit your fault or make statements which they can twist and alter to weaken your case.
Litigation
Truck drivers are also required to observe traffic laws and operate with reasonable care. If they fail to fulfill this obligation and their negligence leads to a crash, they may be held responsible for accident damages suffered by the victims of the crash.
To demonstrate the defendant's culpability, our attorney will gather a range of evidence from eyewitnesses who witnessed the crash and give oral or written evidence of how the collision occurred. Our team will also study other evidence, including skidmarks as well as points of impact. We will also conduct crash testing.
Sometimes, the cause of an accident involving a truck can be complex and involves multiple parties. If the accident was caused by defective equipment, or improper maintenance, then we could sue the manufacturer or the trucks. We could also sue the mechanic or repair shop responsible for performing the repairs.
We will attempt to resolve your case out of court, but if the trucking company or its insurance company refuses to make a fair settlement offer then we will prepare for trial. In trial where a judge or jury will decide on disputed issues like who was the culprit and the amount of compensation you should get. The total of your legal damages will be determined based on the losses you have documented that include financial, physical, and emotional suffering.
Statute of limitations
Understanding how these cases usually are handled can help you prepare for what is to come and provide you with an idea of how long it could take to resolve your case.
One of the most crucial steps is establishing the liability. It is possible that a trucker who was drowsy or distracted or impaired will be held accountable for the damage you suffered. However, there could be other parties also liable. If the crash was the result of poor repairs, then a mechanic or company that 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 if the guilty person acted in a manner of recklessness that was more acrimonious. To prove this, we need to establish that the liable party acted in reckless disregard to your safety, or that of others.
It is essential to work with an attorney who is familiar with the complexities involved in truck accidents. Insurance companies and lawyers for the at-fault party can be seen as sheepskins in wolves and will try to force you to sign statements that they later use against you. By having an attorney manage all communications, it is possible to avoid these traps.