If you or a loved one was hurt in an accident with a truck, you may be overwhelmed by the piles of bills and losses. Baltimore Trucking Accident Lawyer can help you calculate these losses and file a claim against the liable party or parties.
Board-certified attorneys have extensive legal knowledge, experience, and a proven record of success. They are also empathetic listeners who provide support and guidance throughout the legal process.
A wreck involving a commercial truck can have devastating effects on you and your family. In addition to serious, life-changing injuries, victims often face massive damages for property loss. If you’ve been injured in a crash with an 18-wheeler or another large truck, your Truck Accident Lawyer can help you pursue the compensation you deserve for your losses.
A trucking accident case is complex because there may be multiple liable parties. The driver, their employer, the trucking company, or even the vehicle manufacturer could be responsible. Furthermore, determining liability is difficult because trucking laws and regulations are complicated and federally mandated. An experienced truck accident attorney can handle all aspects of your claim, allowing you to focus on healing and recouping your losses.
In addition to helping you gather the evidence you need to prove your case, a lawyer can also provide invaluable assistance in negotiating with insurance companies. They know the tactics insurance companies use to minimize their liabilities and decrease the amount they must pay out, and they can counter these strategies. In many cases, a truck accident attorney can help you obtain a much larger settlement than you would have received on your own.
Your lawyer will calculate all your losses in connection with the accident and ensure that you’re compensated appropriately for your medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, and more. Additionally, they can fight to get you any future losses you might incur as a result of the accident, such as the cost of long-term care or future lost income if you’re unable to work due to your injuries.
Having a truck accident lawyer by your side can make all the difference in getting you maximum compensation for your damages. Contact a lawyer immediately after your crash to begin your journey to recovery. They will protect your rights throughout the process and make sure you don’t say anything that could hurt your case. They can also take over communication with insurers so you don’t have to deal with them directly, freeing up your time and reducing stress.
Investigating the Crash
The devastating injuries that truck accidents cause can be more severe than other types of crashes because of the enormous size and power of these vehicles. Injured victims often have expensive medical bills that quickly add up and eat into their savings while they recover from their injuries. The only way they can get the compensation they need to recover is to prove that the trucking company or driver is liable for the crash. To do that, they must conduct a thorough investigation of the crash to find all available evidence and determine how it occurred.
This process involves going to the scene of the accident, examining physical artifacts, reviewing witness statements, hiring expert accident reconstruction specialists, and more. They also investigate any potential underlying causes, like trucking companies failing to secure their cargo or overloading their trucks, which can make them more likely to jackknife or rollover and cause the accident. Additionally, they can also look for federal regulations violations by truck drivers, such as exceeding the hours of service rules, that could have contributed to the crash.
When investigating a truck accident, it is important to do so quickly because the trucking company and its insurer are already conducting their own investigations to try to avoid liability. The sooner a legal team is on the case, the more they can find out about the accident and use it to build their claim.
This is why it is important to hire a legal team that is experienced in truck accident cases. They will know the right questions to ask and how to get the evidence needed to prove that the trucking company or driver are liable. They will also have connections to experts who can recreate the accident based on physical artifacts, photos of the scene, data from the truck’s black box, and more. By gathering and analyzing this evidence without the trucking company or insurer’s influence, they can put themselves in a stronger position to negotiate for a fair settlement. They can then use it to show how the crash occurred, which helps them prove that the trucking company is responsible for your injuries and damages.
Negotiating with Insurance Companies
When a truck accident occurs, it’s important to know who might be liable for your injuries. In addition to the truck driver, there may be other parties who contributed to your crash, including trucking companies, manufacturers, shippers, and others. Each of these entities must abide by regulations set forth by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and can be held responsible for the crash that caused your injuries.
In many cases, the at-fault party’s insurance company will contact you to make an initial settlement offer. A good attorney will work diligently to get you a fair and equitable compensation amount that covers your medical expenses, loss of income, and more. This includes a thorough evaluation of your damages to ensure that the insurance company provides enough money to cover all of your losses.
Negotiating with an insurance company is a complicated process, and an experienced attorney knows how to get you the best results. They will be able to recognize when the insurance company is using tactics like calling while you’re still recovering from your injury or setting short deadlines for accepting offers as an attempt to avoid paying you a fair settlement. They’ll also know how to respond to these tactics so that they don’t backfire on you and hurt your case.
A trucking accident lawyer will also be able to negotiate with multiple insurance providers involved in your claim. This can be helpful because it can result in a higher settlement than you would have otherwise received. They will know which documents you need to submit to each provider and how to evaluate the damages that you’ve suffered to determine how much money you should receive in a settlement or judgment.
If a settlement cannot be reached through negotiations, your lawyer will file a lawsuit on your behalf and represent you in court. They will guide you through the entire legal process and fight to protect your rights. This will give you peace of mind knowing that your attorney has your back while pursuing justice for the crash that caused you or a loved one to suffer from serious injuries.
Representing You in Court
An attorney who specializes in truck accident claims is a powerful advocate for your rights. They will work to determine the monetary value of your injuries and losses and build a strong evidence file, while you focus on healing. They also have extensive experience in negotiating with insurance companies and can file a lawsuit on your behalf if negotiations are unsuccessful.
A good truck accident lawyer will be familiar with federal and state regulations that govern the trucking industry, including those related to cargo loading, driver qualifications, and hours of service. They will use this knowledge to identify violations that may have caused the accident and establish liability. They will also review the crash report and medical records to compile all available evidence and documents.
In addition to ensuring that all relevant evidence is gathered, a qualified truck accident attorney will assess your damages and negotiate with the at-fault parties to settle your claim. They will consider your medical bills, prescription drug costs, future surgeries and treatments, lost income from time off work, permanent injuries and loss of earning potential, as well as any other expenses you may have incurred.
They will gather and analyze evidence, such as witness testimony, dashcam footage, security and residential and commercial surveillance videos, smartphone photos and videos, as well as forensic evidence such as skid marks and tire tracks. They will also work with subject matter expert witnesses to support your case, if necessary.
Once they have gathered all of the necessary information, your truck accident lawyer will send a demand letter to the at-fault party’s insurance company, and negotiations will begin. They will use their years of experience working with insurance companies to ensure that you receive a fair settlement for your injuries and losses.
They will be able to detect common tactics used by insurance companies, such as calling you while you are still recovering from your injuries, rushing you to accept low-ball offers, and attempting to shift blame onto you. With an experienced attorney on your side, these tactics will not be successful and they will be forced to take you seriously.