Tuck accidents can be a life-changing experience since their impact can cause severe injuries, leading to impairment or physiological damage. Having a lawyer will lessen the stress of the claim process. A Baldwin personal injury lawyer from our law firm can offer professional advice after the accident and guide you through the murky legal processes.
You May Recover Your Accident-related Losses
Suppose you are involved in an accident due to the negligence of a truck driver. In that case, you can recover compensation for medical bills, lost income, and emotional pain and suffering. However, trucking companies are known to have extensive resources. Therefore, going after them for compensation after an accident can intimidate the victim.
Our Baldwin tractor-trailer accident lawyer can help collect evidence to prove the extent of damages and liability.
Steps To Follow After Being Involved in a Truck Accident
After you’re involved in an accident, even if you were partly at fault, it would be best to take the following steps to protect your rights:
- Seek medical attention immediately. Accidents involving trucks are mostly fatal, and the survivors often experience catastrophic injuries. In the absence of immediate medical attention, some injuries can lead to a lifetime of health problems. A detailed medical assessment can also be used as evidence by your lawyer to prove the extent of medical damages.
- Keep a record of your damages. It’s advisable to keep a detailed history of relevant invoices and receipts to present evidence to the insurance company.
- Inform your insurance company about the accident. It’s advisable to inform your insurance provider when you’re involved in an accident so that they can launch an investigation and compensate you for your damages.
- Enlist the services of a lawyer for legal advice. A tractor-trailer lawyer will guide you in filing your claim, collecting evidence to prove the extent of damages and injuries, and identifying the liable party.
Filing a Claim After a Tractor Trailer Accident
Truck accidents are usually more deadly compared to smaller vehicles. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) says trucks are 20 to 30 times heavier than smaller cars. After a truck accident, the victim can seek the services of a tractor-trailer accident lawyer to get financial compensation from the insurer.
The process of filing a claim is as follows:
Collect Evidence
For the lawyer to file a strong case against the insurance provider, their role is to collect sufficient evidence before filing the claim. The success of a claim is based on the strength of the evidence presented by the lawyer. Your lawyer will work with the police, doctor, and even experts to ensure credible proof.
Some of the evidence you can gather include:
- Medical Records: These records will show the degree of injuries and medical expenses incurred in the treatment process.
- Police Report: The police report explains how the accident happened and the liable parties.
- Photographs and Videos: These offer evidence of the accident scene and the vehicles involved. If you did not take photos and videos, your lawyer could help them from eyewitness phones or evidence collected by the police.
- Eyewitness Statements: Eyewitnesses are an excellent source of evidence since they see the accident happen and give a sequence of events before and after the accident.
Negotiate with the Insurance Provider
If the truck accident happens, enlist the services of a tractor-trailer lawyer to negotiate a reasonable settlement from the insurance on your behalf. Your lawyer will value your claim based on the injuries sustained and the monetary loss incurred through medical bills and car repairs. The insurer can’t take advantage and offer little compensation since lawyers know insurance law and its provisions.
Your lawyer will carefully investigate and compute the claim’s value based on damages caused by the accident and the monetary loss after that.
Prove Liability
The most challenging part after an automobile accident is identifying the liable party. A tractor-trailer lawyer will collect sufficient evidence to show the responsible party. To prove liability, the lawyer can consult experts to reconstruct the accident, interview eyewitnesses, and present police and medical reports.
In some accidents, it’s also possible for several parties to be liable, including:
- The truck driver due to careless driving
- The trucking company that has employed the driver
- The truck owner due to failing to service the truck regularly
- The truck manufacturer due to a mechanical malfunction caused by an error during manufacturing
Seek Professional Advice
After an accident, the lawyer will guide the victim on the steps to take, for example seeking medical attention gathering medical evidence to submit when filing the claim. The lawyer will offer guidance through the entire filing process of the claim. As such, a lawyer could help you discover any legal issues that have emerged from the accident and interpret your insurance policy.
Seeking legal advice from a tractor-trailer accident lawyer improves the chances of receiving full settlement on your claim.
File a Court Case
An out-of-court settlement of an insurance claim is sometimes unachievable, so the victim has no choice but to file a lawsuit in these circumstances. As a victim, you may find the court process lengthy and frustrating. As a result, your attorney files the suit for you. To win the claim against the insurance company, your lawyer will provide all essential proof in court and build a strong defense.
Using the services of a lawyer with a proven track record of success in claim cases will improve the victim’s prospects of gaining justice in the form of fair compensation.
Contact the Law Offices of Anidjar& Levine for a Free Case Review
If you’ve been injured in a tractor-trailer accident in Baldwin, you might be eligible for compensation from the parties at fault. The accident can be life-changing due to injuries, monetary loss, and emotional and physiological problems.
To seek fair compensation from the insurer, consider working with our tractor-trailer accident lawyer. Contact the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine today for a free case review.
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