Truck accidents tend to have more severe injuries and fatalities than the typical car accident, so you need to be in good hands when pursuing your claim for compensation for your losses. You have a great deal at stake, so the experience of a truck accident lawyer can make a difference in your outcome.
The Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine can speak with you about your truck accident that happened in The Hammocks, FL. Our team can explain your right to compensation and answer your questions. To set up your free consultation with a personal injury lawyer in The Hammocks, FL, call us today.
How Much Compensation You Will Get for Your Truck Accident in The Hammocks, FL
Every case is different, so we cannot state an amount that will be accurate for all truck accidents. The recovery you can get will depend on the facts of your case. There are, however, common categories of damages in these situations, including:
Medical bills, for the reasonable treatment you needed because of the wreck. These damages can include things like the ambulance, emergency room, surgery, diagnostic testing, doctors, hospital, prescription drugs, and physical therapy.
Future medical expenses, if the wreck left you with the need for additional medical intervention in the future.
Long-term care, if you sustained catastrophic injuries that cause you to need daily assistance with medical and personal care.
Lost wages, for the wages, salary, self-employment, and other income you missed because of the crash and recuperation.
Diminished earning potential, if the wreck renders you incapable of making as much money as before.
Disability, if your injuries cause you to be unable to support yourself through employment.
Pain and suffering, to compensate you for the physical discomfort and emotional distress you experienced.
Other “intangible” damages, like disfigurement, loss of enjoyment of life, and your spouse’s loss of consortium.
You do not have to figure out what kind of damages you have sustained. We handle those matters for our clients, collect the evidence, and negotiate with the insurance company.
How to Protect Your Claim After a Truck Crash
You can take measures to prevent circumstances from reducing the value of your injury claim. The exact steps you should take will depend on the facts of your situation, but in general, it is a good idea to do these things:
Safeguard your health. Get medical attention right away. Do not delay. Some injuries do not have symptoms immediately. If you have, for example, a neck or back injury or internal bleeding, you could be experiencing irreversible damage before you notice signs of a problem. The medical professionals can evaluate you for harm that is not yet visible to the untrained eye.
Another reason to get medical help right away is that the insurance company will claim that your injuries came from some other event, not the truck accident, if you do not go to the emergency room, urgent care center, or doctor right after the accident. Your medical records will link your injuries to the truck accident, helping to prove your case for compensation.
Also, make sure that you complete the prescribed treatment, like physical therapy. Otherwise, the insurance company might try to pay you less money, saying that your outcome would have been better if you had followed your doctor’s orders. Taking the time away from work to go to therapy several times a week for months on end is inconvenient, and the exercises themselves are often uncomfortable, but it is to the benefit of your health and financial well-being to complete the task.
Protect your legal rights. The earlier you talk with a personal injury lawyer who handles truck accidents in The Hammocks, FL, the better. As soon as the at-fault driver’s insurance company finds out about the wreck, they will try to get rid of the injury claim. The insurer has two primary goals – either pay you nothing or pay you as little as possible.
A lawyer can protect you from the insurance adjuster’s tactics. The adjuster will try to get you to give them a recorded statement, supposedly for you to tell your side of the story. In reality, however, the adjuster can take your words out of context to devalue your compensation claim.
Another strategy is for the adjuster to make a low-ball offer to you, without explaining that you will not get any more money from them and you will have to pay all of your medical bills and property damage out of that one check. Many people find themselves with a pile of medical bills they cannot afford to pay. A truck accident lawyer in The Hammocks, FL can keep these scenarios from happening.
How It Affects Your Injury Claim if You Were Partly at Fault
Do not believe the insurance company if they tell you that you cannot file a claim for your losses because you were partly to blame for the wreck. Florida follows the rule of comparative negligence. This law will reduce the amount of your damages in proportion to your percentage of the total negligence, but you can still get some money for your claim as long as someone else was also at fault.
Here is how the rule works. Let’s say that your damages were $100,000 and the judge said that you were 20 percent at fault. The law of comparative negligence will deduct $20,000 from your damages to account for your portion of the negligence, but you can still get $80,000 of your losses.
How Truck Accidents Are More Complicated Than Car Accidents
In addition to more severe injuries than in a typical car crash, truck accidents in The Hammocks, FL can involve more parties and more insurance companies than a standard wreck. Here are examples of how these accidents can be complicated:
- The driver and trucking company might both carry liability insurance.
- Truck drivers have to follow state and federal regulations that do not apply to people who operate cars. With our experience, we can explore whether the driver or trucking company violated these laws and get the documents to prove it.
- Because of their size, weight, and proportions, trucks handle road situations different than cars do. We can work with an accident reconstruction expert to sort out what happened.
The truck accident lawyers in The Hammocks, FL at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine know how to investigate the wreck, gather and analyze the evidence, and calculate how much compensation you deserve. Call us today, to set up your free consultation about your truck accident that occurred in The Hammocks, FL.
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