Do I Need A Lawyer After A Semi-Truck Accident?

Passenger vehicles do not stand a chance.

A fully loaded semi-truck can weigh up to 80,000 pounds, while a standard passenger vehicle weighs around 4,000 pounds. The vulnerability of drivers and passengers is compounded by the substantial ground clearance of semis, which can result in a smaller passenger car underriding a semi-truck.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) reported more than 4,100 people died in semi-truck accidents in 2019, which represents a 31 percent increase from the number of fatalities in 2009. Occupants of passenger vehicles represented a whopping 67 percent of the fatalities, while just 16 percent of the fatalities were the occupants of a semi-truck.

If you suffered injuries as the result of a semi-truck accident, you should contact a personal injury attorney who specializes in handling truck accident cases. The legal representation provided by an experienced semi-truck accident lawyer extends from the first meeting to discuss your case to the closing argument made in front of a judge or jury at a civil trial. Hiring a truck accident attorney is important when the time comes to file an insurance claim, as well as if you decide to file a lawsuit seeking monetary damages for your injuries.

At Morgan & Morgan, we have helped our clients recover more than $7billion in monetary damages for personal injury cases. Our more than three decades of experience make us a leader in providing semi-truck accident legal services across the United States. Our team of semi-truck accident lawyers understands how an accident with a truck can be a life-altering event. Not only do we help our clients recover just compensation, but we also recommend healthcare providers that guide our clients down the road to recovery.

Schedule a free case evaluation with Morgan & Morgan to start the process of receiving just compensation for your financial losses. 

What Are the Reasons Why I Need a Truck Accident Attorney?

The primary goal of the team of personal injury attorneys at Morgan & Morgan is to get you fully compensated. This is just one of the reasons why you should hire a semi-truck accident lawyer.
 

Conduct a Thorough Investigation: The insurance company representing the trucking company will conduct a thorough investigation to discover which party is legally liable for causing the collision. You need to counter the insurance company’s investigation by hiring a personal injury attorney who conducts an independent investigation. At Morgan & Morgan, our team of investigators will dig deep into your case to determine liability.
 

Negotiate a Settlement: Most personal injury cases never see the light inside of a courtroom. Instead, both parties try to negotiate a favorable settlement. An experienced personal injury lawyer from Morgan & Morgan can help you avoid a costly and time-consuming trial by negotiating with the trucking company’s attorney. You can expect our team of personal injury lawyers to maximize the value of your case, without risking the shutdown of negotiations.
 

Ensure the Court Applies Comparative Fault Fairly: Most states assign blame using the comparative fault model, which assigns a percentage of fault to each of the parties involved in a semi-truck accident. For example, if a judge awards you $50,000 in monetary damages and assigns you 20 percent of the fault for causing the collision, you leave the courtroom with $40,000 in monetary damages. The personal injury attorney from Morgan & Morgan who represents you during a civil trial will make sure the judge or jury hearing your case assigns the correct percentage of blame to each party.

Above all, a semi-truck accident attorney from Morgan & Morgan is there to help you move through the legal process. Submitting an insurance claim and filing a civil lawsuit can be frustrating processes unless you have the legal support of an experienced personal injury lawyer.,

What Are the Most Common Causes of Semi-Truck Accidents?

Many of the causes of semi-truck accidents rest on the shoulders of the drivers. However, there are a couple of other reasons that cause truck collisions.
Speeding: Trucking companies operate on extremely tight schedules. A tight schedule can motivate a driver to drive well beyond the speed limit. Speeding is a more dangerous driving maneuver for truck drivers because the massive truck reacts much more slowly to quick changes in speed and/or moving direction.

Distracted Driving: Truck drivers face many of the same driving distractions that are faced by the drivers of standard passenger vehicles. However, truck drivers also must contend with distractions such as the company-issued computer that tracks the progress of a semi-truck on the way to its destination. Truckers also interact with a logistics center by using a mobile communication device.
 

Fatigue: Despite federal laws that limit the amount of time truckers can drive their rigs over a certain period, far too many truck drivers flout federal law by driving beyond the maximum amount of hours allowed. The result is the onset of fatigue that can lead to poor decision-making while behind the wheel of a big rig.
 

Poor Road Conditions: Poor road conditions can cause a semi-truck driver to make a maneuver the driver would not ordinarily make. For example, a driver spots a large pothole at the last second, and to avoid hitting the pothole, the driver jerks the big rig to the side. The result might be striking a motor vehicle in the next lane.
 

Extreme Weather: Because of their high profiles, semi-trucks are especially vulnerable to strong winds. This is especially true when moving through mountain passes. Big rigs also have issues moving through wintry conditions. If you were involved in a semi-truck accident during a stretch of bad weather, the fault for the accident might lie with Mother Nature.

What Is the Semi-Truck Accident Claim Process?

The first step in the semi-truck accident process involves signing an agreement to hire one of the highly-rated personal injury lawyers at Morgan & Morgan. After you take the all-important first step, we will guide you through the legal process by following a series of steps. Remember to channel all your communication through your attorney, which includes interacting with an insurance company and the lawyer representing the trucking company.
 

Collect Evidence: The seriousness of a semi-truck accident means law enforcement will arrive at the scene of the accident to conduct an investigation. The result of an investigation is a formal police report containing the evidence that is associated with the case. Although the formal police report contains evidence, your personal injury attorney should conduct a separate investigation to ensure law enforcement did not miss any physical evidence. You should hand over any photos you took at the scene of the accident to give your attorney more evidence to examine.
 

Send a Demand Letter: After the completion of an extensive investigation, your personal injury attorney calculates the value of your claim. The monetary value is part of the demand letter sent to the trucking company’s insurance company and if you decide to litigate your case, to the trucking company’s attorneys. Your demand letter includes a detailed description of the accident, with special emphasis placed on which party should assume legal liability.
 

Negotiate a Settlement: The trucking company’s lawyer and/or insurance company can reject the monetary value listed for compensation in the demand letter or respond with a counteroffer. If your lawyer receives a counteroffer, the next step is to either accept the counteroffer or make another counteroffer. The back and forth can continue with the issuance of several counteroffers made by both parties.
 

Participate in a Trial: If negotiations fail to end your personal injury claim, then your attorney will file the proper paperwork required to initiate a civil lawsuit against the trucking company. Working with a semi-truck accident lawyer is especially important when the time comes to litigate your case. Representing yourself can hurt your case because of your lack of litigation experience.

What Are the Possible Monetary Damages for a Semi-Truck Accident Lawsuit?

Now we arrive at the most important reason why hiring a semi-truck accident attorney makes sense for you. One of the personal injury lawyers from Morgan & Morgan will fight for your right to receive each of the three types of monetary damages awarded in personal injury cases.
 

Special Compensatory Damages: Getting involved in a semi-truck accident can cause devastating injuries that last for years or even a lifetime. Medical bills pile up quickly, especially the medical bills for physical therapy sessions. You have the right to receive compensation for all medical expenses that cover diagnostic tests, treatment programs, prescription medications, and assistive devices. Your attorney also might argue you deserve compensation for future medical expenses.
Special compensatory damages also cover lost wages. A devastating crash with a big rig can keep you out of work for an extended period. Requesting compensation for lost wages requires you to submit records provided by your employer, as well as bank statements that prove a loss of earnings since the semi-truck accident.
 

General Compensatory Damages: Considered non-economic damages, general compensatory damages cover a broad category called pain and suffering. A collision with a truck can leave mental and emotional scars in addition to the physical scars caused by the crash. You deserve compensation for pain and suffering issues like mental anguish and emotional distress. Your personal injury lawyer calculates a value for pain and suffering based on the value of your special compensatory damages.
 

Punitive Damages: The operator of the semi that struck your vehicle must assume financial responsibility for your injuries if your lawyer demonstrates the driver committed one or more acts of negligence. If you prove negligence, you have the right to ask for punitive damages. This type of monetary damage awards you compensation for negligence, as well as deters the driver and the trucking company from committing the same act of negligence in the future.

Work With a Highly Skilled Personal Injury Attorney

Working with one of the experienced semi-truck accident lawyers from Morgan & Morgan increases the likelihood of you receiving just compensation for your injuries. When you schedule a free case evaluation, make sure to draft a list of questions and concerns that we can address during the first meeting. The personal injury attorney assigned to your case will conduct a review to determine the best course of legal action.