The Process of a Truck Accident Lawsuit
Many accidents involving trucks cause lifelong and severe injuries. These can lead to significant medical costs as well as psychological damage.
Your lawyer will issue a Summons and Complaint to all parties that are responsible. The process can take a few years. Because New York uses comparative fault rules, your lawyer will ensure that any shared liability is properly evaluated and distributed to defendants.
Investigations
If someone is injured in a collision with a truck there is much more at stake than in a car crash. A truck accident could result in life-changing consequences. The impact is more complex because of the weight and size. These incidents also require more complicated investigation.
To protect their interests, trucking companies or insurance providers will often conduct their investigations immediately after the incident. The victims are left to deal only with their injuries, and they are unable to collect evidence. This puts them at a disadvantage in comparison to the trucking company and insurance provider.
A truck accident lawyer who is skilled will look for evidence in a variety of sources, including police reports, witness testimony, and inspections of vehicles. A lawyer with experience is not relying on the reports of police officers alone because they are usually insufficient for civil litigation. Police officers might not be trained to conduct an investigation properly and may not gather all the evidence required to support the court case.
Other types of information may include logbook records and maintenance and service records from the truck. The data from the device for recording events (also called a black box) is also available. An experienced attorney will seek these and other forms of evidence from the truck driver and trucking firm, and then thoroughly analyze them to determine the cause of the accident.
Expert Witnesses
An expert witness can aid your attorney prove various elements of your truck accident case. Medical experts could, for instance, give evidence to your attorney that the accident resulted in your injuries. Experts can be able to testify on how your injuries will affect your quality of life in the future. Expert witnesses can help your lawyer calculate the amount of damages including lost income and future earning capacity.
An expert can look over the physical evidence and explain the impact of your injury on your future. For instance an expert in medical science can show how your accident can impact your physical and mental well-being. A metallurgist is a different kind of expert who will analyze the causes behind why a component failed. Experts can determine whether the weather played a part in the crash.
Your expert's role is to offer an honest and objective opinion after examining the evidence. Certain expert witnesses could be a liability for your case when their opinions are biased or if they have ties to the defendants. Your attorney can perform a background check on the expert witness in order to identify any potential risks.
Alongside experts, your lawyer will also interview you as well as other eyewitnesses. This includes people who saw the crash take place before it occurred. You should be aware that the insurance companies of the defendants will attempt to get your to acknowledge your responsibility or give statements that they can twist and alter to make it appear as though they are trying to undermine your case.
Litigation
Truck drivers are also required to observe traffic laws and operate with reasonable care. If marietta truck accident lawsuit fail to comply with these rules and their negligence causes an accident, they could be held accountable for the injuries that victims suffer.
To demonstrate the defendant's culpability, our lawyer will gather a range of evidence from eyewitnesses who witnessed the crash and provide either oral or written testimony regarding the circumstances of the collision. Our team will also study other evidence, such as skidmarks and points of impact and conduct crash testing.
Sometimes, the reason for an accident involving a truck is complex, involving multiple parties. For example, if the truck crash was caused by defective equipment or inadequate maintenance, we may seek to sue the producers of that equipment or the trucks themselves. We could also bring a lawsuit against the mechanic that performed the repairs or the repair shop.
We will attempt to resolve your case without going to court. If, however, the trucking company or its insurance company refuses to negotiate a fair settlement or offer, we'll prepare to go to trial. During the trial the judge or jury will decide on any disputed issues like who was at fault for the accident and the amount of compensation you must receive. The total amount of your legal damages will be determined based on your documented losses that include physical, financial and emotional pain.
Statute of limitations
Although the legal process following a truck accident may be a bit complicated, knowing how these cases typically proceed will help you understand what's to come and give you a better sense of the length of time your case might take.
One of the most important actions is to establish the extent of liability. It is probable that a driver who was drunk or distracted or impaired will be held responsible for the damage you suffered. However, there may be other parties accountable as well. For instance, if the accident resulted from poor repairs such as a mechanic who did the work or a company who made the truck or its components could be held liable according to the legal doctrine of respondeat superior.
You could also be entitled to damages for punitive harm if the accountable person committed an act of recklessness that was more serious. To be able to prove this, we must to prove that the responsible party was reckless of your safety or that of others.
It is vital to hire an attorney who is experienced with the complexities of truck accident cases. Insurance companies and the lawyers representing the parties at fault are frequently the wolves in sheep's clothing who will try to collect statements from you that they may use against you later. By having an attorney manage all communications, you'll avoid these pitfalls.