You have the right to seek compensation from the individual or individuals responsible for the accident. If you try to go at it alone, your chances of success are limited. Trucking companies have teams of lawyers who are at the ready to protect the interests of the trucking company. Insurance companies have their own army of lawyers who are also looking to protect their clients and the insurance company’s finances.
The success of your case depends in great part on the truck accident attorney you pick to represent you or represent your loved one. You need a personal injury lawyer who has experience representing victims of truck accidents and who has been successful in court.
ust because an attorney has been practicing civil litigation for some time is not a guarantee that they will be able to help you. You need your attorney to be able to pursue all of the compensation that you deserve. If you try to pursue a legal case against a trucking company, a trucker, or their attorneys on your own, the odds are stacked against you.
Lawyers Can Discover All Liable Parties
An accident involving a truck is different than an accident involving a pedestrian vehicle. In addition to the size difference of the vehicles involved and the potential damages that happen, there are potentially more parties who can be held liable in a truck accident as opposed to one with a pedestrian vehicle.
If you work with competent West Coast trial lawyers, they will be able to discover if other parties could be held liable for the crash. These parties could include:
• The owner of the trailer
• The repair shop that works on the trucks
• The truck manufacturer
• The owner of the cab
• The company that leases the truck
• Freight forwarding companies
• Governmental companies
When you are working with an experienced Los Angeles truck accident attorney, they will know how to get the most out of the discovery process. They will do their due diligence and work with law enforcement, eyewitnesses, and expert witnesses to collect important evidence and make sure that all of the liable parties are held accountable for the part that they played in the accident.
Negotiating with Insurance Companies
Insurance companies are notorious for their desire to low ball the people who have a claim against them. They will use every trick at their disposal in an attempt to get the person who is bringing a claim against them to accept the lowest amount of compensation possible.
Insurance companies operate from a position of power. They have money. They have time. And they have all the resources they need. They realize that when a person has been severely injured in a truck accident, they may not be working. As a result, they have no income. The bills keep coming, and there are medical bills added on.
Insurance companies hope that they can wait a person out. They wait until an accident victim’s financial situation becomes so desperate that they feel like they have no other financial option but to accept the low offer that the insurance company makes.
A personal injury lawyer will not be so easily pressured by insurance companies. These attorneys are experienced in negotiating with the attorneys who represent large insurance companies and large corporations. They understand the tricks that insurance companies try to use to either reduce the value of your claim or to deny it entirely.
You have a better chance of recovering the maximum compensation if your attorney has experience in negotiating with insurance companies. They know how much certain injuries are worth, and they know what it takes to get their clients the money they deserve.
Attorneys Who Understand Trucking Laws and Trucking Regulations
Truckers and trucking companies must follow laws laid out by the government as well as guidelines laid out by the trucking industry. For example, truck drivers should not be working more than they are allowed to by law. They should be monitored to guarantee that they are getting a sufficient amount of sleep each night. Truck drivers need to receive a specific number of hours of training prior to operating commercial trucks on their own.
The FMCSA states that commercial trucks need to have systematic inspections, they need to be repaired following set guidelines, and they must receive regular maintenance. All of this is done to keep trucks safe. It is also a requirement that the motor carrier has a record of their inspections.
Experienced West Coast trial lawyers have detailed knowledge about trucking laws. They are able to identify violations of the law and show how these may have contributed to the accident. Even if an attorney does not know every single law that applies to a particular case, they have the experience and resources that allow them to find the laws and then interpret their application. Most people who are involved in an accident lack the experience, the time, the resources, and the energy to dig into trucking laws like this.
Providing You with Guidance through the Legal Process
The legal process is complicated. If you are not familiar with it, it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Having a Los Angeles truck accident attorney can help minimize the stress you feel and guarantee that your best interests are being looked after along the way.
The compensation for accidents involving trucks can be considerable. For this reason, trucking companies fight hard to protect themselves. Insurance companies, their lawyers, and any corporate lawyers involved are fighting to protect the best interests of their clients. But you have to remember that what is in the best interests of their clients is rarely in your best interests.
It is recommended that a person contacts a lawyer as soon as they possibly can after their accident. A truck accident attorney will interact with the truck company representatives and insurance companies on behalf of their clients. This is important because usually in the days following an accident, trucking companies and their insurance agents will try to get in contact with the accident victim, attempting to offer a settlement, to get a statement, or to gather other information.
When you have an attorney working with you and for you, they can help you gather the evidence that you will need to make your claims stronger. This may include photographs of what happened at the accident, medical records, the name of the trucking company, etc.
Over the road trucks are large. Truck drivers, manufacturers, trucking companies, and repair companies have the responsibility to see to it that these vehicles are operated in the safest way possible. When large trucks collide with small passenger vehicles, the results are disastrous. Personal injury attorneys who focus on truck accidents can help victims get the compensation that they need with the goal of helping the victim get back to living a high quality of life.
