Have you been in a truck accident in Florida and have questions? Read our commonly asked truck accident questions, then give us a call today.
What are common mistakes people make if they have been injured in a truck accident?
We spoke with a client recently and we took on their trucking accident case. They didn’t hire us right away. They had originally tried to handle the case themselves. What they did that was troublesome was they gave a statement to the insurance company for the trucking company right away. They didn’t have the benefit of having counsel involved, and in that statement, they made some comments that ended up hurting their case. They weren’t things that ultimately took away from their case, but they were things that the defense brought up at a later date to try to diminish the value of their case.
It’s very important that right away you get your attorney involved. The attorney needs to be someone who is skilled in trucking accident cases. Our firm has a lot of experience in these cases and we have board-certified trial attorneys who try trucking accident cases. You need an attorney to get involved right away and help navigate you through those questions, make sure there’s no statement given. Also, if you don’t hire an attorney right away, the attorney can’t go do the investigation of the vehicles, preserve the evidence, and start to make your case the best case it can be.
It’s important to reach out right away. We’re always happy to talk to anyone who wants to call in about a trucking accident case, and we give free consultations in that regard.
How do I determine the value of my truck accident claim in Southwest Florida?
Recently someone came to us and was asking me, “How do you determine the value of a truck accident claim in Florida?” and we explained to them that that is a complex question. There are a lot of different moving parts that go into that.
First of all, you have to determine liability for the accident. Oftentimes when there’s a trucking accident case, the trucking company’s defense attorney will try to argue that the person injured was partially at fault to try to limit their damages. They’ll hire an expert right away. You need a plaintiff’s law firm that can hire an expert right away to do an accident reconstruction, that can get statements of all the witnesses, and that can do all the work to put together that part of the case, so you have a solid foundation for your case to show that the truck was totally at fault for the accident.
The second part of that is damages, that is pain and suffering, lost wages, medical bills, loss of the capacity for enjoyment of life, and sometimes the insurance company for the trucking company, right out of the gate, will understand the extreme value of the case and will pay fair damages. There are sometimes where you need to file a lawsuit, and you determine the value of that case by looking at other verdicts that have happened in the state and by experience. We have four board-certified trial attorneys here at the firm, and we through our experience understand the value of the case, and we can push that case forward and let the insurance company know that we mean business, and that’s usually the way that you can get full value for a case. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us and we’ll be happy to talk to you about this further.
How long is it going to take to resolve my truck accident injury claim?
A truck accident injury claim is often an injury claim that is fought very hard by the insurance company because they know there can be incredible value in those cases. Trucking companies have large insurance policies for those vehicles, and usually an accident that is caused by a truck causes severe injuries. You need to really have an attorney that is willing to push that case forward as quickly as possible to try to maximize the value now.
Sometimes we can get the insurance companies to come to the table quickly to resolve those cases, and that’s great, but sometimes we have to go through the litigation process, which is where we file a lawsuit and push the case through the court system and get it near trial and potentially try the case. Sometimes it takes that process to get the insurance company to be reasonable.
At our firm, we have four board-certified civil trial attorneys, so we have the ability to push that case forward if the insurance company is not going to be reasonable within the first few months after the accident happens.
How is a commercial truck accident claim different from an auto accident?
With a truck accident case, you often have an insurance company that’s going to act quickly. They’re going to have someone at the scene of the crash, either an attorney or an investigator, taking measurements, taking photos, etc., because they know there can be extreme value in those cases. Usually in trucking accident cases it’s a large truck, it hits another vehicle and causes severe injuries, so they act right away. Also, you have higher policy limits, generally, so there’s going to be potential for a much larger recovery than in your average auto accident case.
These are the sort of cases where you need to reach out to an attorney. Let the attorney build your case for you and also protect your interests in the case by building the best case they can for you. Our firm does that. We have four board-certified trial attorneys. These are the type of cases we handle every day. The firm’s handled these cases for almost 60 years, so we know how to put you in the best position in that case to get the best value we can for you.
Have you or a loved one been involved in an accident with a truck in Florida and have questions? After reading our commonly asked truck accident questions, contact our experienced Southwest Florida truck accident lawyers today for a free consultation and case evaluation.
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