After an accident with a semi-truck, the first area of concern is your physical well-being and getting you on the path to recovery. Unfortunately, that path often leaves you with substantial costs, and at no fault of your own. Your insurance policy may quickly cap out, depending on the severity of your injuries.
Aside from the medical appointments and treatments prescribed, you may also have lost wages, permanent changes to your life, and property damage to your vehicle. It’s easy to accept a settlement offer that seems good at the time for someone who doesn’t have experience in these kinds of accidents. This is why it’s so important to have an experienced semi-truck accident attorney working with you, who has seen the long-term effects and all that needs consideration while seeking appropriate damages.
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They Can Work Within Time Constraints
Colorado’s statutes of limitations that give you three years to file a claim for damages from the time you discover the damages. For things like property damage, this is 3 years from the time of the accident. However, there are sometimes injuries that surface a little while after the accident, so you have three years to file for claims from the time the injuries surface. An experienced semi-truck accident attorney knows how to navigate this timeline while getting through all the work to file a solid claim.
Commercial Drivers Have Different Standards
It’s important to understand that commercial drivers have different standards than people with general operator’s licenses. This means that they may have more liability for an accident than a standard operator. For instance, while the legal blood alcohol limit is 0.08% for people with a standard operator’s license, that’s lowered to 0.04% for someone with a CDL. A semi-truck accident attorney stays current on all of the nuance CDL disqualifications. They’ll go through the details of the accident and consider whether the driver was acting in such a way that would disqualify them from operating a commercial motor vehicle, such as speeding or driving recklessly, even if it’s not specifically detailed in the police report.
They Can Pursue All Responsible Parties
When it comes to seeking damages, commercial drivers and fleet operators commonly try to deflect liability. While the driver is ultimately responsible for operating the vehicle safely, the law ultimately holds the vehicle owner liable. The company may try to pass responsibility to a maintenance contractor or equipment manufacturer. An experienced attorney knows how to get past the inevitable legal ping-pong and include in the claim all parties with evidence of liability in your accident.
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Insurance Companies Limit Liability
Liability insurance providers are not in business to take care of people who’re injured by the company doing business. Rather, their job is to limit their client’s liability when an accident occurs. To achieve this, they may offer you a settlement very quickly, but want you to sign a release of liability agreement, inhibiting you from seeking further damages. These settlements often don’t come close to what you’re owed to cover the damages you’ve sustained. An experienced attorney knows how to estimate what you’re reasonably due for all the damages you’ve sustained.
They Are Master Negotiators
The reality is that most semi-truck accident injury claims settle without ever going to trial. However, what you’re owed in that settlement requires substantial negotiations, which most people are ill-equipped to handle. Experienced attorneys are master negotiators who know how to present a case and put pressure on the responsible parties to come to a reasonable settlement.
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A Truck Accident Attorney Can Adapt Their Strategy
The reality is that no two accidents are the same, so a cookie-cutter approach to filing a claim isn’t a winning strategy. Rather, the attorney must know how to approach the case based on the evidence to decide the best approach. In some cases, it’s better to take the case to trial if the responsible parties aren’t willing to come to a reasonable settlement agreement.
They Understand Gathering Evidence
Discovery is the part of the legal process where both parties have an opportunity to gather evidence to support their case. It’d be great if companies would surrender records when asked nicely. However, they often require legal flexing to get all of the records needed, including driver substance testing, maintenance records, loading records, and more. Semi-truck attorneys have the expertise and persistence to get the information needed to build your case and support the claim you’re filing.
They Have Trusted Experts
Personal injury cases involving a commercial vehicle often involve evaluating parts, maintenance records, and injuries. It’s important to have third-party experts independently evaluate these aspects and offer their expert analysis of contributing factors to the accident. This is part of how attorneys minimize the legal ping-pong between possible liable parties. You don’t want to simply trust whatever experts the insurance company has because they’re more likely to skew things to help limit the company’s liability. Experienced semi-truck accident attorneys have established relationships with credible experts to get the process moving quickly so that you can stay within the time limitations mentioned earlier.
Make sure you have an attorney experienced in handling accidents with semi-trucks and all the possible parties with responsibility. Call to schedule your free semi-truck accident consultation with the legal experts at Matlin Injury Law today.
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