What Is The Truck Accident Settlement Process?

Have you been hurt in a truck wreck someone else caused? You may be eligible for financial compensation if so. By filing a claim with the liable party’s insurance, you may pursue compensation for various losses resulting from your crash. Examples may include medical bills, lost wages, and even “non-economic” losses (intangible losses that don’t have an exact dollar value) like pain and suffering.

The settlement process can vary from one case to another. However, it often involves these steps:

Determining Liability

There are several parties that may be liable in a truck wreck case. Often, it’s necessary to investigate a crash to determine its cause. Understanding how a wreck occurred is key to understanding who is responsible for providing compensation.

For example, perhaps a crash occurred because a driver was careless or wasn’t qualified to operate a large commercial vehicle in a particular setting. You might assume the trucker would be liable in these circumstances, and certainly in many instances, the trucker may be individually liable. However, there can be multiple responsible parties. For example, the trucking company is responsible for hiring qualified drivers, implementing safety protocols, and properly maintaining the condition of its vehicles, and thus could be liable if one of their drivers caused a crash.

Other potentially liable parties include the manufacturers and/or designers of trucks and their component parts. One (or both) of these parties might be liable if a crash resulted from a design or mechanical error. Also, the persons or entity who services and maintains the truck could be found negligent should such maintenance be faulty and cause an accident.

Sometimes, other motorists or pedestrians may even be liable. For example, maybe another driver or pedestrian entered a truck’s path and created the dangerous condition resulting in the wreck.

There are even instances when a local government agency is liable after a truck accident. For example, the local government agency responsible for maintaining safe roads might be liable if a crash results from a hazardous road condition they failed to address in a timely manner.

Documenting Losses

While investigating a crash to determine who caused it, it’s also essential to gather evidence proving liability. The insurance company may attempt to deny a claim if you don’t provide sufficient evidence showing the insured is responsible for your injuries.

Along with documenting the cause of the accident, you also need to document your losses when filing a claim for compensation. For example, you need to document all medical expenses and lost income resulting from your injuries.

Documenting pain and suffering and similar non-economic losses may prove more challenging. If you’re struggling with significant pain after a crash, you may benefit from keeping a pain journal. Doing so allows you to describe how your pain affects you on a day-to-day basis.

You may submit documentation of your losses with your claim. You can also use this documentation to estimate your claim’s potential value. However, it’s vital to remember that no one can promise you will receive a specific amount of compensation from the insurance company.

Negotiating

The insurance company is a business. Their goal is to avoid losing money whenever possible.

Don’t be surprised if the insurance company’s initial settlement offer is unreasonably low. Although a claims adjuster may pretend to be on your side when discussing your case, they may actually hope they’ll be able to convince you to settle your claim for less than it’s worth.

Don’t let the insurance company pressure you into accepting an unreasonably low offer. You can negotiate with the insurance company if you believe you deserve more compensation than they’re offering.

How successful you are at negotiating a proper settlement can depend on how much evidence and documentation you’ve gathered. Generally speaking, the more supporting evidence and documentation you can provide, the better.

Going to Court

Ideally, you’ll be able to negotiate a fair out-of-court settlement. Unfortunately, some insurance companies stubbornly refuse to offer fair settlements.

You may file a lawsuit if this happens. By filing a lawsuit, you can seek to have a jury determine liability and damages.

Just remember that the settlement process can vary depending on the specific details of a case. In addition, you may wish to focus on your recovery after a truck wreck. Pursuing compensation alone could be time-consuming and draining right now.

Luckily, you don’t have to navigate this process without help. At Swartz & Swartz, P.C., a Boston truck accident lawyer is available to offer the representation you deserve now. We’ll review your case and explain your legal options. If you decide to hire us, we’ll aggressively pursue the compensation for which you may be eligible, handling everything from completing paperwork to negotiating with insurance adjusters. Contact us online or call us at (617) 742-1900 for more information.

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If you or someone you know, needs help from a lawyer, contact the law offices of Swartz & Swartz, use our live chat, or send us a message using the form below and we’ll get in touch to assess your case and how we can help.