Among the many accidents that can happen on the road every day, truck accidents are probably one that can cause devastating injuries and property damage. Collisions with commercial trucks are usually catastrophic and cause serious emotional, mental, and as well as financial damage to the victims. And more often, the victims are the ones in the passenger vehicle and not in the truck. And dealing with truck accident claims is an equally jarring process.
Unfortunately, most trucking companies and their insurers are out to save money and not promote your best interests. After the accident, these insurers will try to convince you to just settle for less than you deserve, which sometimes is nothing at all. Truck accidents usually end up in grave injuries because of the massive size of the vehicles involved. Aside from that, your car may have the worst damage compared to what just another car can cause.
If you’ve been in a truck accident, you need to find a lawyer that can help you protect your rights and make sure that you will get all the compensation that you are entitled to legally. But how do you think can you find the best truck accident lawyer? The key is by knowing what makes an effective one when it comes to truck accidents. To help you out, here are some of the important things to consider when hiring a truck accident lawyer.
Your Lawyer Should Be Knowledgeable with Truck Accident Lawsuit
When searching for a truck accident attorney, you need to remember that personal injury lawyers are like doctors who are trained to handle different health situations. Also, keep in mind that trucking accidents are not the same with car accidents where you can simply seek for any personal injury lawyer or car accident lawyer.
When dealing with a truck accident, you need to make sure that the lawyer you will be getting has actual experience when it comes to representing cases for truck accidents. These claims are complex in nature. That’s why the person you should trust should be deeply familiar with the details of working with large trucking companies and as well as their insurers.
The best truck accident lawyers should know how to investigate the incident properly, how to determine liability, and should be familiar with the many rules and regulations involved in the process. Your lawyer should also be able to predict what insurance companies will say or do. For example, insurers and trucking companies are usually aware of going into a case that they will owe substantial amounts of money to the victim. With this, they will do everything they can to avoid having to pay the victim. Therefore, your lawyer should be equipped with this knowledge and be ready to counter it. To simply put it, your attorney should be very familiar when it comes to truck accident law.
Your Lawyer Should Have a Prior History of Handling Truck Accident Cases
Truck accidents are usually complex and expensive. With this, your search should lead you to the best truck accident attorney who not only has experience but as well as a long history of handling truck accident cases. Choose those who have represented claims involving not only crashes with big rigs but as well as all types of commercial vehicles. They will have already worked cases that are similar to yours and gone up against insurers who are surrounded by dozens of their own lawyers.
Ideal trucking lawyers are those who have deep knowledge of the ins and outs of the legislation, like the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or FMCSA rules and regulations. The fine print in such regulations can’t be discreet, and when you hire an inexperienced lawyer, you are taking the risk of leaving out an important detail that could affect the success of your claim.
Choose a Lawyer that has a Successful Case History
There’s no attorney that can win every single case. However, when choosing a truck accident injury attorney, having a good success rate is one of the best things that might help you get the claim you deserve. Therefore, before hiring one, try to research the past cases of your prospective lawyer thoroughly. Remember that you need to search for cases specific to truck accidents. It’s because a personal injury attorning can have an excellent track record when it comes to aviation accidents, but poor success with truck accidents.
It is also great if you can read reviews to get a sense of how the lawyer you are eyeing to hire works with their clients. You can also visit a truck accident law firm and ask for the best lawyers that they have. Truck accidents are physically and emotionally painful. That’s why it is important to find someone who is empathetic, easily accessible, and who can make you feel at ease. When you have a good working relationship with your attorney, your chances of success with a claim will become much higher because you’ll feel comfortable being honest with him or her.
Find a Lawyer Who Listens and Tells the Truth
The best truck accident attorneys are those that can give you great advice. But aside from that, they should also ask you questions and, most importantly, listen to your responses. It’s because it’s difficult to analyze a case accurately if you do not have all the facts. Therefore, find a lawyer that is comfortable with silence and is willing to let you tell your story.
Keep in mind that a good lawyer will ask you a lot of questions because they will want to know all the details that you can remember about the accident, including what happened before and after the accident. And a great truck injury lawyer also understands that additional investigations may be needed.
Also, another important thing to consider when looking for a truck accident lawyer is finding one who is willing to tell you bad news. It’s because no case is perfect, and every case has some issues. In fact, there are often roadblocks and problems when it comes to issues like these. Therefore, pick a lawyer that can always tell the truth about your situation, and someone who’s ready to work hard to represent you in your case.
Know Your Role in the Case
Remember that a truck accident case should be a partnership between you and your lawyer. Therefore, find a lawyer that can explain what your role in the case will be, and as well as what he or she expects of you. Keep in mind that you are the main decision-maker in your case and that you need to help your lawyer in gathering the evidence they need.
Attorney Fees
And of course, you also need to consider the fees when hiring a truck accident lawyer. In most cases, you will enter into a contingency fee agreement with your lawyer. This means that you will not have to pay any fees to your attorney upfront. Instead, they will only get paid if you get a settlement or judgment. The lawyer will also get a percentage of whatever they recover for you.
Therefore, when hiring a truck accident lawyer, try to find one who is open about his or her fees. It’s better if they can give you a written fee agreement that explains how their fees work. They should also not pressure you to sign anything in the initial consultation.
These are some of the important things to consider when hiring a truck accident lawyer. Going through a truck accident is indeed a frightening and traumatic experience. Thus, it is great if you’ll be able to choose a truck accident lawyer that you feel comfortable with and someone who’s confident in their skills to handle your specific case.