Truck Accident Settlements: What Steps Should You Take?

Getting into an accident with a truck is rarely a minor incident. There is likely to be significant damage to your vehicle, and you are likely to suffer serious injuries. You may even suffer injuries that will have consequences for years, or maybe even your whole life. If that accident was not your fault, it is only just that you would be compensated for your injuries.

Right after your accident, you may get a call from the other driver’s insurance company or the trucking company offering you a settlement. But, as all Mesa personal injury attorneys will tell you, you shouldn’t accept that settlement. The company is looking out for its own interests, which include keeping costs as low as possible. The settlement they offer you is very likely not the settlement you deserve.

Here’s what you should do after your accident instead of taking that offer:

Truck Accident Settlements What Steps Should You Take

Contact an Attorney

Personal injury attorneys know the law from both sides of an accident, and they can help you understand what your rights and responsibilities are in the accident. When you hire an injury attorney in Avondale, you are hiring an expert to guide you and to fight for your interests.

With a Glendale injury attorney on your side, you can get a better idea of what would be an appropriate settlement for all that you have suffered. Your attorney will also tell you the best legal strategy, including negotiating directly with the company, undergoing mediation, or bringing a personal injury lawsuit.

Evaluate Your Costs

Before you can figure out what you’re fighting for in terms of a settlement, you need to figure out what the accident has cost you, both in literal and figurative terms. Work with your Mesa personal injury attorney to list out your expenses, including:

  • Emergency medical expenses, including ambulance transportation and medication
  • Hospital stays and treatments
  • Durable medical equipment, such as a walker, any prosthetics you may have had to use, bedside toilets, shower chairs, and the like
  • Ongoing medical treatments and follow-up appointments
  • Physical therapy
  • Mental therapy brought on by the trauma of the accident
  • Home or automotive modifications made to aid your mobility
  • Time lost from work for hospital stays and treatments

You should try to keep receipts for all these expenses. If you don’t have them, you may be able to request copies from your care providers.

Your personal injury attorney near Tucson will also work with your doctors and medical experts to determine what future medical care or treatments you might require as a result of your injuries. All of your past, present, and estimated future expenses will be included in the settlement that your attorney seeks on your behalf.

Determine the Liable Parties

Now that you know how much you deserve, you need to figure out who to ask for it. The other driver in the accident seems to be the obvious liable party, but there may be others. Other liable parties may include:

  • The trucking company
  • The insurance company
  • Mechanics who worked on the truck
  • The truck manufacturer
  • The company that loaded the truck

Any number of factors could contribute to a trucking accident. A mechanic could have overlooked needed maintenance or performed shoddy work on the truck. A loading company could have improperly loaded cargo, which could have caused shifting weight that contributed to the accident. The truck manufacturer could have produced defective parts.

Your Mesa truck accident attorney will use investigators to determine who is liable for your accident and will then include those parties in your personal injury lawsuit.

Create a Counteroffer

Now that you know what you deserve after your accident and you know the parties responsible, you know exactly what to ask for and exactly who to ask. Working with your truck accident attorney, you will put together a counteroffer that outlines your expenses and your financial expectations, a brief summary of evidence for your claims, and an expected timeline.

The counteroffer may open up negotiations, or it may be the first step to filing a personal injury lawsuit.
Talk to your truck accident attorney in Mesa about your next steps.

Do not let the trucking company or insurance company manipulate you or take advantage of you after your truck accident. If you were injured and the accident was not your fault, you deserve compensation. Make sure that you get the right settlement by hiring one of the best personal injury lawyers you can find.

Mesa Injury Lawyers is ready to fight for the maximum settlement for you after your truck accident. Our experienced personal injury lawyers have been fighting and winning truck injury cases for years, and they are committed to helping clients like you get the results they deserve. Call us in Mesa today to talk with an injury attorney about your accident.

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Mesa Injury Lawyers
1731 West Baseline Road Suite #103
Mesa, AZ 85202
Tel: 602-600-6001
Enail: [email protected]
Website: injurylawyersmesa.com