There are several differences between an accident caused by a semi truck and an accident caused by a passenger vehicle. The most obvious is the potential for damage you face, as a semi truck weighs tons more than a passenger car, and can therefore, do a much larger amount of harm.
More vehicle damage often leads to more grave or fatal injuries, which then results in more tremendous amount of potential damages in your injury claim.
However, the differences in a truck accident versus a regular car accident are about more than just damage amounts. Proving fault in a commercial vehicle accident takes a substantial quantity of evidence that can be difficult, sometimes impossible, for an accident victim to obtain from the trucking company.
To get a fair settlement in a commercial truck accident, you will want the help of an attorney who knows how to fight against the trucking companies and their insurers.
Your Attorney Can Obtain Important Evidence for a Truck Accident
After an accident with a commercial truck, you need to prove that another party was negligent and that negligence caused the crash to occur. In many cases, it is the truck driver, but in other instances the trucking company that employs the driver or owns the truck can also be at fault.
Even the mechanic that maintains the tractor-trailer can be held liable for mechanical negligence. The truck's manufacturer may be responsible for designing or selling a defective vehicle as well.
Your truck accident attorney needs to be able to identify the cause of the crash and the party responsible for that reason. This requires extensive evidence that the trucking company and their insurer is not likely to divulge without some persistence. In most truck accident cases, there is a short time between when an accident occurs and when the trucking company can destroy the records (log book) of the driver's service hours.
Because filing injury claims can take time, you need to ensure that this evidence is preserved, something your attorney can easily do with a letter of spoliation. This requires that the trucking company maintain all records about the accident and submits them when requested by the insurance company or your attorney.
A Truck Accident Attorney Knows What to Look for in A Commercial Vehicle Accident
Filing a claim against a trucking company means you will be going up against experienced insurance companies and likely their legal team. These professionals were trained in truck accident litigation, and they will not give up easily. You deserve the same type of support on your side, and to get that support you will need an attorney with experience handling commercial truck accident cases.
Any personal injury lawyer can take a truck accident case, but you do not want to leave your fate in the hands of someone who only knows how to settle cases out of court for what the insurance company initially offers. Attorney Max Meyers is familiar with the commercial vehicle accident claims process and does not back down from taking a claim to court when the trucking company insurance refuses to pay a full and fair settlement.
Contact Max Meyers Law to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation regarding your potential claim, 425-399-7000.
