How to Maximize Your Settlement After a Truck Accident Injury Claim

Truck accidents can devastate their victims, including wreaking havoc on their financial lives. If you have filed a truck accident claim, you are likely expecting a fair amount of compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and more just to rebuild your life. Unfortunately, insurance companies will try to minimize your compensation so they don’t have to pay out what you deserve for the suffering you’ve endured. It’s essential to stand up for yourself and maximize your truck accident insurance claim, even if you hire a truck accident lawyer to fight for you. 

Understanding Truck Accident Insurance Claims

A commercial truck accident claim can be more complicated than a claim involving two small vehicle drivers. Commercial truck claims typically involve several parties, unlike a standard car accident claim. The truck driver, trucking company, manufacturer, and cargo loaders can all be held liable for the accident. To further complicate the claims, these cases are governed by Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations and liability. To maximize your compensation, it’s vital to have an experienced attorney who knows these rules and can use them, as well as factors of liability, to maximize your claim.

If you’ve been injured in a truck accident in Fairfax, VA, there is even more to consider. Rather than using comparative fault in truck accidents, Virginia operates under a contributory negligence rule, which means that even if you are found one percent at fault, you could be barred from receiving compensation. This makes an experienced attorney even more crucial so that you have strong legal representation fighting for you. 

What Compensation Can You Claim After a Truck Accident?

Accidents caused by truck driver negligence can lead to severe injuries, such as traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and broken bones. Your compensation should cover:

• Medical Expenses, including any future medical treatments related to the injury.
• Lost Wages, including compensation for lost potential earnings.
• Pain and Suffering for any long-term emotional distress and trauma.
• Property Damage to repair or replace your vehicle and personal property.
• Punitive Damages are meant to punish the liable party if gross negligence occurs.

The details of every case are unique. You may be eligible for some or all of the compensation types listed. 

Challenges in Truck Accident Insurance Claims

A truck accident insurance claim presents many unique challenges to overcome throughout the legal process. More than one party may be liable, which provides you with the opportunity to receive more compensation for your injuries. However, the at-fault parties may employ aggressive tactics to avoid liability, even if you have the evidence needed for a trucking accident lawsuit.

The trucking company will try to shift the blame to you, the victim. They will analyze the accident and devise any reason to put you at fault. If they can’t do that, they will try to claim the trucker was an independent contractor. If that’s the case, they bear no responsibility for his actions.

On the other hand, insurance adjusters will act to manipulate you as the victim. They will offer you quick, lowball settlements, an attempt to send you away before you can seek an attorney and evaluate what your case is worth. If this doesn’t work, they will delay your truck accident insurance claim so that you are pressured into taking a small amount to help cover your immediate costs. 

Steps to Maximize Your Settlement

If everyone involved is trying to shift accountability and put the blame on anyone else to avoid paying out of their pocket, where does that leave you? Out of luck?

On the contrary, an experienced lawyer knows how to work around the deflecting techniques of liable parties. Even so, there are a lot of things that you can do to help your lawyer fight for you:

• Seek Medical Attention Immediately: Document your injuries and treatments immediately after the accident so that there is a clear link between them and the accident.
• Document the Scene: Gathering evidence such as photos, witness testimonies, and police reports can help build a strong case to present to the judge.
• Maintain Records: Keep track of your ongoing medical bills, repair estimates, and correspondences with the insurance companies.
• Don’t Accept that Early Settlement: An insurer offers a quick settlement offer to avoid the hassle of a legal battle and pay you less than what you deserve. Don’t accept a quick offer to have cash in hand.
• Speak to a Personal Injury Attorney: An experienced personal injury attorney will take all the information you’ve gathered and saved, along with information they can collect, such as black box data, driver logs, and maintenance records, to build a case for you that the insurance companies can’t refute.

Following as many of these points as possible will help you maximize your compensation. It may be hard to act with urgency in the immediate aftermath of the accident. Still, the more you can do throughout your recovery process, the better you’ll be able to stand up to the insurance companies. 

Settlement vs. Litigation in Trucking Cases

There are benefits to both settlements and litigations, as well as downfalls. When it comes to a settlement, it can be a quicker and less stressful process. However, without a lawyer, it can be easy to be taken advantage of and receive less than you deserve. Litigation should be pursued if the liable party is not being held responsible for paying your deserved compensation. It is a prolonged and more stressful process, but the judge determines the verdict. There is no agreement between you and the insurance company. That prevents the insurance company from downplaying your case.

If you got hurt in a commercial truck accident, don’t let the insurance or trucking company take advantage of you. At CHASENBOSCOLO, we prepare each and every case to go to litigation, even if we’re able to settle outside of court. That way, the insurance companies know we’re serious about securing compensation for our clients. Contact us online or call (301) 220-0050 to speak with one of our experienced truck accident attorneys in Virginia for a free consultation today, and let us help you maximize your compensation.