The Benefits of Hiring an Experienced Truck Accident Lawyer

Leveling the playing field is the overall benefit of hiring an experienced truck accident lawyer. Insurance companies earn over $1 trillion a year. With these vast financial resources, they hire high-priced lawyers who often fight injury claims tooth and nail. These lawyers care nothing about what’s right or fair. Saving the company money is their one and only objective.

A truck accident lawyer in Los Angeles cannot possibly match the resources of an insurance company legal team. But David killed Goliath because he had right on his side. Likewise, truck accident lawyers have rights on their side when they take on insurance company lawyers. This moral edge translates to an edge in court and during settlement negotiations.

Benefit No. 1: Injury Treatment

As mentioned, truck accidents often cause catastrophic or fatal injuries, such as:

• Severe Burns: Diesel fuel burns at a different temperature from ordinary gasoline. Moreover, the force of the impact usually pins victims under flaming wreckage. This one-two punch usually causes burns that require extensive, and expensive, medical treatment.
• Broken Bones: Seatbelts and airbags usually don’t protect victims against broken bones. Arms and legs usually flail wildly and strike the dashboard or another solid object. Furthermore, airbags only provide limited protection. These safety devices cannot possibly absorb the full impact of a truck crash.
• Internal Bleeding: Frequently, tiny bone fragments break off and puncture internal organs. Since these organs don’t have protective skin layers, a pinprick injury usually bleeds profusely. The resulting internal bleeding is hard to spot and hard to stop.

A Los Angeles truck accident lawyer is not a doctor. But an experienced lawyer has professional connections with medical professionals who focus on injury-related conditions. Additionally, these doctors normally charge nothing upfront. So, victims get the treatment they need, not the treatment an insurance company is willing to pay for or the treatment they can afford.

Benefit No. 2: Case Evaluation

Accident-related medical bills, like other accident-related expenses, must be paid eventually. Because of the size of these bills, not to mention other economic and noneconomic losses, maximum compensation is critical.

A Los Angeles truck accident lawyer gathers evidence and then, based on that evidence, typically uses the ordinary negligence doctrine to obtain that compensation.

Evidence in a truck accident claim usually includes medical records, the police accident report, and witness statements. Virtually none of this evidence is immediately available. So, if a law enforcement or insurance investigator said you were at fault for a truck crash, because all the proof isn’t available, you may still be entitled to significant compensation.

Ordinary negligence is basically a lack of care. California law holds truck drivers and other commercial drivers, like Uber drivers, to a higher standard. That higher standard means that almost any driving mistake is legal negligence. Common truck driver mistakes includes:

• Aggressive Driving: A fully-loaded large truck weighs over 80,000 pounds. These massive vehicles are so hard to control that a bit of aggressive driving, such as driving a little over the speed limit or following a little too closely, often causes a serious crash.
• Operator Impairment: A combination of fatigue and drug use may be the most common truck driver impairment in California. Federal regulators have rolled back HOS (hours of service) safety laws since the pandemic. To cope with fatigue, many truckers take dangerous amphetamines.

If a lack of care substantially causes injury, compensation includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering.

Frequently, a shipping or transportation company is financially responsible for these damages, under the respondeat superior rule. Respondeat superior (let the master answer) gives victims access to more money. But it also adds another layer to an already complex case. Most shipping and transportation companies are out-of-state holding companies.

Other possible legal theories include negligence per se and defective products. Negligence per se is basically a violation of a safety law. NPS only applies if emergency responders cite truck drivers. Common product defects include manufacturing and design defects.

Benefit No. 4: More Money

We probably should’ve led with this benefit of hiring an experienced truck accident lawyer. The average attorney-negotiated settlement is up to five times higher than the average non-attorney-negotiated settlement.

Out-of-court settlements resolve about 95 percent of the personal injury cases in California. Attorneys play a critical role in both informal and formal negotiations.

Informal negotiations usually begin after medical treatment is at least substantially complete. At that time, a Los Angeles truck accident lawyer can establish a claim’s settlement value. So, during negotiations, a lawyer knows when to compromise and when to draw a line in the sand.

Attorneys often adjust their negotiation tactics during mediation, which is a court-supervised settlement negotiation session. These necessary adjustments usually produce good results.

Contact our truck accident lawyers today

A good lawyer makes a big difference in a personal injury case. For a free consultation with an experienced truck accident lawyer in California, contact the Law Offices of Eslamboly Hakim. Virtual, home, and after-hours visits are available.