If you’re involved in a commercial truck accident, you could face significant damages and serious injuries. After the crash, you’ll have to rely on legal regulations to know how to properly seek compensation from the driver or trucking company.
When you file a claim against the trucking company, you’ll have a greater chance of getting a fair settlement. In most cases, the trucking company has more insurance coverage than the truck driver. However, these companies will typically do all they can to avoid taking responsibility for the accident. As a result, receiving compensation will be extremely challenging if you don’t have an attorney on your side.
Here are some of the tactics that trucking companies often use to avoid paying accident victims, as well as some ways a qualified lawyer can help get you the settlement you deserve.
Denying the Driver’s Employment
Employers are required by law to assume liability when their employees are negligent and cause damage or injury. The company is not necessarily guilty, but if the negligent party was the company’s employee or the employee caused harm while on the job, the company has to take responsibility. Because of this, trucking companies often try to claim that the truck driver involved in your collision is an independent contractor and not an employee.
It is true that many truck drivers are actually independent contractors, but some are employees. A trucking company can’t claim that a driver is a contractor just because an accident has taken place. A lawyer can determine whether the driver was an employee or contractor so the trucking company can take the appropriate responsibility.
Pointing Fingers
A truck accident can be caused by several people, which means that the wreck is not always solely the fault of the truck driver or company. Maintenance crews, cargo loaders, manufacturers, and other drivers may also be liable. Trucking companies will sometimes try to place all the responsibility on other parties so they won’t have to pay settlement costs. A lawyer will investigate all the details of the crash and prove liability in your truck accident.
Claiming the Accident Didn’t Cause Injuries
If you’re a truck accident victim, you have to prove that:
- the truck driver had ‘duty of care’ in regards to you;
- the driver didn’t perform ‘duty of care’;
- the driver’s breach of duty caused your injuries;
- you suffered damages as a result of the collision.
Sometimes, the trucking company will take full responsibility when it comes to duty of care. However, the trucking company may attempt to claim that your injuries were not caused by the crash. The company may assert that you were already suffering from the injury before the truck accident and are attempting to fraudulently receive compensation for the injury.
Your attorney will use medical records from before and after your collision to verify that the truck driver’s negligence caused your injury. You still deserve a settlement from the accident, even if you had pre-existing conditions.
For example, you may have hurt your back a few months before the wreck and went to the doctor for treatment. However, the crash reinjured your back. You are still entitled to compensation for any medical treatment you received after the accident, even if the collision wasn’t the cause of your initial injury.
Legal Representation
Trucking companies are very aggressive when it comes to avoiding accident claims. Loncar Lyon Jenkins is here to help you through every step of your truck accident case by proving negligence and assisting you in getting a fair settlement. When you schedule a consultation and provide all the information you have concerning your truck accident, this qualified legal team will work to make sure you are properly compensated.
