In 2015, a report by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), indicated that approximately 415,000 crashes involving large trucks were reported to the police.
1% of the reported cases were fatal, while 20% resulted in injuries.
Despite the mind-boggling statistics, the California Department of Transport reported that the number of collisions resulting in fatalities and injuries in California was on the decline.
However, the report further indicated that despite the decline, the highest number of truck accidents happened in Los Angeles County.
Now, assuming youre in LA, and maybe involved in a truck accident, it would be at your best interests if you retained a truck accident attorney Riverside.
For starters, as weve seen above, truck accidents are not like your typical accident, and in most cases, the accident can be fatal.
Now, if youre still on the fence on whether to retain an attorney, here are some of the advantages you stand to accrue by hiring a professional.
Also check: semi truck insurance quotes
Determine Liability
One of the biggest challenges in a truck accident lawsuit is determining the cause of an accident and the parties to blame.
Sometimes, the negligence of the driver can be the cause of an accident, but this is not always true.
In many cases, youll find that multiple parties are also involved and can be held liable for damages.
In such cases where multiple parties are involved, it’s always a challenge to determine who is liable for the accident, pain, and suffering.
However, your attorney may seek to provide negligence on the parties involved, and in particular, theyre quite handy when liable parties are not so obvious.
Experience Dealing With Insurance Companies
What everyone should understand is that insurance is like any other business, and in most cases, they’ll try as hard as possible to deny you claim or even lowball you.
To avoid missing on your deserved compensation, hiring a qualified attorney can be handy as theyve your best interests at heart.
A professional truck accident attorney knows the ins and outs of the field and will have no issues negotiating your claim with the insurance.
And since these professionals do it every day in their practice, they know how to deal with the providers, and the chances of experiencing success as a claimant will rise.
With an attorney guiding you through the negotiation process, you’ll have greater chances of experiencing success, and you stand a better chance of getting compensation in the full amount you deserve.
Collecting Relevant Evidence
In the event of an accident, you might be required to collect evidence, which youll be required to present later in a court of law.
Now, as easy as it sounds, collecting evidence is no mean feat.
However, a professional truck attorney can help to coordinate the investigation following a wreck.
In addition to investigating the crime scene and gathering witness testimonies, your attorney will examine other possible elements that could have contributed to the accident including;
- Truck drivers employment history,
- Drivers drug and alcohol tests.
- Trucking companys insurance
- Truck drivers qualifications
- Property damage
- The trucks electronic control module
Navigating Truck Law and Federal Regulations
As we had mentioned earlier, truck law is quite complicated, and this is particularly true if therere multiple parties involved.
Fortunately, retaining an attorney ensures that youre up to speed with the federal regulations, including being aware of the deadline that might impact your case.
Expert Guidance from a Truck Accident Attorney
Sometimes we want to think we know everything, but in reality, were making mistakes.
In most cases, youll find that you need the help of an expert to get the right legal guidance with your case.
By hiring a professional truck attorney, youll never feel like youre lost or alone.
Youll have an expert voice that guides you through the entire process, and when youre through, youll achieve the financial compensation you deserve.
Understand and Protect your Rights
I cant over-emphasize the importance of this point.
See, it’s quite unfortunate that many people don’t know their legal rights, and this normally results in the infringement or abuse of their rights.
Professional truck attorneys, however, have spent years mastering the entire legal system in school and then practicing in a legal setting, and so, they understand when your rights are violated.