When a truck accident leaves you with devastating injuries, you face not only your physical recovery but financial stress as well. It can be difficult to know what to do after an accident. In some cases, the attorneys at D. Miller & Associates, PLLC™, can help Texas truck accident victims get financial recovery to ease some of this stress.
If the truck driver caused your accident, we can file a claim for financial recovery to cover your medical bills, lost wages, property damage, and other losses. We have a team of personal injury attorneys who are ready to fight for the financial recovery you deserve. We can analyze your case, identify the liable parties, and help you understand your options for financial recovery.
How We Help When You’ve Been Injured in A Truck Accident
If we believe you have a viable case, we will collect all available evidence and present a strong case. We will always fight for the financial recovery our clients deserve. We can file your claim and negotiate with the insurance company for the settlement that covers all your losses. If we are unable to arrive at an agreement with the claims adjuster, we have no problem litigating your case and continuing the fight for a fair financial award for you in court.
Collecting available evidence
We will collect all necessary evidence, including pictures and videos of your injuries, the vehicles involved, and the scene of the accident. It is possible that a traffic or surveillance camera at a nearby business recorded the accident. We may be able to obtain access to the footage that may clearly prove who is at fault.
If there were any witnesses to the accident, we can reach out to them if you have their contact information. We can schedule interviews with them and potentially gather any valuable information they have to offer that can favor your case. We will advocate for you from beginning to end. You have suffered enough by being in a truck accident. Let us take it from here and handle all the heavy lifting while you focus on recuperating.
Call us today at (713) 850-8600 for a free case evaluation with a truck accident lawyer serving Pearland.
How Much Is My Truck Accident Claim Worth?
We will aggressively pursue the full value of your claim if a truck driver caused your accident. Before we can demand payment from the insurance company, though, we have to ensure we understand what a fair settlement looks like in your case. We need to document all of your economic losses and estimate the total of your non-economic losses. As a part of this process, we will collect:
- Medical bills;
- Documentation of rehabilitation and therapy expenses;
- Expert estimates of future medical needs and ongoing care;
- Documentation of your current lost wages;
- Expert estimates of your future lost wages and benefits;
- Receipts or estimates for your vehicle repair or replacement;
- Receipts from any related out-of-pocket costs; and
- Any possible evidence to show your pain and suffering.
Once we compile all of the evidence to prove your losses, we request financial recovery to cover all these costs and other damages. In many cases, we identify losses our clients failed to include in their own notes or overlooked when trying to figure out their damages on their own.
Even if you attempt to handle your insurance claim on your own, it pays to consult one of our attorneys about the value of your claim before you sign any agreement with the insurer.
Who Is Liable When A Truck Driver Causes An Accident?
Liability after a truck accident is sometimes more complicated than it may seem. There are several situations you may find yourself in. Your accident may have involved a number of different vehicles, such as:
- A privately owned carrier;
- A rented box truck;
- A tractor trailer operating for a store or distributor;
- A tractor trailer operating for a trucking company; or
- Another company-owned truck, such as a plumbing or electrical vehicle.
Vicarious liability
Liability differs significantly in a case where the truck driver is working for a company than in a case where an individual is driving the vehicle for their own benefit. When the driver is the employee of a company—which is the most common scenario—the company is likely the liable party we will pursue a claim against.
This is possible because of a legal doctrine called vicarious liability. Under this doctrine, a corporation is liable for any negligence its employees commit while on the clock. This includes the drivers of company vehicles, such as truck drivers, dump truck drivers, wrecker drivers, and drivers of other large vans or work trucks.
This doctrine is especially important in truck accident cases when victims’ injuries are often severe. Instead of a small auto liability policy an individual would hold, we can file a claim based on a corporate liability policy. These typically have much higher limits, allowing us to negotiate higher settlements when necessary.
How Will A Truck Accident Lawyer Prove The Driver Caused My Accident?
Once you ask us to help with your case, we launch an investigation to understand your accident. We will contact and interview witnesses, request copies of the police report, enlist the help of an accident reconstruction specialist, and collect all available evidence. We will get a full picture of how and why your accident happened and build a case against the truck driver.
We do this for every car accident case we handle, but gaining access to much of the evidence in a truck accident case is more difficult. This is because truck operators—no matter if they are individuals or trucking companies—have to collect a lot of data and keep strict records to show they meet federal and state regulations. This includes rest logs, maintenance and other safety logs, and other documents. This creates a lot of evidence we can use to bolster the case against the driver and trucking company. This evidence often includes:
- The driver’s logs;
- Data from the truck computer;
- Dashcam video, if available;
- Results from the post-accident drug and alcohol tests, if thedriver was intoxicated;
- Truck maintenance records; and
- Employment records.
Of course, the trucking company has no interest in handing this information over to us. Instead, we have to take action as soon as possible after the accident to demand it preserves this vital information. We send a spoliation notice, informing the company of our intent to file a claim and of the legal obligation to protect this evidence.
How Can I Talk To A Truck Accident Lawyer Serving Pearland About My Case?
There is no reason you have to try to navigate a truck accident claim on your own. These claims are not only complicated, but often require facing off with a team of corporate lawyers. At D. Miller & Associates, PLLC™, we make this process easier for you by fighting for the financial recovery you deserve while you focus on healing from your physical and emotional injuries.
We have fought large corporations and won settlements and court awards for many truck accident victims in Texas, and we will do our best to do the same for you. In most cases, we can negotiate a settlement out of court without ever needing tofile a lawsuit. If we do need to take your case to court, we have the experience and skills necessary to represent you to the judge and aggressively pursue the award you deserve.
Call Today for A Complimentary Case Evaluation
We know you need recovery to help you cover your expenses and losses after a Pearland truck accident. We can help you understand your options, prove your case, and recover the damages you need and deserve. You may have a limited amount of time to take legal action, so do not delay. If you wait too long, you can be barred from seeking the financial recovery you deserve.
Call us at (713) 850-8600 for a case evaluation.