If you’ve been in any kind of accident, it’s important to get started on filing a claim as soon as possible so that you have the best chance of recovering your full losses and damages. It’s especially important to do this if you’ve been in an accident caused by a truck. Trucks, given their size, tend to cause worse injuries and greater property damage than any other vehicle, and a truck accident attorney in Katy can help you to file a claim, decide whom to file against, and protect your claim to maximize your compensation.
How Do I File a Claim After a Truck Accident in Texas?
Gather As Much Evidence As You Can
If you’re not too badly injured, after any accident it is a good idea to get whatever evidence you’re able to gather. Pictures of the scene, information for contacting witnesses, the location of any video cameras that might have caught something, and the names, contact info, and insurance of all other drivers involved (and the trucking company if an involved truck is owned by someone other than the driver) will all be useful in building your case.
You’ll also have medical records and will want to gather those up as well as any information about other losses you’ve sustained, such as missed work days, the loss of accrued bonuses or overtime, etc.
Talk to a Truck Accident Attorney in Katy
Your next step should be to take all the evidence you have and go speak with an accident lawyer in the Katy, TX area who has experience working with truck accidents. Truck accidents had some unique features. It can be a much more complicated to assign liability because of the size and weight of the trucks and complications about who is responsible: Is it the driver? The trucking company? Those responsible for maintaining or loading the truck?
Truck accidents are also extra difficult because you may be only one of many people who were badly hurt and had extensive vehicle damage because of the actions of one large truck. With lots of people seeking recompense from the truck driver or the trucking company, you don’t want your claim to get lost in the shuffle or fall to the bottom. This really is one of those situations where the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Your lawyer is essentially your squeaky wheel, making noise on your behalf and fighting to make sure that your claim gets all the attention it should.
And if you’re going up against a trucking company, don’t forget that trucking companies have a lot of money and often powerful lawyers for precisely these sorts of situations. You are at a distinct disadvantage unless you have a legal professional on your side who is experienced in dealing with truck accidents.
Figure Out Your Full Damages
If you’ve never figured out a claim before, it can be easy to miss something. There are three possible types of damages that you might be seeking: economic, non-economic, and punitive. It’s very important that you don’t miss anything here in order to maximize the worth of your claim and start negotiations from a strong position.
Economic
These damages are the monetary losses that you have sustained. This will include everything you’ve had to pay for medical care and anything you are projected to have to pay into the future if your injury has caused you a permanent disability or will require long-term care.
It will also include everything you’ve lost relative to your job, the cost to have your property fixed or replaced, and tangential expenses. This last could be, for example, paying for childcare if you are unable to care for your own children due to the extent of your injuries.
Non-Economic
Often referred to colloquially as “pain and suffering,” these damages are harder to quantify but very real. You should be compensated for the physical pain and mental anguish that you’ve sustained because of this accident. Your non-economic damages are usually calculated by taking the total of your economic damages and multiplying it by a number between one and five. The greater your injuries and the longer it takes for you to recover, the higher that multiplier number would be.
Punitive
Punitive damages are actually quite rare, so you always want to talk to your lawyer about whether this is something you would even ask about. But sometimes another entity, whether it’s a driver or a trucking company, is so egregiously negligent that it’s important to send a message so that others will take more care. Punitive damages don’t recompense you for any of your losses. They are solely intended to punish the liable party.
Determine Liability
Liability is key in these situations because the liable party, the party most responsible for the accident, must cover the losses and damages of everyone else. Under Texas law, anyone who is 50% or less at fault for the accident can claim damages, but the amount of compensation they receive will ultimately be reduced by the same percentage as their fault.
In trucking accidents, liability can be very difficult to determine. There may be degrees of liability involved, and there may be several entities who can all be held liable. Your lawyer will help you figure this out and identify all avenues for seeking compensation.
File a Claim and Demand Letter
Once your lawyer has helped you fully calculate all your damages and compiled all the evidence, your lawyer will then help you file a claim with the insurance company. It’s highly likely that this claim will initially be denied or that the insurance company will respond with a much lower offer.
Insurance companies tend to do this hoping that you will either go away or that you’re not aware of what your claim is really worth and will be willing to accept a lower settlement. Your lawyer will protect you from anything like this and will write a demand letter if your claim is denied, laying out everything that you are owed and why.
Start Negotiations
Nearly all of these claims are settled outside of court, but it’s much more likely negotiations will go well and you will come away with the settlement you need to cover your damages if you have a lawyer on your side to negotiate.
Lawyers are skilled negotiators by profession, and a truck accident lawyer will have done this many times before and be aware of what to ask for, when to push, when to hold back, and precisely how to fight to get you the full compensation you’re owed.
Go to Court
If for some reason your a claim can’t be settled through negotiations, the final resort is to take the liable party to court. In Texas, you usually have two years from the time of the accident to file a lawsuit, so you will want to get started on your claim quickly.
If you’ve been involved in a trucking accident, you don’t have to deal with catastrophic injuries while also trying to bring a claim. Your lawyer can take care of the legalities so that you can focus on healing. Call us today at the Law Office of Shane McClelland in Katy, Sugar Land, Rosenberg, and Ford Bend County.