Injuries caused by truck accidents are understandably painful and traumatizing. And you need compensation to cover the medical bills and future medical care.
You also need compensation for loss of wages and to cater for life-altering injuries. However, you need to understand that the process is long and follow the right procedure to win the case. To that end, this article gives you the detailed steps to follow and what to do along the way.
Step 1: Finding a Legal Representative
You will first get medical care to treat the injuries you sustained from the accident. After that, you will begin the first step of getting your compensation. And that is finding a legal representative. This professional should be qualified, experienced, and have the resources to pursue the case to its end.
Several law firms offer these services, but you need to hire reputable and specialized ones like The Law Firm for Truck Safety. Such firms understand the truck accident laws and are best placed to win you the case.
Step 2: Investigating and Establishing Negligence
You will get lawyers for Injuries in Truck Accidents from the firms you found in the previous step. These experts will investigate, establish negligence, and determine the at-fault party. This step entails gathering the evidence, taking witness statements, and collecting medical records. You will also give your account of what happened. The information your attorney will gather forms the basis of the next step.
Step 3: Building a Case
The truck accident lawyer will then build a case using the evidence gathered. At this point, the attorney will know if you stand a chance of winning the case. Suppose you are at fault; it would be best to drop it and count your losses. However, you will move to the next step if the lawyer is certain you aren’t liable for the truck accident.
Step 4: Sending Letter of Demand
The Letter of demand details the injuries caused, how it has affected your life, and the amount you need as compensation. Note that you aren’t the one writing this legal document. Your lawyer must write and send it to the liable party. The letter has a 30-day grace period for the at-fault parties to reply to it and give way forward.
Step 5: Discovery
In most cases, the liable party will reply to the demand letter and request evidence. This process is known as discovery. The evidence will help the defending team to build their case if they feel you are liable, which is likely to happen. However, others go through the evidence and opt for an out-of-court settlement. This settlement is the best since it won’t cost you much and takes a short time.
Step 6: Negotiating
Suppose the liable party agrees to compensate for the injuries; you still have the hurdle of negotiating. This process is most important and requires skilled lawyers for Injuries in Truck Accidents because the opposing team will try to pay the minimum amount possible. You need good negotiators for better compensation. The case will move to trial if your team fails to reach an agreement with the liable one.
Truck accident cases require following the right procedure and patience to get proper compensation. Therefore, it would be best to find a lawyer from established firms like The Law Firm for Truck Safety and then follow the steps you have read here. Doing so will enable you to win the case.