5 Steps to Maximize Your Truck Accident Recovery
While each accident is unique, and laws can vary depending on your jurisdiction, some general concepts apply to most truck accident claims. To maximize your compensation in a truck accident, ensure to:
Understand Your Claim’s Worth
Many truck accident victims don’t know what they are entitled to, which could lead to leaving money on the table in settlement negotiations. While a truck accident attorney knows how to determine the approximate worth of your claim, they will require specific information and documents from you.
Medical Bills
Depending on your injuries, medical bills could be a significant portion of your truck accident recovery. However, to recover an award for all your healthcare expenses, you need to provide proof of your costs.
- Emergency room treatment
- Hospitalization
- Surgery
- Medical equipment, such as prostheses
- Modifications to your home and vehicle
Keep meticulous records and gather all bills and receipts relating to your medical expenses. Don’t forget to collect receipts of all incidentals, including over-the-counter medications you purchased in the drugstore and the cost of transportation to medical appointments.
Lost Income
Being off work for weeks or months and losing wages can cause anxiety and stress for truck accident victims and their families. However, lost earnings are recoverable damages in a truck accident lawsuit. If you are permanently injured and cannot return to your job, you could also qualify for future loss of earnings.
Gather pay stubs and bank statements, which can help prove the income you lost during your recovery.
Pain and Suffering
If you suffered severe or disabling injuries in a truck accident, you could qualify for non-economic damages such as pain and anguish, loss of life quality, and others. Victims may suffer chronic pain, severe emotional distress (such as PTSD), or a significant disability due to a serious truck accident.
Insurance companies and attorneys seek to minimize these damages. To maximize your pain and suffering damages, we use trained experts to help identify and prove the serious impact your injuries have taken on your life. We also use physicians, psychologist assessments, and testimony from friends and family.
Promptly Contact an Attorney After Your Accident
The most important step after getting medical help for your injuries can be hiring a truck accident attorney. According to the American Bar Association (ABA), self-represented litigants can face severe disadvantages when seeking justice.
Truck accident attorneys at the Ammons Law Firm work with industry experts to assess your case and gather evidence proving a truck company, manufacturer, or repair shop’s negligence. Waiting too long to consult a lawyer could be a mistake, allowing defendants to let critical evidence disappear. Moreover, some evidence, such as traffic camera footage, is extremely time-sensitive as it is often deleted after a few weeks.
Our attorneys can protect you from day one and prevent an insurance company or at-fault party from manipulating you into admitting fault or pushing you into a lowball settlement offer.
Don’t Settle for an Insurer’s First Offer
Truck accident victims often face steep medical expenses, making them vulnerable when approached by insurance adjusters offering a settlement. You may be tempted to sign on the dotted line and agree to the first settlement offer. However, discuss the proposal with an attorney first to ensure you are not getting cheated out of what you truly deserve.
Accepting the first settlement offer could negatively affect your future financial situation. Firstly, your doctors may need more time to assess the full extent of your injuries and determine your approximate future medical expenses. Secondly, you typically cannot obtain additional damages once you accept an offer.
Avoid Posting Truck Accident Details on Social Media
An excellent way to protect your truck accident recovery is to only speak to your attorney about your case. Refrain from public statements or social media posts mentioning your accident, legal claim, or injuries. The at-fault party’s attorneys and insurance adjusters will look for any information they can use to build a case against you and deny you a fair recovery.
For example, you could jeopardize your recovery if you claim significant injuries and post pictures showing you partaking in a sports event or on vacation while your case is ongoing. Ask your friends and family to refrain from tagging you in any pictures or events during this sensitive time. You have no control over other individuals’ social media privacy settings, and the information could be out there for all to see.
Be Patient
Bills of truck accident victims often pile up after a severe injury. Feeling nervous and impatient is natural when you wait for a truck accident settlement and watch your expenses mount. However, most claims take time. If the trucking company will not accept responsibility and pay you a fair settlement, our attorneys will take your case to trial, where a jury will have the opportunity to value your damages.
Our lawyers know how to get you the best results. Listen to their guidance and advice, and rest assured that they will help you recover full compensation for your damages.
Contact The Ammons Law Firm Today to Protect Your Rights
Our truck accident lawyers want nothing more than for you to receive the maximum compensation possible so your family is not seriously harmed. We are here to help you understand your legal rights and the next best steps for getting fairly compensated for truck accident injuries. Contact us now to find out more in a free case review.
When you or a loved one dies in a truck accident and need help maximizing financial recovery to cover medical expenses and your pain and suffering, we can help you.
