Truck accidents differ from car accidents. Although both car accident and truck accident claims compensate victims for their losses, truck accidents have distinct challenges that are not usually present in car accident cases.
How long do you have to file a claim for a truck accident? First, commercial trucks are much larger than other vehicles. They also can carry hazardous materials that may explode upon impact. The size of the trucks and hazardous materials it transports creates a significant risk of injury that is not present in traffic crashes between other vehicles.
If you get into an accident with a big truck, you may also find yourself scrambling to identify and locate all parties responsible for the harm. Many people may share responsibility for an accident between a big truck and another vehicle. The driver and their employer may share liability. If a defective part inside the truck caused the accident, the manufacturer might also share some blame for the accident. It can be overwhelming to find each of these parties and hold them accountable without a Cape Girardeau truck accident lawyer.
There is a greater chance of a larger settlement in truck accident cases. The injuries and property damages are usually much more severe than those between two cars of the same size. That means that larger medical bills, totaled vehicles, and longer recovery times may lead to a longer time away from work. These factors may contribute to a more significant settlement amount than a victim would receive after getting into an accident with another vehicle of a similar size.
What is the Statute of Limitations?
The statute of limitations is a deadline for filing a lawsuit to recover damages after an accident. Each state has its statute of limitations, and the statute of limitations changes depending on the type of case that the plaintiff has. A statute of limitations applies in both criminal and civil cases. People who advocate for using a statute of limitations argue that there is still a need for the deadline because it promotes the preservation of evidence and keeps cases from continuing for years without any resolution.
The statute of limitations is hard limits. That means that once the deadline to file suit passes, your right to sue is barred. There are very few exceptions to the statute of limitations. However, in common law jurisdictions, the discovery rule may apply. The discovery rule is an exception to the statute of limitations that allows the deadline to file a lawsuit to be suspended until the plaintiff discovers the injury. The discovery rule usually comes up with medical malpractice cases when patients are unaware of their injuries for months or years after a procedure.
Statute of Limitations for Filing a Truck Accident Case in the United States
How long you have to file a lawsuit to recover your damages from a truck accident case varies from state to state. In most states in the US, the limit is two years from the date of your accident. However, the limit ranges from one year to six years at the longest. So if you are concerned about this limit, it is best to contact a lawyer who has experience dealing with truck accidents in your area. This way, you can be sure that the limit will not run out on you.
Never ignore this limit because if it passes, a court will not hear your claim. There are very limited circumstances where you can file your claim outside the statute of limitations. Because of this, it is best to check with a lawyer to be sure.
What is the Difference Between Filing a Lawsuit and Filing an Insurance Claim?
Filing a lawsuit and filing a claim with the insurance company are different processes. The time limit to file a lawsuit, called a statute of limitations, is discussed above. However, depending on your state, you may have an additional deadline from the insurance company to file your claim.
Usually, an insurance company wants to know about an accident as soon as it happens, so you should reach out to your insurance company as soon as you can to notify your insurance provider. Check your insurance policy because there may be time limits for filing a claim with your insurance provider.
How Long After an Accident Do I Have to File an Insurance Claim?
There is no strict deadline for filing a claim with your insurance company after an accident. However, you should still act with urgency. If you delay filing a claim, the insurance company may use that as evidence that your injuries are not real or not as severe as you claimed.
You should start the insurance claim process immediately or within a reasonable time after the accident. Depending on the company, you can start the claim process by calling the insurance company and speaking to a claims representative online or through the app.
Which Insurance Company Pays for My Injuries?
File a claim with your insurance company if the other driver is at fault or if the accident happened in a no-fault state. File a claim with the trucking company’s insurance provider if you have a need for long-term care or if the insurance company does not have enough insurance to cover your injuries.
How Much Insurance Coverage Must a Trucking Company Carry?
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulates commercial truck companies (FMCSA). The FMCSA requires trucking companies to carry Motor Carrier Safety-90 coverage. A truck’s minimum insurance coverage depends on the type of goods it carries. The federal government began requiring truck drivers and trucking companies to carry insurance coverage to protect all drivers.
Insurance minimums for truck drivers and truck companies include:
- Normal cargo: $750,000 minimum coverage
- Hazardous cargo: $1 million minimum coverage
Why Must You Act Quickly After a Truck Accident?
The most important reason a truck accident victim acts quickly after an accident is to preserve evidence. Your truck accident attorney will want to gather as much information about the facts of your case so that the odds of proving your damages increase.
Types of Evidence Used to Prove a Truck Accident Case
The kinds of evidence you can use to help your case can include the following:
- Pictures of the accident
- Eyewitness testimony
- Traffic camera footage
- Black box data
- Medical bills
- Evidence of property damage and repair estimates
- Bills for rehabilitative care
- Accident reports
- Proof of lost wages
Evidence that may be vital to building your case can degrade over time—for example, the data from the black box. Every commercial truck employed for hire has a black box that collects data from the truck’s trips. The black box has information about the speed the vehicle was moving and the brake application at the time of the accident. This information can help prove your case, but it must be collected quickly. The information is usually only stored for a set number of miles and then deleted.
Damages Available in Truck Accident Cases
There are three major categories of damages in a truck accident case. Your damages will fall into the economic, non-economic, or punitive category. It is important to act quickly to preserve as much evidence as possible to recover damages in each of these categories.
Punitive Damages
Courts rarely award punitive damages. A court will award punitive damages to compensate the victim. Still, these kinds of damages are typically given to accident victims to deter the defendant from acting similarly in the future. The availability of punitive damages varies from state to state. There may also be a cap on how much an accident victim can recover after an accident. If your state allows recovery for punitive damages, your truck accident attorney can help you pursue recovery.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are easy to recognize. They include losses like medical bills to treat injuries from the accident, lost wages, and other tangible losses from the truck accident. Evidence of economic damages can easily and quickly degrade. To prove your truck accident claim, you must act quickly, so you don’t lose critical evidence.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are usually challenging to prove and require the experience of an experienced truck accident attorney to help a victim recover from their loss. Non-economic damages include all unseen harm that a truck accident victim suffers after being in a traffic crash with a commercial truck.
Examples of non-economic damages include:
- Pain and suffering.
- Mental and emotional trauma.
- Reduced quality of life.
- Loss of companionship.
Like economic damages, evidence of intangible harm can erode over time. Connecting your non-economic injuries to the accident becomes more complex as time passes. It will help if you act quickly to preserve all evidence of your injuries and increase your odds of a full recovery.
What Causes Truck Accidents?
Truck accidents, like other traffic accidents, are caused by negligence. Driver error is a type of negligence. A driver is negligent if they disobey traffic laws, drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or drive while fatigued, among other conduct. Truck drivers must be aware of all applicable traffic laws, and trucking companies must ensure that they do not hire negligent drivers with a record of driving under the influence or other negligence.
A mechanical error can also cause truck accidents. Trucking companies must keep their trucks in good working condition. That means regular maintenance and fixing problems that can be fixed or replacing trucks that are beyond repair.
How Much Should I Expect from a Truck Accident Settlement?
No one can predict an exact settlement amount after a truck accident, not even the most experienced truck accident attorney. Despite that, there are factors that increase the odds of a monetary settlement amount.
Some factors that may increase the value of your case include:
- The severity of injuries
- The length of recovery necessary after an accident
- The amount of money that the victim loses because they cannot work
- The cost of paying a professional to clean, pick up groceries, and care for children or animals if the victim cannot perform those tasks because of injuries sustained in the accident
- The mental and emotional trauma suffered by the victim because of the accident.
- Other damages that the victims suffer because of the accident
A truck accident lawyer will investigate your case to determine the value of your case.
Your attorney’s investigation may include:
- Reviewing your medical records and bills.
- Speaking to family and friends to gauge your emotional state since the accident.
- Reviewing police reports.
- Even going to where the accident happened to get an idea of what happened.
This work helps to create a basis for an argument for a higher settlement offer from an insurance company or paint a picture for the judge or jury if your case must proceed to trial.
How Is Having a Truck Accident Lawyer Beneficial?
Truck Accident Attorney, Phillip J. Barkett
If you get into an accident with a commercial truck driver, you need an attorney to help you recover fully for your injuries and other damages.
A truck accident attorney can help your case by:
- Help you file a claim with the insurance company
- Investigate your case to find every responsible party
- Speak to third-party debt collectors for you
- Ensure that your case is moving along at a reasonable speed
- Meet case deadlines, including the statute of limitations
- Prepare you for trial
- Negotiate on your behalf with the insurance company
- Hire expert witnesses to help prove your damages
- Collect evidence
It is essential to remember that trucking companies often carry insurance policies from large insurance companies. These companies frequently have vast resources at their disposal. They will have teams of adjusters and lawyers who work for them. They aim to best represent their client’s interests, the trucking company, not you. You can bet that the insurance company will do everything it can to not pay you the money you deserve.
The best way to ensure that you will not leave money on the table after filing a claim is to rely on the experience and knowledge of a Cape Girardeau personal injury lawyer.