Sean | October 3, 2024
How Can a Truck Accident Lawyer Help in St. Petersburg?
If you have suffered an injury or experienced losing a loved one in St. Petersburg due to a truck accident, an attorney can maximize your financial compensation. A truck accident lawyer’s services are invaluable, from determining liability to meeting legal deadlines, valuing your claim, and negotiating substantial settlements.
Consult an experienced truck accident lawyer for a free case evaluation before speaking with insurance companies or accepting the financial loss incurred by your accident.
Table of Contents
- How Do Truck Accidents in St. Petersburg Differ From Other Motor Vehicle Accidents
- Who Is Liable in a Truck Accident?
- How a Truck Accident Lawyer Can Help in St. Petersburg
- What is My Truck Accident Case Worth?
- Compensation a St. Petersburg Truck Accident Lawyer Can Help Me Secure
- Questions to Ask Your Truck Accident Lawyer
- Speak With A St. Petersburg Truck Accident Lawyer
How Do Truck Accidents in St. Petersburg Differ From Other Motor Vehicle Accidents?
For various reasons, truck accidents can be much more complex than motor vehicle accidents. However, the primary differences are as follows:
- More Evidence: Truck accident claims involve more evidence than a standard motor vehicle crash. Trucking companies keep records on drivers and trucks. Additionally, trucks have electronic logging devices (ELDs) and black box data recorders that record driving information, which helps prove negligence. These devices record braking patterns, speed, and a trucker’s hours of service (HOS).
- Multiple Victims: Many truck accidents involve multiple vehicles and victims, complicating the process of recovering compensation. The at-fault driver’s insurance coverage may not cover compensating all victims.
- Multiple Liable Parties: Depending on the nature of the truck accident, multiple liable parties may be responsible for injuries and damages. Insurers may argue who is at or more at fault to deny liability or at least partial liability.
- Complex Insurance Structures: Trucking companies often have corporate insurance structures that layer coverage. This practice can make it challenging to identify which insurer is liable for which damages.
Due to the complexity of truck accident cases, the length of the investigation and time to settle can be longer than motor vehicle accidents involving only one other vehicle and one insurance company to deal with liability.
Who Is Liable in a Truck Accident?
Determining liability is key to recovering compensation. A handful of people may be liable for injuries and damages in a truck accident, and remember, it’s common for there to be multiple liable parties. These parties include:
- Truck Driver: The truck driver may be liable if their negligent action caused the accident —for example if they were on the phone, speeding, or intoxicated behind the wheel.
- Trucking Company: Truck companies are liable if their negligence leads to accidents. However, vicarious liability holds trucking companies liable for the driver’s actions even when the company wasn’t negligent. They’re also liable if they allowed an exhausted or intoxicated driver behind the wheel or if negligent hiring practices led to hiring an unqualified driver.
- Truck Safety Inspector: If a truck safety inspector fails to inspect and document vehicle maintenance and defective issues that cause an accident, they may be liable for compensating victims.
- Truck Leasing Company: Vicarious liability and negligence may hold a truck leasing company liable for injuries and damages, for example, if it rents a truck to an unlicensed or drunk driver.
- Manufacturer: A truck or truck parts manufacturer may be liable for a defective product resulting in injuries and damages. Defective truck parts include defective steering, brake, and suspension systems.
- Cargo Loader: Cargo loaders who fail to inspect, load, and secure the cargo, causing it to contribute to the accident, may be liable. They have a reasonable duty of care to ensure cargo is inspected and loaded correctly and meets state and federal regulations.
- Mechanic: A mechanic or the automotive repair shop where they are employed may be liable if they performed faulty repairs on the truck, causing the accident.
An experienced truck accident lawyer will thoroughly investigate liability, determining all at-fault parties. However, truck drivers are usually responsible for negligence, causing truck accidents.
How a Truck Accident Lawyer Can Help in St. Petersburg
Navigating the complex legal system while recovering from injuries sustained in a truck accident isn’t necessary. Truck accident attorneys primarily work on contingency. So, they don’t require any upfront or out-of-pocket costs for their services. Anyone can retain one, regardless of financial circumstances.
If a truck accident lawyer accepts your case, they are confident they can win it. Otherwise, they do not get paid. There is zero financial risk in having a legal professional handle your claim. A truck accident lawyer is invaluable to your case in many ways.
Gathering and Analyzing Necessary Evidence
There is a considerable amount of evidence involved in truck accidents. During their investigation, your attorney will gather any relevant evidence and analyze it with a team of expert witnesses. Evidence may include:
- The police report
- Eyewitness statements
- Photos of the accident scene, vehicle, and your injuries
- Video from traffic cameras, dashcams, and commercial businesses and residential properties
- Electronic logging devices (ELDs)
- Black boxes, also known as event data recorders (EDRs)
- The truck driver’s cell phone and GPS data at the time of the incident
- Truck inspection and maintenance records
- Accident reconstruction expert analysis of the accident’s sequence of events
- Accident-related medical records
Truck accident lawyers work with medical, engineering, vocational, financial, accident reconstruction, and trucking industry experts to analyze the evidence of your claim. Expert witness testimony helps insurance companies and courts understand complex scientific or technical issues necessary to determining liability.
Proving Another Party’s Negligence
Proving that another party was at fault for the truck accident, your injuries, and subsequent damages involves demonstrating the four elements of negligence. Your attorney will show:
- The at-fault party owed you a duty of care (obeying traffic laws, hiring responsible licensed drivers, properly maintaining trucks, producing reliable parts)
- The at-fault party breached the duty of care
- The at-fault party’s negligence is directly responsible for the accident
- The at-fault party’s negligence caused your injuries and actual damages
Your attorney will use evidence from the accident, such as electronic data from onboard recorders. If the trucker used their cell phone at the time of the accident, your attorney will use phone records to prove it. GPS data can provide the truck’s speed, which may also have affected the crash.
Valuing All Damages Before Sending a Demand Letter
A truck accident lawyer can help secure substantial compensation for your injuries and damages. They will exhaustively value all damages sustained from the accident before sending a demand letter to the liable parties. In some instances, damages include much more than paying medical bills, lost income, and pain and suffering.
Negotiating Settlements With Insurance Companies
Insurance claims adjusters take cases with legal representation more seriously. They know that reputable lawyers know their less-than-favorable tactics and don’t fall victim to them. Most insurers still send insultingly low first offers. However, a truck accident lawyer is an experienced negotiator who won’t back down from demanding a fair settlement.
Representing Your Case in Court
If your truck accident lawyer and liable parties cannot agree on settlement terms, your case will move to trial. Going to trial involves:
- Filing you lawsuit
- Discovery phase (both parties exchange evidence, such as written questions and depositions)
- Pre-trial motions
- Trial proceedings (presenting evidence to judge and jury, expert witnesses)
- Final verdict and judgment (awarded damages)
If your case requires filing a lawsuit, speak with your attorney about punitive damages. Punitive or exemplary damages are less typical with truck accident claims. However, if the at-fault party’s actions were incredibly erroneous, a judge and jury may award them to punish them and set a precedent for others not to repeat the offense.
What is My Truck Accident Case Worth?
Unfortunately, no one can confidently provide exact figures because each truck accident claim is unique to its circumstances. That said, several factors may influence how much your truck accident claim is worth, such as:
- The severity of injuries sustained in the truck accident
- The length of time your injuries caused you to be out of work
- Whether you suffered a permanent disability from the accident
- The extent to which your family depends on your income
Many states operate under comparative negligence. Under this rule, the amount of damages awarded is reduced by the percentage of the accident victim’s fault.
Compensation a St. Petersburg Truck Accident Lawyer Can Help Me Secure
Depending on the severity of your truck accident and injuries, recovery time, and extent of loss suffered, an accident victim can recover compensation for numerous losses. These are known as economic and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Your economic damages are the tangible losses from the accident, such as lost income and medical, rehabilitation, disability, and property expenses.
- Medical Expenses: Ambulance ride from accident scene, hospital stay, surgery, primary care, labs, diagnostics, imaging, prescriptions, and all other medical costs.
- Rehabilitation Services: Therapy services needed to recover, such as physical, occupational, vocational, speech and language. Alternative services like massage and acupuncture may also be recovered.
- Vehicle Damages: Vehicle repairs or replacement if totaled. It also covers rental car expenses necessary while your vehicle is in the auto repair shop.
- Property Damages: Any property damaged in the truck accident, such as cell phones, glasses, clothing, portable devices, car seats, groceries, and GPS systems.
- Lost Income: All income losses, including lost earnings, salary, bonuses, tips, and commissions.
- Lost Benefits: All loss of benefits, such as healthcare, retirement, pension, and Social Security.
- Disability Home Modifications: Chair lifts, wheelchair ramps, lowered counters, raised toilet seats, step-less showers, wider doorways, levers, and other in-home modifications necessary to accommodate a disability.
- Disability Transportation Modifications: Wheelchair-accessible vehicles, steering devices, such as grips and spinner knobs, seat belt adjustments, and hand control for brakes and acceleration pads.
A paper trail of receipts, invoices, and billing statements makes calculating and proving economic losses straightforward. Provide documents demonstrating any out-of-pocket costs to your truck accident lawyer.
Non-Economic Damages
An experienced St. Petersburg truck accident attorney will thoroughly evaluate your compensation needs for non-economic damages, including:
- Physical pain, including chronic conditions
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Generalized anxiety
- Psychological trauma
- Emotional distress
- Lost sleep
- Loss of enjoyment of everyday activities
- Substance misuse problems
- Shortened life expectancy
Non-economic damages are more challenging to prove, so proper documentation is critical in helping your attorney obtain them. Keep a detailed truck accident injury journal with dated entries about pain levels, sleep disturbances, psychological trauma, and limited abilities.
Wrongful Death Damages
Wrongful death damages are awarded to the surviving victims of the accident. Losing a loved one is never easy. However, having them taken and then being expected to inherit all the debt associated with the accident isn’t fair. This isn’t something you need to navigate alone. An attorney may recover:
- Funeral, burial, or memorial service costs
- Final medical expenses
- Pain and suffering of decedent before death
- Pain and suffering for surviving family members
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of financial support
- Loss of parental guidance
- Loss of household services
- Loss of inheritance
If you have suffered the loss of a loved one due to wrongful death, consult a truck accident lawyer immediately. They will handle your case with care and compassion while working diligently to secure compensation for your financial losses and emotional pain.
Questions to Ask Your Truck Accident Lawyer
Take advantage of the free consultations most truck accident lawyers offer to evaluate your case, but come prepared with questions. Questions you need answers to include:
- How many truck accident cases like mine have you settled?
- What is the average settlement your firm secures for a truck accident case?
- How many truck accidents have taken to trial and won?
- Have you generally had success with truck accident cases?
- Who from your firm will be specifically involved in my case?
- How often will you communicate with me about my case? Will you take my phone calls?
Most truck accident attorneys operate within contingency fee arrangements. They require no money upfront and only collect anything if they win your case. Before consulting with a truck accident lawyer, ensure they are contingency fee-based and ask them to clarify their fees. Have them also clarify if their contingency fee goes up if your case goes to trial, as that often is the case. You want to be clear about costs before committing to your attorney.
Speak With A St. Petersburg Truck Accident Lawyer
Schedule a free consultation with a skilled truck accident attorney in St. Petersburg to discuss the specifics of your case.
