If you have sustained injuries in a truck accident, you are likely going through a challenging time. The force of impact from a truck accident typically causes more severe damage and injuries than a typical car accident. Truck accidents are also more likely to be fatal—not for the negligent truck driver, trucking company, or truck manufacturer who caused the accident, but for everyone else involved.
When a negligent party causes you harm, forces you to miss work, and creates a mountain of medical bills, YOU DESERVE COMPENSATION! The simplest truck accident cases still involves the frustration of dealing with a trucking company and its insurance carrier, who might deny your claim or employ other defensive tactics, like blaming you for the accident or downplaying your injuries. You NEED A COMPETENT TRUCK ACCIDENT LAW FIRM to represent you, protect you from questionable defense strategies, and fight to make sure you secure compensation.
You may have lost a loved one in a truck accident, devastating your family and home and leaving you to cope with the emotional pain and financial burden of death. Whether you suffered injuries or lost a loved one, it’s in your best interest to hire a truck accident law firm to GET THE MONEY(should we change money to recovery?) YOU DESERVE! You and your family should not have to shoulder the financial burden that accompanies a severe injury and death.
Unfortunately, NOT ALL TRUCK ACCIDENT LAW FIRMS ARE CREATED EQUAL. When you schedule a free consultation with an attorney, it not only allows your potential attorney to evaluate your case, but also provides you with the opportunity to learn about the attorney, the firm, and the extent to which they can obtain the best outcome for your case. The following questions serve as examples of the types of questions you should ask potential truck accident law firms and the attorney who might represent you when you are seeking representation after a truck accident.
Who Will Work on My Case?
Many large law firms have client intake departments who review your case, ask preliminary questions about your accident and injuries, and schedule a consultation with one of their lawyers. You meet your lawyer, like his or her approach to your case, and decide to hire the firm to advocate for your rights and help you recover damages after a truck accident. Soon after your consultation, you have some questions, and you find out that you have been passed off to a junior associate. When you hire a truck accident law firm, you should expect to deal with secretaries, paralegals, and junior associates on occasion, but for the big events and important decisions in your case, you want to know the lawyer you hired remains involved in your case. You deserve personal attention and service tailored to your needs.
If you haven’t yet decided which lawyer you want to hire, this is also an opportunity to ask questions about specific attorneys at the firm, such as where they went to law school, if they have worked at other firms, and specifics about their individual track records inside the courtroom and with settlements.
How Many Cases Does Your Firm Handle Each Year?
Some law firms handle a small number of high stakes cases, and others handle high volumes or have a mixture of the two. One type of firm isn’t necessarily better than the other, but you want to ensure your case gets the attention it deserves. Some trends in the number of cases a firm takes on can possibly indicate you might be making a poor decision. For example, if a firm has too much of a workload and not enough lawyers, it means that you may lack the personal attention that you deserve, and your case might suffer. On the other hand, if a large firm has more lawyers than cases, it might indicate they have a bad reputation or haven’t obtained successful results for their clients.
How Often Do You Litigate Cases?
The vast majority of personal injury cases, including truck accident cases, settle before going to trial. Yet, at-fault parties and their insurance companies might outwardly deny liability, dispute the claim, and make insultingly low settlement offers. Furthermore, multiple parties involved in an accident might muddy the waters. You need to know that the truck accident law firm you choose for representation has a strong track record in the courtroom, will aggressively advocate for you, and will litigate your case when settlement isn’t an option. Unfortunately, not all personal injury lawyers are good litigators, and some avoid the courtroom as much as possible. Yes, going to court costs more money, but sometimes, it is the only option to get the compensation you deserve.
Can You Share Examples of Your Past Cases That Are Most Similar to Mine?
The truck accident law firm and attorney who represents you have experience handling similar cases to yours. Wherever you live, you want to know that your firm has experience handling cases like yours and that the legal team knows the relevant statutes that best apply to your case so that you have the best chances of a positive outcome in your case. Additionally, you should hire a competent law firm so that its legal team can investigate your accident, gather necessary documentation, and build a case against the defense, while you focus on healing and your recovery. Although you most likely are experiencing physical pain, the aftermath of a severe accident also comes with great emotional pain and stress. Letting a truck accident law firm handle the details of your case will help alleviate some of the mental struggles that you might be experiencing.
Can You Provide Examples of Previous Case Results?
Some law firms publish case results on their firm’s website, but they typically do not include the lawyer who was on the case. To choose the best truck accident law firm, you need to have an idea of the firm’s past results, as well as the specific attorney who might represent you. Some firms may not have examples exactly like your case, because each case is different, but they should be able to provide some similar examples. Keep in mind that past results don’t guarantee an outcome for your case. Instead, they provide you with evidence of experience and an opportunity to learn about a firm’s successes. Previous results of cases which are similar to yours also can provide a general idea of the kind of compensation you might receive in a settlement or a court verdict in your favor.
What Resources Do You Have to Support My Case?
Insurance companies for truckers and their employers will thoroughly investigate your accident. They will attempt to uncover any and every fact that might devalue your claim, as well as elicit statements from you and those close to you. When you hire a truck accident firm, you need to ensure they have the resources to support your case. In some instances, law firms have their own in-house investigators, accident reconstruction specialists, and other staff members who help build client cases. Other times, law firms need to use third parties to accomplish these tasks.
Law firms that lack physical and financial resources cannot build as strong of a case for you. Additionally, when firms don’t have adequate resources, they might ask you to pay upfront money for investigators. Examples of what firms might look for when investigating a truck accident include paper and electronic truck logs, the criminal and driving history of the driver, a trucking company’s hiring practices, eyewitness statements, cell phone records, and any other documents that might help uncover facts to build your case.
What Strategies Will You Use to Win My Case?
You need to ask all potential firms that you are considering retaining to represent you about the strategies that they plan to use to build your case. Your attorney probably has multiple options based on the type of truck accident that you experienced, the type and extent of injuries you suffered, your potential need for future medical treatment or long-term healthcare, whether you have preexisting conditions, and to what extent you might have contributed to causing the accident. Once your attorney understands the circumstances that led to your truck accident, he or she should be able to confidently recommend two or three different strategies to maximize your likelihood of recovering damages.
Your potential attorney might need more information about your case before deciding on a strategy, so you should also ask what information he or she needs from you to support your case. Although many different items may prove important, the most common information that you can provide your potential attorney is photos of the accident scene, medical documentation of your injuries, and evidence of loss, which includes pay stubs, medical bills, and anything else caused by the accident. Once you decide on the firm you want, your attorney will advise you on which things apply to your case.
What Are Some Failures You Have Had With Previous Clients?
Humans are fallible, and even those who are the best at their job make mistakes. When you ask a potential law firm or lawyer about examples of failures with previous clients, their response can provide you with valuable information. If you are speaking with an experienced law firm and/or attorney, and they claim that they have never suffered any failures, it’s fair to assume that they aren’t being honest or lack a severe amount of self-awareness. In either case, hiring this type of law firm might not be the wisest decision. You want a law firm who will speak to you honestly and not inflate their accomplishments. If a law firm admits some mistakes or failures, this is your opportunity to find out if they learned anything from these mistakes and how they apply their lessons now. The most successful businesses and employees, including law firms and lawyers, continue to learn and grow from both success and failure.
What Potential Obstacles Do You See in My Case?
Experienced lawyers see potential conflicts, challenges, and obstacles in clients’ cases. The best law firms and lawyers anticipate these difficulties and have one or more game plans to overcome these obstacles. Asking a law firm about potential obstacles before hiring them to represent you ensures that those who are reviewing your case are really analyzing it from all angles and diligently pursuing the best outcome for your case. If a law firm or attorney cannot provide you with any strategies to overcome the challenges and difficulties in your case, you should consider retaining a different firm to handle your case.
Learn More About Hiring a Truck Accident Law Firm
Asking pointed questions to find out about the law firm you want to hire will help you make the best choice for your future. If you suspect that you aren’t getting straight answers, you can always check out law firm ratings at sites such as avvo.com and SuperLawyers.com. These are peer-review sites for law firms and attorneys, and some also offer client reviews. Regardless of how you get your information, you need to do your due diligence before hiring a truck accident law firm.
A skilled legal team knows defense tactics and anticipates strategies that truckers, trucking companies, and insurance companies may employ to avoid financial liability after a truck accident. If you suffered injuries in a trucking accident, you need an experienced firm who can and will aggressively pursue justice on your behalf. You need someone who will fight hard to get the compensation you deserve to recover losses related to your accident and injuries. We hope this blog post will help you find the experienced legal team you need in the aftermath of your accident.
Keep in mind, if you have sustained injuries as a result of a negligent truck driver or trucking company, the law is in your corner.Contacting a truck accident law firm can support you through the recovery process and help you get on the road to returning to life as normal. You don’t have to fight alone.
