Homestead, Florida, What Are the Steps of a Truck Accident Case?

Receiving medical care for the injuries should be a persons top priority after getting into a truck accident. Once a person is in good enough health, their truck accident lawyer will be able to assist them in starting up their case.

The first thing a legal representative will do is ask a person whether they have already spoken with their insurance company. If the driver has already made the mistake of calling their insurance company the lawyer will question whether any papers were signed or whether any settlement had been agreed upon. If a person did not agree on any settlement, then the attorney will be able to communicate with the insurer on their behalf and request more settlement.

However, if the papers have already been signed there is only a little a lawyer can do. If the settlement offer given was very unfair then it is possible that one’s lawyer will be able to litigate against the insurance company for acting in bad faith if they refuse to increase the settlement amount.

If a person has not contacted their insurance company yet and not agreed to receive a settlement amount one’s attorney will begin the investigation by collecting evidence. They will collect evidence from the scene of the collision, from traffic cameras, from eyewitnesses, from the police report that was filed, and from the doctors who treated the drivers injuries. Once they have gathered enough evidence, they will choose the party to attribute fault towards.

For instance, if their investigation uncovers that the truck lost control due to malfunctioning of its parts, despite the fact that the truck had been maintained recently, they will probably choose to attribute negligence to the truck manufacturer or the individual who carried out the truck maintenance.

After communicating with the guilty party, one’s lawyer will try to come to a fair settlement. if the guilty party refuses to cooperate then they can escalate matters and take them to court for the damages they caused.

What happens if I don’t hire a lawyer?

If a person chooses not to hire a legal representative, they will have to bear the burden of trying to complete all their legal paperwork and secure proper settlement while trying to recover from their injuries. A driver also must keep in mind that since there is a Statute of Limitations governing how much time they have to make a claim (up to 4 years after the accident in Florida) they will need to get on their paperwork immediately.

The longer a person waits before initiating the legal process, the greater the chances of complications arising, and unnecessary factors being brought into the case which could reduce the settlement amount. It is always wiser to choose to go through the legalities only when a legal professional is by one’s side to offer the necessary advice and support throughout the process.