Did you suffer injuries in a Chicago truck accident? Even if you know that the truck driver caused the accident and that, as a result, you deserve compensation, you may find yourself struggling to figure out what to do next and where to turn. Do you need a Chicago truck accident lawyer to review your claim, or can you go directly through the truck driver’s insurance company?
If you suffered any injury in your Chicago truck accident, working with a Chicago truck accident lawyer can offer many critical advantages to your case.
Common Truck Accident Causes
Accidents with semi trucks or even large commercial vehicles, such as school buses, ambulances, fire trucks, and garbage trucks, often cause catastrophic injuries because of the size and weight of the vehicles. A fully loaded tractor-trailer truck can weigh 80,000 pounds or even more if it’s overloaded.
Common causes of truck accidents include:
- Driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, legal or illegal prescription drugs, or illicit substances.
- Driving while distracted.
- Aggressive or reckless driving.
- Tired or fatigued driving.
- Weather. Even the sun shining in a driver’s eyes could cause an accident.
- Poorly maintained roads.
- Improperly balanced loads.
- Inspection error.
- A driver in another vehicle.
- Poorly maintained truck or trailer.
- A manufacturing defect in parts used to repair the truck or trailer.
- A manufacturing defect in the truck or trailer.
What a Chicago Truck Accident Lawyer Can Do After Your Truck Accident
When you suffer injuries in a Chicago truck accident, a Chicago truck accident lawyer can offer services that may help considerably with your claim.
A Chicago truck accident lawyer can ensure you understand your right to compensation after the accident.
You may assume you will get the compensation you deserve for your injuries if you file a truck accident claim. Insurance, after all, serves to offer that essential compensation in the event of an accident.
However, insurance companies may use strategies to help limit how much they have to pay you after a truck accident. While you need to focus on your medical needs, financial losses, and future, the insurance company may focus heavily on what losses it may suffer if it pays out the full compensation you ask for as part of your truck accident claim.
As a result, the insurance company may pressure you to accept a low settlement or insist that you do not deserve the full compensation you need after your accident. For example, the insurance company might insist that you did not need the medical treatments you claimed after your accident or that your injuries were not as severe as you claim.
A truck accident lawyer can give you a better look at the full compensation you should expect based on the damages you sustained and the terms of the truck driver’s insurance policy. With that information and your attorney, you may find it easier to avoid the insurance company’s tricks and fight for the full compensation you deserve.
A Chicago truck accident lawyer can help go over all the evidence from your truck accident.
Even the average car accident may require much paperwork and evidence to collect and review.
On the other hand, a truck accident claim may mean much more extensive evidence and a much more in-depth look at the details, including:
- Any witness testimony from the accident. Talking to a witness can often offer a much more accurate view of what took place during the accident since witnesses may have less personal involvement and a better overall view of the incident. However, witness testimony may grow less accurate as time passes after the accident.
- Any video footage that exists from the accident. A lawyer can aggressively pursue copies of any footage from the accident: truck’s dash cam, local security cameras, and any traffic cameras that might sit in the area. With that evidence, you may have an easier time establishing what caused your truck accident.
- The truck driver’s logs. Often, a truck accident investigation will involve a careful look at the truck driver’s logs, which can help explain how long the truck driver has spent on the road and even many of his driving habits. For example, the logs might indicate that a truck driver chose to speed to reach their destination faster or make up lost time on the road. The logs might also show whether the driver has, at any time, exceeded the federal maximum number of hours they can spend behind the wheel at a stretch.
- The trucking company’s records, habits, and policies. Sometimes, the trucking company may share liability for the accident. Most often, the trucking company will share liability when the company’s policies increase the risk of an accident. For example, the company might have policies that push a driver to get back on the road even when ill or inebriated.
- The truck’s maintenance history. Big trucks may require substantially more maintenance than passenger vehicles to keep them moving smoothly and decrease accident potential. Federal law mandates regular maintenance on those vehicles. Failure to keep up with that maintenance could leave the trucking company liable for an accident.
- The truck’s cargo and who loaded it. Loading errors could increase the risk of jackknife or rollover accidents. In those cases, the loading company may share liability for the accident.
- The driver’s record and history. A driver with a history of causing accidents may prove more likely to cause another in the future. In addition, the trucking company may bear liability for allowing a driver to stay on the road for that company despite clear accident history.
Looking through all the evidence from the truck accident can take a great deal of time and energy. Frequently, private citizens may have a harder time accessing that information and evidence than lawyers. On the other hand, a Chicago truck accident lawyer has the experience and resources to effectively review vital evidence.
A truck accident lawyer in Chicago has the experience to put all the evidence together as part of a clear, compelling claim.
As part of your injury claim after a truck accident, you must create a clear, compelling case for why the truck driver caused your accident and what compensation you feel you deserve for your injuries. In many cases, the insurance company may not automatically offer the full compensation you deserve, especially if you have not offered clear evidence.
A clear, compelling injury claim can increase your odds of getting the compensation you deserve and present the information in court if the insurance company fails to provide a fair settlement for your accident injuries.
Your Chicago truck accident lawyer can represent you in dealings with the insurance company.
Dealing with the insurance company yourself has several potential downsides. First, you must be careful about what you say while interacting with the insurance company. The insurance agent you deal with may not take your side in those negotiations. Instead, they will take the insurance company’s side whenever their interests are contrary to yours.
As you interact with the insurance agent, you may unwittingly make verbal missteps or problems that could result in accepting liability for your Chicago truck accident. You may make statements that downplay the extent of your injuries, which could, in turn, reduce or eliminate the compensation you can recover after your accident.
Next, dealing with the insurance company on your own could mean experiencing significant pressure to accept a settlement offer that does not fit your needs. In some cases, the insurance agent may even try to convince you that you have to quickly accept a settlement offer or have that offer removed from the table. You should not feel unnecessary pressure to accept a settlement offer that does not work for you.
Finally, the insurance company may not take you seriously when attempting to handle your claim independently. Working with a lawyer increases the odds that the insurance company will pay closer attention to your claim and ultimately offer you reasonable compensation for your injuries. And if they don’t, your attorney can step up to the negotiating table to ensure you receive a fair offer.
A truck accident lawyer can help represent you if your claim has to go to court.
Insurance companies often prefer settling out of court to resolve a claim, even if you need to ask for considerable compensation based on severe injuries. Unfortunately, sometimes, truck accident claims do end up in court. Going to court can help if the insurance company refuses to acknowledge the extent of your injuries and the losses you have faced, but it can substantially increase your stress as well.
Working with a Chicago truck accident lawyer can help your court hearing go smoothly. A lawyer can help prepare you for what to expect, then represent you in court as you fight for the compensation you deserve.
our lawyer can offer a clear, compelling look at what occurred leading up to your accident, why you deserve the compensation you have claimed, and why the insurance company should, realistically, pay that full compensation. If your claim does end up in court, you need a lawyer to represent and protect you through the process.
When you work with a truck accident lawyer, you will get comprehensive advice about handling many aspects of your claim.
Protecting your right to compensation after a Chicago truck accident can involve a lot of details. You must interact carefully with the insurance company to avoid mistakes, watch what you post on social media, what activities you engage in, and even how you talk about the accident publicly.
By working with a Chicago truck accident lawyer, you can get advice that will help you protect your right to compensation as you continue to live life in the aftermath of a truck accident.
When to Call a Chicago Truck Accident Lawyer
If you suffered injuries in a Chicago truck accident, you need a Chicago truck accident lawyer to help with your claim. While you do not have to contact an attorney from the accident scene, you should get in touch with one as soon afterward as possible.
You should also watch for common challenges that signify it is time to call in a truck accident lawyer.
- The insurance company sends you a settlement offer, and you want to know how it compares to the compensation you deserve. The insurance company may try to contact you about a settlement soon after the accident before you can figure out your losses. Having a lawyer determine your claim’s value can protect you.
- You have difficulty getting the truck driver or the truck driver’s insurance company to accept liability for the accident.
- You have questions about whether the trucking company or a third party may share liability for your Chicago truck accident, as in cases with falling cargo or an inebriated or exhausted truck driver.
- The insurance company accepts liability for the accident but refuses to acknowledge the extent of your injuries or that you suffered those injuries as a direct result of the truck accident.
- The insurance company does not make it easy to get in contact or leaves you struggling to get answers any time you connect with them. The insurance company may try to stall or make it difficult for you to proceed with your claim in the hope that you will accept less compensation or give up.
Having a personal injury lawyer on your side can help cut through much of the red tape after a Chicago truck accident and increase the odds that you will recover the compensation you deserve. Contact a truck accident attorney as soon after your accident as possible to arrange a free consultation and learn how to protect your right to compensation.
Contact the Chicago Truck Accident Law Firm of Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys for Help Today
For more information, please contact the experienced Chicago truck accident lawyers at Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys today. We offer free consultations.
We proudly serve Cook County, Will County, Kendall County, and its surrounding areas:
Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys – Chicago Office
10 S La Salle St STE 1230, Chicago, IL 60603
(312) 726-1616
Zayed Law Offices Personal Injury Attorneys – Joliet Office
195 Springfield Ave, Joliet, IL 60435
(815) 726-1616
