If you have been in a car wreck with a trucker, then you should know that you don’t have an ordinary car accident case. Why, you might ask? The reason is that truck accident cases are very different from car accident cases. We are talking about commercial truck accidents specifically here.
Read on to learn more.
Understanding the Seriousness of Truck Accidents
The differences between commercial truck accidents and regular accidents can be very important. If there is a crash between a passenger car and an eighteen-wheeler, it would be a miracle if the car driver leaves the car scene without serious or life-changing injuries. Now, you might have already understood that a crash between a car and a large truck isn’t like any other car crash.
Truck vs. Car Accidents – The Difference
The thing about the truck is that it will weigh more than twenty times what a regular car weighs. Now, when the truck collides with a car in an accident, then all that extra weight transforms into extra force. This aspect perfectly illustrates why a truck can render far more damage to a car than any other car could.
The bottom line is that in an accident between a car and a truck, the car is prone to sustain far more damage, and the people inside the car can be very seriously injured. Subsequently, death and catastrophic injuries are more common in crashes that involve normal passenger cars and commercial trucks.
Truck Accidents Cause Life-Altering Changes
Due to the gigantic weight of a commercial truck, the victims of truck accidents frequently end up with traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and other serious injuries, including burns and amputations. If you look at it, you see that, for the most part, these injuries are essentially life-altering injuries that can eventually lead to permanent disability, such as paralysis, brain damage, and more.
Apart from the life-altering injuries, these injuries are also incredibly expensive to treat. This aspect further illustrates why truck accidents are different from car accidents and why truck accidents have so much more settlement value.
Catastrophic Injuries Cause Lifetime Treatment
Understandably, catastrophic injuries require intensive medical treatment. Often, the victims of truck accidents have to deal with follow-up care for an undefined period. In the case of any permanent disability, the victim is likely to require help with adapting to the disability to the point of even requiring lifelong care. Pain and suffering also go hand-in-hand when it comes to dealing with life-changing injuries, as one might no longer enjoy the things they love to do, such as swimming, playing with their kids, and enjoying quality life altogether.
Depending on the extent of one’s injuries, the medical costs can rise high very quickly, too.
Commercial Trucks Are Owned by Businesses
It is important to mention here that another difference between an accident involving a truck and a car is that trucks are driven commercially, which means that they are owned by businesses. In case of a truck accident, you should know that there is a trucking company involved, and that company will be responsible for the crash.
On that note, you should know that crashes are part of doing business for trucking companies, which means companies are likely to carry enough insurance to even cover treatment for a catastrophic injury.
On that note, if you are a victim of a truck accident, then with the help of your lawyer, you should be able to recover the compensation you need. So, if you reside in Denver, you might want to get in touch with the Denver Truck Accident Lawyers, who can then help you and negotiate with the truck’s insurance company on your behalf to make sure that you receive compensation for your medical bills, treatments, lost wages, and your pain and suffering.
Beware the Tricks of Insurance Companies
It is important to mention here that as crashes are a part of the trucking business or any other business that the trucker is working for, you might find that the insurance company of that respective business is willing to play dirty tricks to get out of paying what they owe to you. In this case, you shouldn’t delay the matter but contact a lawyer right away. This way, you will be taking an active step towards safeguarding your rights and ensuring that you don’t become a victim of the dirty tricks of the insurance company.
How Can the Truck Accident Lawyer Help?
It doesn’t matter how evident the case is regarding who is at fault for the accident; you still need a truck accident lawyer to take up the case and represent you in court. The truck accident lawyer will not only negotiate with the insurance companies for you but also ensure that you receive a fair settlement. The lawyer will gather supporting evidence and file legal complaints against the trucking business and the professional truck driver.
Also, having a lawyer by your side is incredibly important for initiating discovery. The lawyer will be able to access the black box of the truck, from which they can extract evidence for the driver’s fault and present the facts later in court.
If you are in a truck accident, it means that you have sustained serious injuries as well as property damage, as your car might be completely wrecked. The truck accident lawyer will protect your rights and help you recover fair compensation for all of the damages, including lost wages and medical bills.
Final Thoughts
If you or your loved one suffered a serious crash with a large truck, call an attorney right away. If you are too injured to do the needful, then ask someone you trust to do the needful for you. Also, prioritize seeking medical help and fully recovering from your injuries. Keep a journal and take notes of how the injuries are affecting you because your lawyer will refer to your pain and suffering in court later to ensure that you are also compensated for the emotional and mental trauma that you went through because of the trucking accident.