You know that commercial trucks are large and heavy. But, have you ever thought about how much damage they can do if involved in an accident? When a semi-truck is driving down the road, its blind spots extend as far as several dozen feet from the back of the cab to the sides. In addition, these vehicles often weigh around 80,000 pounds or more – meaning there’s plenty of force behind them.
Commercial trucks are not only large and heavy, but they also come with several blind spots. Because of this, it is essential for commercial drivers to take proper precautions on the road. If you find yourself injured in an accident involving a commercial truck, there are several reasons why you should contact a personal injury lawyer. Here are some of the biggest reasons why you need an experienced lawyer by your side.
They Will Help You Get the Compensation You Deserve
When you are injured in a car accident, insurance companies will likely offer you money to help cover your expenses. If this happens because of a trucking company’s negligence, insurance companies may offer more than what is required by law – but that doesn’t mean they are offering everything you deserve. While insurance premiums are deductible from any potential settlement amount, insurance companies pay only so much for each client regardless of their actual expenses.
Since trucking companies in South Carolina have several insurance carriers, insurance representatives know how to work with each other to reduce the final settlement amounts as much as possible. An experienced South Carolina tractor trailer accident lawyer knows how insurance payments work and has the resources necessary to back every dollar that you deserve for your suffering and expenses. Therefore, a truck accident lawyer is the best person to help you obtain maximum compensation for your injuries.
Vehicle and Equipment Failure
If you were injured in a truck accident, it may have been due to faulty equipment or poor maintenance on the part of the trucking company. For instance, if the brake lines on the back of a semi-truck were cut, there’s a chance that they weren’t repaired properly – which could result in your injury as another vehicle slammed into the back of this unsafe truck. That’s why it is important to hire an attorney who knows how to find evidence of negligence even when nobody admits fault.
Legal Help With Documentation & Timelines
Any reputable lawyer will help you with all aspects of personal injury law that pertain to your situation. If you were hurt in a truck accident due to somebody else’s negligence, your lawyer will likely help you gather all of the necessary documents and information. He or she knows what needs to be done and how long it should take. It is highly improbable that you could visit many different doctors and pull together this amount of documentation by yourself in such a short time frame. Because of this, hiring an attorney can save you from unnecessary stress and give you peace of mind while medical professionals are trying to help you heal.
They Can Negotiate on Your Behalf
Many innocent individuals injured in accidents involving commercial trucks feel as if they have no way out – but nothing could be further from the truth. Trucking companies will typically offer you a settlement to keep things quiet and avoid bad press. However, these companies also realize that you deserve the compensation you need for your struggles – so it is in their best interest to pay as much as they can afford. Because of this, lawyers who specialize in personal injury cases will negotiate with trucking companies and insurance representatives on your behalf.
They Can Handle Expedited Proceedings
When one vehicle causes another to wreck, there may be an argument about what exactly happened. For example, maybe you were cut off by somebody driving too closely behind you – which forced you into the lane where the truck was driving. Insurance companies often want to conceal evidence or move up timelines quickly when they see that an individual has hired legal representation. This is why it is so important to hire an attorney who knows how to handle cases with a sense of urgency and can keep things on track in terms of any timeline demands.
The Insurance Company Will Be Watching
When you’re dealing with insurance companies, it is very possible that they will attempt to contact you without your lawyer present. The goal of the insurance offer may be to try and get you to accept less than what you need for all of your medical expenses – including future costs. Because of this, having somebody by your side who is not afraid to ask difficult questions can save you from making uninformed decisions about accepting settlements too early or at inappropriate amounts. It’s also good practice to find out if anybody said anything against you during negotiations.
As you can see, if you have been hurt in a truck accident, it is essential that you find an attorney who specializes in personal injury cases to protect your legal rights. With the help of a lawyer, you can take control of your destiny and get the compensation you deserve for all of your damages without the headache.