If you are involved in a truck accident, the first item on your to-do list is to check on the health of everyone involved in the collision. If you sustained one or more injuries as the result of a truck accident, you should seek immediate medical care. If you do not act with a sense of urgency to receive medical care, you might have a difficult time getting an insurance claim approved, as well as winning a legal judgment that awards you compensation. Truck accidents typically require the presence of law enforcement personnel to conduct an investigation that leads to the submission of the official accident report.
Although the cost of medical bills can put you in a deep financial hole, the repairs to your rig can cost as much, if not more than medical expenses such as diagnostic tests, treatment programs, and physical therapy sessions. The Technology and Maintenance Council of the American Trucking Association reported that in the last quarter of 2021, the average cost of labor and parts for truck repairs climbed more than four percent. This means big rig repair is costly unless you have a good truck accident attorney on your side of a legal dispute.
Filing an Insurance Claim
You have two possible sources of compensation after a truck accident: Filing an insurance claim and a civil lawsuit that seeks monetary damages. Filing an insurance claim requires the legal support of a personal injury lawyer who specializes in handling truck accident cases. An attorney calculates a fair value for compensation, as well as acts as an intermediary between you and the insurance adjuster. Without the legal support of an experienced lawyer, the insurance adjuster might deny a valid claim or approve a claim for much less than what you deserve in compensation.
A truck accident attorney also closely monitors the progress of your claim to ensure the insurance adjuster processes it in a timely manner.
Types of Compensation for a Civil Lawsuit
Paying for the substantial costs associated with rig repair also can come from the monetary damages awarded by a judge hearing a personal injury lawsuit. Judges award economic damages to help plaintiffs pay for the costs associated with medical and truck repair bills. To receive compensation for rig repair, you must submit copies of repair bills for the judge to review.
You also might qualify for non-economic damages and punitive damages. Non-economic damages pay for the costs associated with pain and suffering, while punitive damages punish the defendant for committing one or more acts of negligence.
File a Personal Injury Lawsuit
Rig repair is costly if you do not file a civil lawsuit before the expiration of the statute of limitations. Each state has established a deadline for taking legal action, with most states setting the deadline between two and four years. Although you have plenty of time to take legal action, you should act with a sense of urgency for two important reasons. First, you must pay rig repair bills as they come due. Without receiving compensation from a favorable legal judgment, you can quickly fall into debt. Second, your truck accident attorney needs to interview witnesses as soon as possible after the collision. Witness accounts tend to lose credibility the longer they are given after a personal injury incident..
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