After a truck accident, your first priority needs to be getting medical care and focusing on your recovery, but the worries of paying those bills may linger. There is no legal requirement to obtain a lawyer to file a truck accident claim. However, as the team at H&P Law can tell you, there is a big difference between hiring a Las Vegas truck accident lawyer and filing a claim on your own.
Why Hiring a Truck Accident Attorney Is Critical
When it comes to truck accidents, the odds are stacked against you as the victim. It is up to you to know how much your losses are (which typically go well beyond the actual medical bills you have) as well as to know who is responsible for your losses. Every truck accident case is complicated for a number of reasons:
- The truck driver may not be the only one responsible. In many situations, truck drivers hold partial responsibility, but the trucking company and even the company that loaded the truck could also be responsible.
- Trucking companies have highly skilled insurance adjusters working for them. There are so many risks in trucking that every dollar saved is valuable. Unfortunately, truck insurance adjusters will aggressively work to reduce the compensation paid to you.
- Insurance companies could draw this out. If you do not have an attorney working aggressively to support you through this process, chances are very good that the insurance company will take all the time they can to try to pressure you into settling for less.
While you do not need a lawyer to file a truck accident claim in terms of the legal requirements to do so, not doing so nearly always results in leaving money on the table. That is money you need to recover and pay off the losses you have. Most importantly, a truck accident attorney ensures you can continue to focus on your recovery instead of just focusing on financial loss.
Your Truck Accident Losses Are Significant
One of the primary reasons it is risky to not have an attorney when filing a truck accident claim is that most truck accidents involve significant losses. If you were hit by an 18-wheeler, tractor-trailer, semi-truck, or another type of large vehicle, your injuries are likely significant. Consider some of the losses and injuries our clients have had as a result of these accidents:
- Catastrophic injury: These are injuries that do not improve and leave a lingering level of loss. That could include paralysis, nerve damage, chronic pain, and loss of quality of life. You may not be able to work. Talk to a Las Vegas catastrophic injury lawyer today.
- Long-term rehabilitation: Many victims of truck accidents suffer long-term recoveries, meaning they need to spend time in treatment centers, working through rehabilitation and physical therapy for months, and may struggle with pain throughout that process.
- Emotional trauma: Truck accidents cause significant emotional trauma like post-traumatic stress disorder. This may include lasting complications to the overall quality of life.
Consider that many people who suffer truck accidents will need surgical procedures, long-term rehabilitation, treatment for burns, and complicated therapy. All of this becomes very expensive when you consider your future. The risk of not getting the financial help you need to cover the bills – of an accident you did not cause – is incredible.
What a Truck Accident Attorney Does Differently
The process of filing a truck accident claim does not seem complex, but there are numerous steps and requirements that must be met throughout this process. Your truck accident attorney at H&P Law will work aggressively to ensure all of your needs are met. Some of the tasks that we can help you with in these cases include the following:
- Gathering evidence of the driver’s mistakes: This could include commercial truck logs that show what the driver was doing. It may include medical records from others involved, perhaps to show intoxication.
- We know how to minimize insurance risk: Insurance companies have numerous steps they can take to reduce how much they pay you. That includes shifting the blame of an accident to you or pressuring you into settling for less than you are owed. Your attorney deals with the insurance company instead.
- Get expert support on determining your losses: Your truck accident attorney also works very closely with you to understand all of your losses, including economic and noneconomic losses. This includes putting a number of losses such as emotional trauma, pain and suffering, and loss of quality of life.
- Pursue full negotiations: Your attorney handles the negotiation of the highest claim possible for you. With skilled and experienced negotiators who are aggressively working to protect your rights, you benefit from having an attorney.
- Going to trial is messy: While most of the cases will end up settling, if you have to go to trial to get the money you are owed, you want an experienced trial attorney by your side. No one else will be able to convince the court of what you are owed.
Truck accidents are complex because there is a lot of money on the line for you and for the trucking company and their insurance company. With stakes this high, you need to be sure you have an attorney by your side who will fight hard to recover the losses you have. At H&P Law, you can expect us to provide you with exceptional support.
You May Be Owed Punitive Damages as Well
Your truck accident lawyer will help you determine if your case may qualify for punitive damages. In cases of reckless behavior, that may mean you are owed even more compensation. Let us help you get more insight into these potential damages by reading Personal Injury 101: punitive damages.
Schedule a Free Consultation with Our Truck Accident Attorney Today
At H&P Law, you can depend on our team to be there to support you every step of the way. Let us help you to create a positive outcome by providing you with our experience, dedication, and aggressive protection of your rights. Call our truck accident attorney now for a free consultation.
