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Truck Accidents

Negotiating a Semi-Truck Accident Claim: Why You Absolutely Need an Attorney

Posted Sep 16, 2021 by Matt Boulton

While car accidents can certainly leave people with devastating injuries, the stakes in a semi-truck accident are infinitely higher. These massive and often fast-moving vehicles can do tremendous damage. From spinal injuries and traumatic brain injury (TBI) to lasting psychological distress, these accidents have the potential to render people unable to continue in their careers and make it more difficult to care for themselves. If you or someone you love has recently been in a semi-truck accident, you should consider the services of an attorney. When it comes to negotiating and settling these claims, having knowledgeable legal representation can make all the difference. Read on to find out why.

Insurance Companies Are Far More Responsive When Seasoned Attorneys Are at the Helm 

Simply having an attorney to represent you in your claim will push the insurance company of the truck driver or other liable party to offer you a far larger amount of compensation than if you were working alone. When victims represent themselves, insurers start negotiations with the lowest offers they can reasonably make. Hiring an attorney shows that you’re serious about your case, and it also shows that your attorney intends to take a serious approach to get you the level of compensation you actually deserve.

Attorneys Have a Better Understanding of the Costs to Come

This is likely your very first semi-truck accident. As such, you have no way of knowing the ongoing costs of your care throughout the years. Every person’s recovery will be tailored to the type of injuries they have sustained. With this in mind, insurance adjusters are often eager to negotiate and settle these cases as quickly as possible, and for the least possible amount of cash. During the formative stages of the recovery process, you won’t have an accurate way to calculate the:

  • Ongoing costs of physical therapy
  • Psychological toll that your accident has taken
  • Long-term impact of your accident on your career
  • Total amount of medical support you’ll need
  • Need for durable medical equipment
  • Need to make home modifications to accommodate your injuries

From wheelchair ramps and lift systems, to wider doorways and modified showering and toileting facilities, there are countless changes that your new lifestyle may require, and each of these is guaranteed to come at a cost. Offers that seem great at the outset often represent sums that will only cover a mere fraction of a semi-truck accident victim’s total spending. 

Settling too soon can leave you with insufficient cash for covering your damages, and far too little compensation for your total pain and suffering. Conversely, seasoned truck accident lawyers have historical cases that they can draw upon. They know all too well the long-term costs of recuperating from these events. An initial offer that might seem ideal to you right now could be way less than your accident is actually worth as your ongoing expenses mount. An attorney will account for all losses and damages that you’ve sustained, and all forms of pain and suffering. More importantly, your attorney can direct the timing of negotiations so that potentially latent problems are also accounted for.

Assessing the Value of Losses in Life-Quality

Certain damages and losses sustained in semi-truck accidents have a clear monetary value, whereas lost personal and professional opportunities, property loss, etc., can be much harder to evaluate. Much like your physical injuries, these are losses that you deserve to be compensated for. Given Matt’s experience in handling these cases, he is able to assign fair monetary values to his clients pain and suffering and is able to successfully acquire compensation for his clients as well.

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Essential Services Are Often More Accessible for Accident Victims With Attorneys

Fighting cases like these often takes time. Insurance companies are hardly eager to part with the significant sums that these claims are worth. While you’re waiting for a reasonable settlement offer or your day in court, you may need reliable access to physical therapy, chiropractic services, and other traditional and non-traditional forms of medical support. Our firm takes accident victims on as clients on a contingency basis. This means that we defer the collection of payment for services rendered until injury claims are settled and paid out.

Accountability Is Always Key In These Cases

Holding truck drivers and commercial trucking companies fully responsible for their negligence are important for a vast range of reasons. Not only do semi-truck injury settlements provide victims with the money they need for recovering from these events, but they also encourage all parties throughout the trucking industry to establish and maintain safer driving and fleet management practices. Many long-haul truck drivers are overworked, and many commercial trucks are poorly maintained. Factors like these can be downright life-changing for other motorists and pedestrians. Having an attorney on your team will encourage accountability by increasing the consequences of negligence for truckers and commercial trucking companies alike. By filing a claim and pursuing a fair settlement with the help of a reputable lawyer, you can do your part to make the roadways a bit safer.

No matter what your goals are for your personal injury claim, you have a far higher likelihood of achieving them when you have an attorney. Not only can your attorney draw upon historical case information to arrive at a reasonable settlement amount, but this professional will go to bat for you. You won’t have to deal with the often underhanded negotiation tactics of experienced insurance adjusters, and you won’t have to face the attorneys of the opposing party on your own. If you or someone you love has recently been involved in a semi-truck accident, get in touch with the Boulton Law Group today to find out more about how we can help you get fair compensation for your pain, suffering, and losses.

Matt Boulton

Author Matt Boulton

Attorney Matt Boulton is an award-winning personal injury attorney with more than 25 years of experience helping seriously injured people throughout Indiana. He designed his firm for the client who expects exceptional service and passionate, successful legal representation.

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