The at-fault trucking company and insurers will do all they can to shift blame, limit liability, and reduce settlements. You need a truck accident lawyer to protect your rights.
Injured parties must have medical evidence of their physical injuries to ensure that they receive total and fair compensation. Documentation can include hospital records, paycheck stubs, and employer statements.
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Medical Treatment
If you are hurt in a collision with a tractor-trailer, getting medical treatment as soon as possible is essential. The emergency room can provide immediate treatment and diagnose and treat fractures, breaks, head injuries, and other serious injuries. ER doctors can bill your health insurance. They will also send you to your primary care doctor for follow-up. Make sure to keep track of all medical bills, including prescriptions, and a record of how your injuries have affected your everyday life activities.
Tractor trailers are much larger than passenger vehicles and cause catastrophic damage to cars in accidents. Injuries from tractor-trailer crashes can include crush injuries, traumatic brain injury, broken bones, severe back and neck pain, paralysis, amputations, and death.
Unlike regular car accidents, truck drivers and the owners of their cabs and trailers are often held liable for injuries caused by their negligence. In addition, a tractor trailer injury attorney must investigate all sources of liability to ensure injured victims receive fair compensation.
Pain and Suffering
Pain and suffering are non-economic damages that are not easy to quantify with a specific dollar amount. These damages can include mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and other types of negative emotional distress. To prove these damages, a claimant may need to provide documentation such as medical records and testimony from a “before-and-after” witness who can describe the physical and emotional impact of the accident on the victim’s life.
This can be difficult since these damages are subjective and not easily measured by adding medical bills or estimating future costs for lost work. For this reason, lawyers, jurors, and insurance companies often use different methods to determine the value of a person’s pain and suffering. This includes comparing the victim’s quality of life before and after the accident, such as if they can no longer participate in regular activities like golf or shopping with friends.
Lost Wages
You have been seriously injured in a tractor-trailer accident, which has prevented you from working and earning income. You already have a stack of medical bills, and the loss of income has added to your financial stress.
A personal injury lawsuit against the at-fault party can reimburse you for past and future lost wages. You will need to provide documentation of your income before the accident. Pay statements and stubs are helpful, but a doctor’s statement can strengthen your claim. The statement should indicate that you can return to work without strict restrictions.
You can also claim for missed bonuses, commissions, and other remuneration. In addition, you can get compensation for your diminished future earning capacity if you are not working long or as hard in the future. These types of damages are known as economic and non-economic damage. Other possible damage awards include property damage, pain and suffering, disfigurement, loss of companionship, mental anguish, and more.
Damages
When people are involved in accidents with large trucks, the injuries can be severe. These wounds may result in high medical costs and lost wages due to being unable to work. A reputable truck accident attorney will ensure victims receive fair compensation to cover all their damages, including past and future lost wages.
Your attorney will submit documentation such as your medical records and doctor’s treatment plans to demonstrate the extent of your injury. In addition, they will provide proof of your lost earnings by collecting pay stubs and wage statements. They will also calculate your future lost earning capacity due to permanent, serious injuries that affect your ability to work in the same job for the rest of your life.
Other damages may include emotional anguish and loss of consortium. These are less tangible losses that can be difficult to quantify but can be substantial. For example, a head injury suffered in a truck crash can cause significant mental distress.