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After an accident with a commercial truck, you may wonder how much your case is worth and how fast you can recover compensation for your losses. The truck accident insurance settlement process can be complex and requires legal knowledge when dealing with insurance companies.

Let The Law Giant, Personal Injury & Accident Lawyers help you navigate this process. Call us today for a free consultation: 866-523-4167. You can also reach us via our online contact form. The Law Giant is here for you.

How Long Does a Semi-Truck Accident Case Take?

Sometimes it can take longer to settle a semi-truck accident case than other typical motor vehicle accident cases. The discovery process can take longer than expected because you are dealing with sophisticated machines, an employment situation, and other complex issues.

You may also have to hire expert witnesses, which can take time and resources to coordinate.

Ways to Accelerate Semi-Truck Accident Settlements

You can minimize the amount of time your truck accident settlement takes to obtain by giving all the information you have to your attorney as quickly as possible. Be cooperative and responsive to their requests.

If you need to appear for a deposition or video conference, make sure you’re ready to avoid delay. Your truck accident attorney will let you know precisely what they need from you throughout the process.

Calculating the Max Value of a Truck Crash

Compensation for each truck accident case is determined by unique qualities and must be examined thoroughly. For this reason, we don’t promise specific outcomes based on previous cases.

However, during your free consultation, we will look at your medical bills, lost wages, and other damages to determine the estimated value of your case.

The Severity of the Accident & Injuries

The amount you can ultimately collect from your settlement largely depends on the severity of the accident and the extent of your injuries. If you require ongoing medical care for the rest of your life, you will be compensated more than if you had mild whiplash that resolved after a week.

Damages Available Through Settlement Negotiations

The Law Giant can help you get compensation for economic and non-economic damages after a truck accident. Although settlements don’t typically allocate money for specific damages, we can total what you have lost in the following categories to determine the value of your case:

Pain and Suffering Damages After a Semi-Truck Accident

You can also get compensation for pain and suffering. That includes physical pain from the truck accident injuries you sustained. It also consists of any mental anguish or emotional pain you have endured. For example, you may have PTSD while driving now due to having a crash with a big rig.

These losses can be incorporated into our demand.

What’s a Realistic Settlement Demand

Our initial step is to send a settlement demand letter to explain your damages and make a monetary demand. These damages will include all past and future expenses and any recurring medical treatment you will need. Realistically, your initial settlement demand will be higher than your damages.

The insurance company will then make a low counteroffer. After we go back and forth negotiating further, we will accept a fair number for you to get your life back to what it was before the accident.

Assessing the Take-Home Value of a Truck Accident Settlement

Your take-home amount of your settlement will be the amount that the insurance company offers minus attorney’s fees and expenses. Most personal injury attorneys charge between 30% to 40% of your total settlement as their fee.

Expenses will include things like costs for requesting medical records and expert witness fees. They are typically thousands of dollars. You can ask your attorney to let you know how much expenses are periodically so you have a good idea of how much will be withheld from your settlement once it is received.

Some of our recent results...

$8.5
Million
Commercial Vehicle Crash
$7.0
Million
18-Wheeler Crash
$7.5
Million
18-Wheeler Crash

*The outcome of any individual case depends on factors unique to that case. Past case results listed on this website do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any similar or future case.

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Financial Stress During Settlement Negotiations

Settlement negotiations can take years. Understandably, you might be under extreme financial stress during settlement negotiations. If you cannot pay your medical bills or other expenses, your attorney may have some resources for you. You can also reach out to nonprofit organizations in your community, such as the Salvation Army, for help.

Top Factors Affecting Semi-Truck Settlements

Many factors are at play in semi-truck settlements, which can ultimately impact your compensation. Factors like who’s liable and the type of insurance coverage the responsible party has all matter. The liable party may have even violated federal trucking regulations that caused the accident.

Liability Investigation

It’s important to find out who is responsible for your truck accident. This will help you determine who is financially liable and which insurance companies to file a claim with.

In many cases, the trucker’s employer who was negligent and caused your accident will be just as responsible as they are. In the end, it is often easier to recover compensation from the employer than from the driver.

Who’s Liable for a Truck Accident Settlement

The insurance companies involved are financially liable for a truck accident settlement. If you have damages above and beyond the policy limits, you may also reach a settlement agreement with the parties individually.

Identifying Potential Liability for FMCSA Violations

If Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration violations caused the accident, then the liability will likely be on the driver and their employer. If we can prove they intentionally violated federal trucking regulations, then you may even be able to get additional compensation for punitive damages – or those meant to punish bad behavior.

Insurance Coverage

After you’ve been in a crash with a tractor-trailer, you might wonder what happens next – So You’ve Had an Accident, What’s Next? After getting medical treatment and repairing your car, you will need to determine how much insurance coverage was available and who will be financially liable for your crash.

Available Insurance – What Are the Policy Limits?

Big trucks typically have higher insurance policy limits than standard passenger vehicles. This is good. It means you have a better chance of getting all your losses covered. Many trucks must have a minimum insurance policy liability limit of $1 million, and many have more than that.

If your personal injury damages exceed coverage limits, you may have to file a lawsuit against the driver, their employer, or the owner of the truck.

What our clients have to say...

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The Benefits of a Lawyer After a Truck Crash

When you work with a lawyer after a truck accident, you benefit from a knowledgeable negotiator on your side. Lawyers have experience communicating with insurance companies and won’t let them take advantage of you.

The best tip we can give you when dealing with insurance companies is that you should never speak with the insurance companies on your own. They may approach you fast after a crash and make you a lowball settlement offer. The first settlement offer is always too low. Tell them to talk to your truck accident lawyer.

What are the Odds of Going to Court

Very few truck accident cases go to court. However, you will likely have to file a trucking accident lawsuit. This lets the insurance company know you mean business and will often get you a better truck accident settlement offer.