Motor vehicle accidents are often extremely scary moments for drivers. Unfortunately, truck accidents or those involving big rigs create an even more terrifying scene. Statistics gathered from 2015 found that 32,166 fatal motor vehicle accidents took place in the United States during that year. If you’ve survived a trucking accident, consider yourself extremely lucky. That being said, it makes sense wanting to avoid dealing with a lengthy case after this type of accident occurs. After all, you don’t want to spend years of your life in and out of courtrooms. In this post, you’ll learn three factors affecting the length of your truck accident case.
- Be Prepared for a Liability Investigation
Being involved in truck accidents typically involves the big rig driver’s employer. Therefore, this company will likely want to begin a liability investigation. Insurance companies working on behalf of a company will work to remove liability away from the truck driver. This is why you’ll need to have a personal injury lawyer on your side. A study from 2015 found that nearly 1.1 million drivers were placed under arrest for driving under the influence of either alcohol or narcotics. Therefore, it’s important that insurance companies and personal injury law firms thoroughly conduct these investigations. If a truck operator was driving drunk, it’s important that this information comes to light. - Investigating Multiple Insurance Policies
Big rigs are often valuable pieces of equipment for a company. In addition, these trucks often transport valuable cargo to locations across the country. Considering that, it’s common for multiple parts of a big rig to be insured. For instance, the truck itself could have an insurance policy worth $750,000. In addition, the actual trailer portion of a big rig might be insured for an addition $1 million. While it takes longer to investigate multiple insurance policies, this could be beneficial in regards to obtaining a potentially larger settlement. - Time You Will Need for Medical Treatment
Another important factor determining the length of your case includes receiving medical treatment. Considering the damage truck accidents cause, you might be receiving treatment for quite a while. It’s extremely important to note that you should never rush this process. While you might want to move your case forward in lieu of receiving treatment, this decision can hurt your claim. Your law firm will want you to receive full medical treatment. In turn, this allows your lawyer to have a crystal clear pictures of your injuries. This can also increase the worth of your potential personal injury claim.
In conclusion, there are factors that will extend the length of your truck accident claim. While 95-96% of personal injury cases are settled before going to court, it’s important to not rush these processes. Truck accidents often cause large amounts of damage. Therefore, it can take longer to investigate these accidents instead of those involving two smaller vehicles. That being said, longer investigation times typically benefit accident victims. If you’re ready to have your trucking accident claim evaluated, contact a personal injury lawyer.