Most personal injury cases, including those involving truck accidents, are resolved outside of court through settlement negotiations. But not all settlements are equal: while settling your truck accident claim can mean less time and money spent on litigation, you’ll want to ensure your settlement offer reflects a fair and reasonable amount of compensation for the injuries and damages you have incurred.
What Factors Go Into the Potential Amount of Your Settlement?
Many different factors can affect the potential amount of your settlement, including the following:
- The strength of your claim, as supported by the strength of your evidence
- The unique facts of your truck accident
- The state and the specific court in which you file your claim and the laws of the jurisdiction regarding liability and damages
- The full extent of your damages, including your out-of-pocket costs and other general damages
- The number of parties involved, and the ways they might share responsibility for the accident
- Whether you may have been partially at fault during the accident
- The willingness to negotiate by the other parties and their insurance companies
How Can You Maximize Your Truck Accident Settlement?
First, consult with and consider hiring a knowledgeable, experienced truck accident attorney. Many truck accident cases involve multiple parties—for example, the truck driver, the trucking company, and maybe even other entities such as a cargo loading company—along with their insurance carriers. Large insurance companies have significant resources, and their goal will be to minimize any payout to you as much as possible. By hiring an experienced lawyer, you will have someone on your side who will negotiate and communicate with the other parties and their insurers toward a fair and reasonable settlement.
Be sure to know and understand fully the facts of your case, and put together relevant evidence to support your claims. The stronger your evidence is, the stronger your case will be—you will need to prove liability by the other parties to recover compensation. Document the accident through photos, reports, and witness statements, and work with your attorney to obtain important evidence to prove your side of the story.
Ascertain the full amount of your damages. It is essential that you assess your damages accurately, including any out-of-pocket costs you have incurred, as well as any general losses that can be attributed to the decline in your quality of life after the accident. A truck accident may mean significant medical bills, hospital stays, and even nursing or home rehabilitative care.
You may also be experiencing pain and suffering, lost income, and the loss of enjoyment of various activities that you are no longer able to do as a result of your accident. You will need to prove damages — both during the trial, if need be, and during settlement negotiations — so understanding and being able to show the monetary damages you have incurred is important for obtaining compensation.
Help your attorney gather relevant evidence in your case. The stronger your evidence is, the stronger your case will be. In a truck accident case, work with your attorney to obtain witness statements and accounts of what happened at the scene, along with photos of the road, the vicinity, your injuries, and any damage to the vehicles. Any evidence that indicates and proves liability by the other parties will help make your case stronger.
It’s also important to gather important evidence to prove your damages, including any medical bills, mechanic’s bills, and proof of lost income if you cannot work as a result of your injuries. It is often helpful to keep a journal of your daily symptoms, pain and suffering levels, and notations about how the general quality of your life has changed since the accident, as this can be used to help prove the full extent of the damages you have incurred.
How Can The Francis Firm Help?
For the past 20 years, our attorneys at the Francis Firm have used our knowledge and expertise to represent the victims of trucking accidents in Southlake, Fort Worth, and throughout the State of Texas. We will negotiate with the insurance companies to help you obtain a fair and reasonable settlement offer. When you hire the Francis Firm for your truck accident claim, you won't pay us any legal fees or costs until we recover money for you.
If you or someone you love has been injured or killed in a truck accident in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, do not risk attempting to handle the claim on your own. Let the experienced personal injury attorneys at the Francis Firm help you understand your rights, get the medical care you need, and help you secure the compensation you deserve. We will provide the legal expertise and financial resources necessary to fight the trucking companies and pursue justice for you. Let us help you understand your rights, get the medical care you need and fight for the compensation you deserve. Contact us online or call us at 817-617-8639 or 1-844-698-9529.