If you have been in an accident with an 18-wheeler, the trucking company is already working to limit its liability, meaning it is doing everything possible to make sure you don’t get fairly compensated. My job as an accident attorney is to do everything possible to make sure that does not happen. You were injured, and you deserve compensation.
10 Things You Need to Know to Protect Your Legal Rights
- Do not talk to the 18-wheeler driver, trucking company or an insurance company representative for either of them. Everything you say can and will be used to limit the amount of money damages you can obtain for your injuries.
- There is a limited amount of time to file a lawsuit seeking compensation.
- Even if you were partially at fault for the accident, you may be able to seek money damages from the truck driver, trucking company and others. Generally, if you are less than 50% at fault, you can pursue a claim, so you should always get a free case review from a qualified attorney.
- The police (or state patrol) report is not the final word. I recently won over $1.5 million for a family in a case where the police report said the truck driver was not at fault. After digging into the case, attorney Fred Pritzker and I found enough evidence to prove that the truck driver was at fault.
- Evidence to prove your case needs to be gathered as soon as possible after the accident. If you wait too long, critical evidence can be lost or destroyed. It happens. Don’t let that to happen to you.
- If the truck driver or the trucking company was grossly negligent, you may have a claim for punitive damages. Punitive damages are meant to punish bad behavior.
- Your spouse may have a claim for money damages, also. In some cases, the spouse of an accident victim can get money for loss of consortium and other damages. If your accident adversely affected your spouse, he or she deserves compensation.
- There may be several choices for where to file a lawsuit, and where you file a lawsuit may greatly affect the amount of money you can recover.
- Do not put any information on the Internet about your accident. Attorneys on the other side will check Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites to see if they can find information to use against you.
- The trucking company and insurance companies have experienced lawyers working for them, and you need an experienced semi truck accident attorney on your side. Contact me for a free case review now.
I help accident victims throughout the United States, and I can help you and your family. Talking with me is free, so give me a call at 1-888-377-8900 (toll free) or submit our free consultation form.
Attorney Eric Hageman, recently named an “Attorney of the Year,” is a member of the American Association for Justice (AAJ) Interstate Trucking Litigation Group. If you hire Eric, you will not have to pay anything until we win your case. This is called a contingency fee.
Our law firm has offices are in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and we have affiliate offices in Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island.
