Worcester Truck Accident Lawyer
Being hurt in a truck accident could change your life in an instant, requiring you to seek compensation for your many hospital expenses, lost wages, and other damages.
The first step in your case will be determining who is liable for the truck accident and your injuries. Truckers and their employers often share liability, which our lawyers may prove after identifying and preserving relevant evidence, like photos and eyewitness statements. We can also handle writing and filing your complaint so the court accepts your case and allows it to commence. Plaintiffs could settle for less than they deserve without knowing their claim’s true value, so our attorneys will track and calculate victims’ damages on their behalves.
Get a free case analysis from our truck accident lawyers when you call the Law Office of John J. Sheehan at (617) 925-6407.
Aspects of Truck Accident Claims Our Lawyers Handle in Worcester
When handling your case, our lawyers will tackle all aspects to ensure a fair recovery on your behalf, starting with determining liability for your injuries. We can promptly preserve evidence relevant to your case and file a timely and thorough complaint with the court. Throughout your case, we will monitor all losses from your recent truck accident so that you know what you stand to recover from your lawsuit.
Liability Determination
Several parties could share liability for truck accidents, or fault may be unclear, and we can help victims ascertain who is financially responsible for their injuries. Often, commercial trucks are operated by employees, making trucking companies also liable for accidents due to driver error. We can confirm if the trucking company is vicariously liable for the incident or directly responsible because vehicle failure caused the crash. For example, if the company’s failure to get the vehicle inspected caused your accident, it may be the sole defendant in your claim. Involving vehicular experts in these lawsuits is often important. If a vehicle malfunction happened because of a defective part rather than improper maintenance, the part manufacturer could be liable.
There are many potential causes of truck accidents, ranging from driver error to improper cargo loading. After speaking with you, interviewing eyewitnesses, and reviewing the police report for the crash, we can determine the accident’s sequence of events.
Evidence Preservation
Evidence, particularly physical evidence, is not permanently accessible after collisions. In light of this, victims should photograph crash sites to the best of their abilities to preserve them. Commercial trucks might total passenger cars and seriously injure victims, making it harder for them to preserve the area with photos. Victims can ask police officers, eyewitnesses, and other first responders for help taking photos of property damage, debris on the road, and even victims’ immediate physical injuries. We can pool all photos taken at the scene and provide them to an accident reconstruction expert, who may testify to the collision’s cause at trial if your case goes to court.
Recording eyewitnesses’ statements immediately after accidents is vital. Using the police report or information victims collected at the scene, our attorneys can contact eyewitnesses right away to schedule interviews so we can preserve their recollections.
Complaint Preparation and Filing
Our next step will be to write and file your complaint. This must be done within three years of the accident, according to Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 260, § 2A. For the court to accept your complaint, it must contain specific information. For example, the complaint must summarize the accident, name the defendant, explain how they were negligent, and cite your damages. Incomplete complaints might be dismissed, forcing plaintiffs to refile and delaying their access to compensation, which we can help avoid. Complaints not filed within three years may also be dismissed. This would leave plaintiffs unable to seek compensation because they have missed the statute of limitations, which we will seek to prevent by prioritizing victims’ claims in Worcester.
Damages Calculation
Understanding victims’ losses is one of the most important aspects of preparing and litigating truck accident lawsuits. The purpose of the claim is to make the victim whole again, so our lawyers must know their exact damages. Otherwise, accepted settlements might fail to properly compensate victims, forcing them to cover some expenses related to the accident themselves.
When calculating damages, our truck accident lawyers typically begin with the most consequential expenses for victims: medical costs. One emergency room visit alone could cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. Even relatively minor injuries, such as soft tissue injuries or sprains, might require follow-up care, which victims should not have to pay for themselves. Despite Massachusetts having a serious injury threshold that truck accident victims must meet to recover non-economic damages, they can qualify to sue after incurring just $2,000 in medical expenses. Most victims’ hospital treatment is far more expensive, and our lawyers can begin monitoring these costs immediately.
If you suffer injuries that keep you in the hospital for days or limit you physically for some time after an accident, you could incur lost wages. We can calculate these losses based on your past income statements and prove you cannot work using your hospital records and testimony from medical experts.
Serious collisions are traumatic for victims. The injuries they suffer may be extreme, altering their quality of life for the foreseeable future. When assessing your non-economic damages from an accident, our lawyers may consider various factors, including your age at the time of injury and if your injury is permanent. Victims who give personal statements detailing their pain and suffering due to a truck driver’s negligence may convince juries to give larger awards at trial. We will make sure you have a good understanding of your claim’s value before filing or accepting any settlements.
Call Our Worcester Truck Accident and Injury Lawyers for Help Today
Discuss your case for free with our truck accident lawyers by calling the Law Office of John J. Sheehan at (617) 925-6407.
