When to Consult an Atlanta Lawyer for a Truck Accident?
Truck accidents are near everyday occurrences, which leaves many wondering if or when they need to hire an Atlanta truck accident attorney. What if your injuries weren’t serious? What if the insurance company is sympathetic and says they will handle everything for you? What if the at-fault party accepts responsibility? The fact of the matter is that it’s always in your best interest to contact an experienced truck accident attorney if you’ve been in any type of motor vehicle crash.
No matter how minor it might seem or if you believe the insurance company has it under control, it’s better to find out directly from an attorney if you need legal representation than to assume that you don’t. If you fail to contact an attorney, your rights could be taken away without you even knowing it. After suffering injuries or damages in a truck accident, insurance companies and other parties might try to take advantage of you, and you may not receive the financial compensation you deserve. Read on to find out when to consult an Atlanta Lawyer for a truck accident.
When Should You Contact an Atlanta Truck Accident Attorney?
As soon as possible after being involved in a motor vehicle accident, you should reach out to a seasoned truck accident attorney. However, your priority should always be your health and well-being, so make sure you see a doctor first. Once you are medically stable, your next job is to meet with a lawyer.
The lawyer can review the specific facts of your accident to determine if you have a legal claim and what your next steps should be. Most attorneys offer free initial consultations, so you have nothing to lose. If the attorney doesn’t think you have a valid case or doesn’t think they can help you, they will let you know, and typically, you will owe them nothing for their time and advice.
Contacting an Atlanta attorney sooner rather than later is beneficial for many reasons, including the following:
The Statute of Limitations
All states have a deadline, known as the statute of limitations, for filing personal injury cases. In Georgia, this deadline is two years, beginning on the day of the accident or when the injuries were discovered. Suppose you don’t file your legal case within the deadline. In that case, you forfeit your right to use the civil legal system to pursue compensation for your injuries and damages.
Sometimes, the deadline can vary— for example, if a minor child is injured or the at-fault party leaves the state. An experienced truck accident attorney will know what statute of limitations applies to your case and can work to ensure that it is filed with the appropriate court within the statute of limitations.
Know the Value of Your Case
By contacting an attorney as soon as possible, you can get a pretty good idea of your claim’s value right away. Why does this matter? Because some insurance adjusters like to call claimants right away to get them to accept a settlement. This might sound like a nice gesture, and like it would be a relief to get a settlement right away. However, chances are high that the settlement they offer is much lower than the claim’s actual value. You should never accept a settlement offer without first speaking to an attorney who can tell you what your case is likely worth. It is usually worth it to wait a few or several months to receive compensation that better matches your damages. If you are having difficulty paying your medical bills during that time, speak to your attorney. They may be able to arrange a medical lien. With such a lien, your medical providers agree to wait for payment until you receive a settlement check or a court award.
Protecting Your Case
Unfortunately, what you don’t know can hurt you when it comes to truck accident cases. If you speak with the insurance company without first meeting with an attorney or having your attorney present, it’s entirely possible that you will do or say something detrimental to your case without even knowing it. For example:
- If the insurance adjuster calls you and asks how you are, replying with “fine” or “good” can imply that your injuries aren’t bothering you and that you are fully healed.
- The insurance adjuster may ask you leading questions, such as, “You didn’t see the other truck coming, did you?”
- The insurance adjuster might try to twist something that you say
No matter how innocent your response, what you say can potentially have a negative impact on your claim. When you hire an Atlanta truck accident attorney, they can take over communications with the insurance company. If the insurance company must speak with you, your attorney will be there to protect your rights.
For all of these reasons and many more, it’s in your best interest to contact a seasoned truck accident attorney as soon as possible after your involvement in a crash.
Contingency Fees
Some accident victims don’t call an attorney because they believe they can’t afford one. However, most personal injury attorneys provide free, no-obligation initial consultations and work on contingency fees alone. With a contingency fee arrangement, the injured individual pays nothing upfront. If and when their attorney settles their case or they receive a court award, the attorney is paid a predetermined percentage of the funds. You owe nothing upfront and nothing out of pocket.
In fact, even with paying for an attorney, most accident victims who have legal representation end up pocketing a higher settlement or court award than they would have if they represented themselves. Hiring an attorney is an excellent way to ensure that you maximize your claim and an investment into your claim that costs you nothing upfront.
What if Your Truck Accident Was Minor?
Even if your truck accident and injuries were minor, it’s still a good idea to check in with an attorney about your case. Let them decide if you have a case worth pursuing or not. It’s better for them to tell you that you don’t have a case than to have a case and leave money you are entitled to receive on the table and walk away, so to speak. The professional legal opinion of a well-versed attorney is invaluable after any motor vehicle crash.
How Do You Know If You Need a Truck Accident Attorney?
While you always want to discuss your accident with an attorney, there are some instances in which it’s quite evident that you should have legal representation.
You Are Not Sure Where to Start
A truck accident case can be very overwhelming, with lots of moving parts. If you simply aren’t sure where to start or how to begin building your case and crafting a legal strategy, reach out to a trusted and experienced Atlanta truck accident lawyer at our firm. They can help you through each step of the process and will know how to protect your legal rights. With an attorney on your side, you don’t need to know where to start, how it all ends, or any of the steps in between. That is what your attorney is for. They will evaluate and investigate your truck accident to identify who was at fault and what financial compensation could be available to you—typically through insurance policies covering the at-fault party or parties.
You Sustained Severe or Catastrophic Injuries
If your injuries were severe or catastrophic, there is no doubt that you will want an attorney on your side. These types of injuries mean you likely have many high-value damages for which you deserve compensation. You might require extensive and ongoing medical care, possibly for the rest of your life. You may be unable to return to work and need constant care.
Be sure to hire an attorney who has financial experts, such as actuarial accountants, who can rely on the resources to determine how much your injuries might cost you in the future if you can’t return to work or need medical or other care for the rest of your life. These types of injuries include:
- Traumatic brain injuries (TBI)
- Spinal cord injuries (SCI)
- Loss of a limb
Suppose you suffer these types of injuries and don’t receive the compensation you are entitled to receive. In that case, it could have severe, lasting implications on your finances and medical care. Therefore, hiring a seasoned Atlanta truck accident attorney is imperative to maximizing your compensation.
Your Injuries Prevent You from Working
Many truck accident injuries will keep you from working for a certain amount of time. Other injuries can prevent you from ever working in the same capacity as you were before the accident. If your truck accident injuries have impacted your work life, contact a seasoned Atlanta truck accident lawyer as soon as possible. They will know how to calculate what you deserve based on your injuries and how they will affect your ability to work both now and in the future.
There are Multiple At-Fault Parties
If multiple parties potentially caused your crash, you should have an Atlanta truck accident lawyer on your side. Unfortunately, sometimes accident victims don’t even realize if multiple parties could be at fault without seeking the counsel of an attorney. This is another reason why it’s best to meet with an attorney after any accident. There’s a lot you may not know or realize that can significantly impact your claim.
Parties that might have a fault in causing your accident include:
- Other drivers
- Employers of other drivers, such as the trucking company
- Owners of the vehicles involved (if the driver isn’t the owner)
- Vehicle or parts manufacturers
- Municipalities in charge of roads, road conditions, road design, or signs/lights
- Cargo Loaders
When you hire an experienced Atlanta truck accident lawyer, they will perform a thorough investigation into your accident, possibly using an accident reconstructionist if necessary. Not only will this help determine how your accident happened, but it can also help pinpoint who is responsible. If multiple parties are responsible, your compensation could be even more.
A seasoned attorney knows how to maximize compensation when various parties are at fault. In accidents involving potentially numerous at-fault parties, it’s common for each one to point fingers and blame the others. This can cause your case to drag out longer than necessary. Having legal representation can help prevent this.
There are Multiple Injured Parties
In addition, you also need an attorney if your accident involves multiple injured individuals, whether in your vehicle, another vehicle, or across multiple vehicles. What you may not realize is that insurance policies only cover up to a certain dollar amount. The more injured people that need to draw from that amount, the less compensation you stand to get.
Once again, this is something you likely won’t know on your own, so having an attorney assess your case can be extremely helpful. Your lawyer can put together a compelling argument, showing how much compensation you deserve for your injuries and why. Suppose you don’t have someone on your side who can fight for your rights. In that case, you may end up getting nothing or very little for your injuries, while other victims who have attorneys get what they deserve or even more. With a skilled Atlanta truck accident lawyer on your side, you can help level the playing field and ensure you get what is rightfully yours.
Liability for the Accident is Unclear
Unfortunately, not all accidents have a clear liability party. There are many nuances when it comes to fault, and the insurance company for the responsible party will likely attempt to shift at least some, if not all, of the blame on you. You need a strong advocate who is willing to investigate your accident to show how you can’t possibly be responsible for your own damages and that other parties should be held accountable for them.
Even in cases where another party is clearly liable for your injuries, it’s likely that their insurance company will attempt to blame you or take other actions to try to devalue or deny your claim. With a knowledgeable Atlanta truck accident attorney by your side, they won’t be able to take advantage of you.
You Feel the Insurance Company Is Treating You Unfairly
Perhaps you have already tried to manage your claim on your own and aren’t getting very far. Maybe they have offered you a settlement that you aren’t sure about, are delaying the processing of your claim, or are trying to blame you for the accident. You have the right to enlist the help of an attorney at any point during your claim.
While it’s ideal to hire one from the start, if you don’t, you should know that unless you’ve already received a settlement, it’s never too late to get an attorney on board who can help make your claim more successful. Often, once an insurance company realizes that you have legal representation, they understand that you take your claim seriously and will pursue full and fair compensation. They know that they can’t get away with many of their tactics when the claimant has attorney representation.
You Lost a Loved One in the Accident
If you lost a loved one in the truck accident, you may be eligible to receive compensation under a wrongful death claim. This applies whether you were personally involved in the accident or not.
However, while similar, these types of claims are often more complex than typical personal injury or truck accident injury claims. As such, they require the in-depth skills of an Atlanta truck accident attorney. An attorney can tell you if your case is eligible for a wrongful death claim, who can file the claim, what the statute of limitations is for the claim, and how much the claim might be worth. Without the skills and knowledge of an experienced Atlanta truck accident attorney, it can be impossible to manage and win a wrongful death claim successfully.
You Don’t Have the Time, Resources, or Knowledge to Manage Your Claim
Handling a truck accident claim might seem simple at first. However, it can require a variety of resources, several hours a day, and extensive legal and insurance knowledge to successfully manage a claim. All of this can quickly become overwhelming for someone who has recently sustained severe injuries in an accident and remain overwhelming for someone trying to return to work after healing from their injuries.
While your attorney will need some help and cooperation from you in gathering details, fact-finding, and obtaining medical and other records, you can focus on healing and getting back to your everyday life as much as possible when you hire one to manage your case. Your attorney will handle communications with the insurance companies, investigating your accident, settlement negotiation, and many other aspects of your claim. This allows you to focus on getting your life back together.
Were You Involved in a Truck Accident? Call an Experienced Truck Accident Attorney Today
Being involved in a truck accident can have severe implications for your life for years to come. If this happens to you, don’t hesitate to reach out to an experienced Atlanta truck accident attorney at Spaulding Injury Law for help right away. It’s best to protect your legal interests right from the start.
When you become our client at Spaulding Injury Law, you’ll be represented by a thoroughly experienced Atlanta personal injury attorney like Theodore A. Spaulding. For over 15 years, Mr. Spaulding has helped victims of negligence across the state of Georgia resolve personal injury cases, and he’s received a remarkable number of awards and honors from the legal community recognizing his commitment to clients and to the metro-Atlanta area.
Mr. Spaulding has been named one of the Top 100 trial lawyers in Georgia by the National Trial Lawyers for six successive years.
He is honored as a lifetime member of the Million Dollar Advocates Forum ® by the Top Trial Lawyers in America ®.
Charter Member of the Distinguished Justice Advocates.
Member of the Atlanta Bar Association.