Are you ready to take legal action against the party responsible for your recent truck crash? Let Vaughan & Vaughan stand up for your right to compensation. Our personal injury lawyers in Pendleton, IN, have decades of combined experience taking cases like yours before Indiana’s civil judges.
You can count on our team to thoroughly investigate the negligence that led to your accident. We can then use concrete evidence to assign accident liability. Whether you want to take a truck accident case to trial or try to resolve matters in private negotiations, you can rely on our staff to provide you with consummate legal guidance. We’re here to fight for you.
Learn more about the services offered by our personal injury lawyers in Indiana during a free case consultation.
Should You Take Legal Action After a Truck Accident in Pendleton, IN?
You have the right to pursue a civil case against the party you believe to be liable for your recent truck accident. Is the effort worth it, though? Our team argues that it is for multiple reasons. To start, pursuing a personal injury claim against the party responsible for your truck accident gives you the right to hold that party accountable for their negligence.
While you can’t enact criminal consequences against a liable party, you can demand economic damages from them in the face of their negligence. That compensation can then help you pay for your post-accident recovery.
What’s more, a personal injury claim gives you additional control over how your post-accident life proceeds. You get to say whether or not you want to meet your liable party face-to-face. For example, you can arrange private settlement negotiations with this party if you feel they may be open to a conversation about liability.
That said, you can alternatively opt to take your case before a judge if you’d rather have said judge and jury dictate your right to compensation. Going before a judge better ensures the liable party’s cooperation but may see you involved in legal proceedings for months or even years after your initial accident.
When to Take Legal Action After an Pendleton Truck Accident
No matter whether you want to negotiate for a truck accident settlement or go to court, you need to file your personal injury claim within Indiana’s statute of limitations. The state outlines the deadline by which you need to file in Indiana Code section 34-11-2-4. This deadline gives you no more than two years to act on your losses.
Please note that the Indiana statute of limitations is final. A civil judge has the right to disregard your truck accident claim if you file it more than two years after your initial accident. With that in mind, if you can’t file a claim on your own, contact a Pendleton, IN, truck accident lawyer as soon as possible.
Our team knows how to investigate your case and file your claim on a tight deadline. You can count on us to get your concerns before a civil judge without compromising your right to essential medical care.
Your Case Will Get
The Attention It Deserves
How to Assign Liability After a Pendleton Truck Accident
The only way you can pursue damages after a truck accident is to identify the party you believe bears fault for your crash. This means that you and an attending attorney are responsible for bringing forward enough evidence of a certain party’s negligence to meet the civil court system’s burden of proof.
What kind of proof of negligence does a civil court accept? You can bring forward any combination of the following:
- Statements from bystanders who witnessed specific instances of negligence
- Debris from the accident scene and subsequent analysis
- Police reports with speculation regarding accident fault
- Insurance claims and communications
- Video and photo footage of the accident
- A truck’s black box data
- A liable party’s cell phone data
Contracts Can Redistribute Truck Accident Fault
Even if you have the means to prove that a particular party caused your accident, your investigation isn’t over. You have to look into what contracts exist between applicable parties before you can make a final decision regarding accident fault.
Specifically, truck drivers who operate as independent contractors must represent themselves in civil court. However, Indiana truck drivers who operate on an employee’s contract may benefit from some legal protections issued by their employers. If you get into an accident with an on-duty employee, you may have to sue a corporation for the damages you deserve.
Comparative Negligence in Pendleton
Indiana’s civil courts understand that multiple parties, including a truck accident survivor, may bear some of the blame for the initial accident. With that in mind, the court system allows for a modified understanding of comparative negligence. So long as you, the filer, bear less than 51 percent of the blame for an accident, you can pursue a civil claim.
That said, it’s in your best interest to challenge accusations of shared fault. If you don’t, you risk reducing your overall settlement. Indiana’s civil courts can reduce your settlement by the percentage of fault you allegedly contributed to an accident.
You can discuss the best methods of challenging accusations of truck accident fault with Pendleton truck accident lawyers.
There is no fee
unless you win
You Can Let a Pendleton Truck Accident Attorney Investigate Your Losses Today
Don’t let the losses from a truck accident get away from you. A lawyer from our firm can help you get ahead of your medical debts and property damage. You can schedule a case evaluation with Vaughan & Vaughan today to discuss what paths you can take toward accident compensation.
Our team operates on contingency to spare your bank account the additional stress. We do not get paid unless we win your case. Ready to learn more? You can contact our personal injury lawyers by phone or through the Vaughan & Vaughan website. We’re ready to go to bat for you.
