It’s impossible to ignore a semi truck. The sheer size of these vehicles makes them intimidating for the average driver to contend with on the road. Factor in the heavy traffic around Carmel and Indianapolis, and it’s all too easy to see how a semi truck driver’s negligence might result in a deadly accident.
Victims of semi truck accidents like you have the right to demand compensation for their losses in civil court. If you want to join the ranks of accident survivors who’ve secured post-accident settlement offers, get in touch with Vaughan & Vaughan. Our truck accident lawyers in Carmel, IN, can file a personal injury claim on your behalf.
Taking Legal Action After a Semi Truck Accident
Semi truck accidents tend to leave survivors like you with substantial bills, not to mention serious injuries. Even if you have emergency funds stored away, the cost of your recovery can wipe out your carefully-built savings. That, however, is the benefit of pursuing legal action in the wake of a semi truck accident. Doing so can get you the funds you need to recover.
If you want to take legal action after a semi truck accident, you must go through civil channels to prove that:
- Someone else’s negligence resulted in your accident
- You have the evidence to identify the person responsible for your losses
- A liable party’s aforementioned negligence saw you sustain severe losses, including but not limited to physical injuries
- You continue to struggle with the economic aftermath of an accident caused by someone else’s negligence
Once you’ve gathered this information in a coherent civil claim, you can submit the claim to a Carmel judge. If your case moves forward, you may have the right to demand compensation in private settlement negotiations or in a traditional trial before a judge and jury.
Filing a Truck Accident Claim Within State Deadlines
You don’t have to consider your right to legal action the same day that your truck accident. You should focus on getting the medical care you need, communicating with police officers, and contacting your insurance provider. That said, the sooner you can get a semi truck collision lawyer on your side, the better. You have a limited amount of time in which you can act.
Indiana dictates that all personal injury claims, including semi truck accident claims, must come to a judge before the statute of limitations on the relevant accident expires. According to Indiana Code section 34-11-2-4, semi truck accident victims have no more than two years to act on their losses.
This means that you must investigate your losses and draw the applicable conclusions by the second anniversary of your accident. An attorney can help you keep track of that deadline while also gathering evidence, analyzing that data, and appropriately formatting your claim.
Your Case Will Get
The Attention It Deserves
Building Up an Assertion of Liability
You can’t submit a semi truck accident claim without naming one or more parties responsible for your accident’s related losses. That said, asserting liability can prove challenging, particularly if you take too long to gather evidence relevant to your case.
Fortunately, a Carmel, IN, semi truck lawyer can initiate an investigation into your losses. Our team can take steps to accurately identify the party responsible for your accident and defend your claim with verifiable evidence.
Identify the Negligence Involved in Your Case
First and foremost, you need to put a name to the negligence you suffered on the road. You have the right to bring a truck driver to civil court if there’s evidence that they:
- Used a phone behind the wheel
- Deliberately violated the speed limit or other roadway laws
- Failed to signal a lane change
- Inappropriately distributed weight in a truck’s trailer
You must present evidence defending your assertion of negligence if you want your case to move forward to negotiations or a trial. The evidence you bring forward can include a truck’s black box, statements from bystanders, and the input of expert witnesses.
Assess a Contract’s Influence
Evidence helps you establish what negligence contributed to your losses and who physically forced those losses upon you. When you’re contending with a semi truck driver, though, you have to consider what influence contacts have on your case. A truck driver’s relationship with a truck agency or stable of clients changes the way courts distribute fault for your losses.
Specifically, truck drivers who operate as employees under a corporate banner can often turn to those corporations for legal protection after an accident. So long as a truck driver operating on a W2 was on duty at the time of your accident, we can argue that their employer owes you compensation for your losses.
Alternatively, you may find yourself contending with an independent contractor. Independent contractors operate on 1099s and are responsible for representing themselves if they’re brought to civil court. They are equally responsible for purchasing their own insurance and filing their own claims after an accident.
You can turn to Carmel’s semi truck accident lawyers to determine what impact a contract has on your right to compensation. You can then integrate that understanding of a truck driver’s relationships into your civil claim.
There is no fee
unless you win
Secure a Semi Truck Accident Settlement
The primary purpose of the truck accident claim you bring forward is to secure you the compensation you need to address the bills generated throughout your recovery. Before you can request a semi truck accident settlement, though, you need to estimate the total value of your losses.
You have the right to both economic and non-economic losses in the aftermath of a semi truck accident. That said, you must provide evidence defending your right to the losses you list in your complaint. The range of losses you can integrate into a desired settlement can include your:
- Post-accident medical expenses
- Essential recovery aids and at-home assistance
- Wages lost due to mandatory time off
- Essential property repairs/replacements
- Emotional distress
- Mental anguish
- Pain and suffering
Semi trucks that prove fatal may entitle you to wrongful death compensation as well as support designed to compensate for your loss of income, loss of companionship, and loss of consortium.
Vaughan & Vaughan Prioritizes Your Recovery
Semi truck drivers have compounded responsibilities on the road. Drivers must put in the effort to stay on top of their training and maintain awareness of their surroundings if they’re going to keep themselves and everyone around them safe from dangerous accidents. As a semi truck accident survivor, you have the right to justice if you believe negligence led to your losses.
Let Vaughan & Vaughan investigate the nature of your accident. You, in the meanwhile, can focus on getting the medical attention and at-home support you need. You can count on our Carmel semi truck accident attorneys to represent your best interests. Call the team today or contact us online to schedule your no-obligation, free case consultation.
