Huntsville Truck Accident Lawyers

What to Do After a Huntsville Truck Accident

If you or a loved one are injured in an accident with a truck or other commercial vehicle, your next steps should be to:

• Receive medical care- If you are injured, concentrate on receiving medical care as quickly as possible. You may not be able to gather evidence at the scene of the accident or speak with police immediately, but that is okay. Your health and safety are most important.
• Speak with the police- When an accident causes property damage and any amount of harm, you want a police report. Call 911 or contact the Huntsville Police Department to have an officer come out to the scene. When you do speak with the police, remain calm and stick to the facts. Do not admit fault.
• Obtain insurance information- You should keep conversation with the other driver to a minimum. However, get their name, contact information, and insurance provider and policy number. Also, if there are passengers in the other vehicle or witnesses who have stuck around, ask for their names and contact information, as well.
• Contact a truck accident lawyer in Huntsville- After you have seen to your immediate medical needs and left the scene of the accident, the best thing you can do is contact the experienced Huntsville truck accident lawyers from Belt, Bruner, & Barnett P.C. to guide you through the claims process.

Common Causes of Truck Accidents

Based on information published by the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT), the primary cases of trucking accidents, whether performed by the trucker or another motorist, include:

• Improper lane change or yield
• Failure to yield to the right of way
• Failure to see an object, person, or vehicle
• Tailgating
• Misjudging stopping distance
• Defective truck equipment
• Improper turns
• Improper braking
• Speeding
• Driving too fast for the conditions
• Drowsy driving
• Impaired truck drivers

If you were in an accident caused by a truck driver, call Belt, Bruner, & Barnett P.C. right away. Trucking accidents can become complicated because trucks are bigger and more complex than your average sedan. The drivers not only need a commercial driver’s license, they may need additional certifications and training for their specific trucks and their systems. Without the proper training or experience, truckers are much more likely to make preventable mistakes and cause an accident.

Trucking Accidents Differ from Car Accidents

Following a truck accident, it is essential you work with Huntsville truck accident lawyers who have handled similar truck accident claims. An accident and injuries caused by a commercial truck lead to complex cases. You need an attorney who knows:

• Additional federal and state laws that apply to motor carriers, truckers, and the commercial vehicles.
• A trucking company is more likely to be liable for the accident instead of an individual truck driver.
• A truck or part manufacturer or maintenance provider may be fully or partially responsible for the accident.
• Injuries sustained in truck accidents are typically more severe than ones obtained from car accidents.
• Truck accidents, on average, result in higher claims than car accidents due to larger insurance policies.
• Trucks themselves often contain a great deal of electronic data that can provide evidence of fault.

Huntsville Truck Accident Injuries

If you were involved in an accident with a tractor-trailer or other large truck, you may suffer from serious injuries. Common injuries after trucking accidents include, but are not limited to:

• Shoulder injuries
• Neck and back injuries
• Chest injuries
• Abdominal injuries
• Punctured organs
• Internal bleeding
• Fractured bones
• Lacerations
• Spinal cord injuries
• Paralysis
• Minor, moderate, and severe traumatic brain injuries (TBIs)
• Nerve damage
• Burn injuries

Pursuing Compensation Through a Personal Injury Claim

When you are injured in a truck accident that was caused by the trucker or another motorist, our Huntsville truck accident lawyers will help you fight for compensation for your:

• Medical expenses
• Loss of earning capacity
• Property loss or damage
• Physical pain
• Mental anguish
• Loss of quality of life

Most individuals pursue compensation for personal injuries through an insurance claim. To begin this process, you must give notice to the other driver’s insurer. Notice is not the same as filing a claim, it is a precursor. It is telling an insurer that a claim is coming. Soon after the accident and providing notice, you file a formal claim against the at-fault driver’s policy. If that was the trucker, you may file a claim against the trucking company’s insurance.

During the claims process, you will have to provide information regarding why the other party is at fault, including a statement of the events, the police report, and medical records regarding the injuries you suffered. The insurer will conduct an investigation into the accident and then approve or deny your claim. If it is approved, the insurer will make a settlement offer. If your claim is denied and you have yet to work with a lawyer, call the Huntsville truck accident lawyers at Belt, Bruner, & Barnett P.C. immediately.

How a Truck Accident Lawyer Helps with the Claim Process

When you go over claim process, it sounds simple. However, after a truck accident, the insurance claim process can be anything but easy. It is important to have a knowledgeable truck accident lawyer to help you through this. They will help you:

• Determine who is at fault for the accident
• Gather evidence of that driver’s liability
• File a formal claim with the at fault party’s insurance company
• Help you prepare for and make an appropriate statement to the insurer
• Respond to any of the insurance adjuster’s questions or concerns
• Help you protect your privacy and limit the medical records the insurer receives
• Calculate your economic and non-economic damages
• Appeal if the insurer denies your claim
• Negotiate a higher settlement amount when your claim is approved

Additionally, having a lawyer by your side gives you the means to head to court when the insurance process cannot or will not give you what you need. Following a truck accident, filing a lawsuit is often necessary to obtain information about the accident. The discovery process that takes place during a lawsuit enables your attorney to obtain information from the trucker and trucking company. This can provide you a great deal of information that would not have been available to you during the insurance process alone. With this additional evidence, you and our Huntsville truck accident lawyers may have greater leverage to negotiate a higher settlement or to prove the compensation you deserve under the law in court.

Alabama’s Pure Contributory Negligence Law

Alabama has a very strict pure contributory negligence law. When you seek compensation through a personal injury claim, you cannot have contributed at all to the accident and your own injuries. If an insurer, judge, or jury finds you are in any way responsible for the crash, you will be prohibited from obtaining any amount of financial recovery. So long as you are at least one percent at fault, you may receive no compensation.

Trucking Accident Wrongful Death Claims

Due to the weight and size of commercial trucks, any collision with this type of vehicle is much more likely to lead to fatalities. In Alabama, truck crashes led to 118 fatalities in 2015. When you lose a loved one in a truck accident, you may have the right to bring a wrongful death claim and pursue compensation for your damages. Alabama law allows the personal representative of a deceased person’s estate to bring a wrongful death claim and seek punitive damages from the at-fault party.

Let Our Huntsville Truck Accident Lawyers Help

If you or a loved one has been injured in a trucking accident, there is no denying that you are going through a difficult time. On top of dealing with your physical injuries and the financial consequences of the crash, you have to somehow manage the insurance claim process and consider filing a lawsuit. Without the knowledge and guidance of a personal injury attorney, this process could start to feel overwhelming. However, by working with our lawyers at Belt, Bruner, & Barnett P.C., you gain the information and skills you need.

To learn more about how we can help, contact us today at (205) 933-1500.