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WHY YOU SHOULD HIRE A TRUCK ACCIDENT LAWYER

As a truck driver in Los Angeles, auto accidents can be a big problem. Due to how much larger commercial trucks are than standard passenger vehicles, the damage caused in accidents involving commercial vehicles is usually much greater, and there are usually a lot more parties involved. While an accident between passenger vehicles usually just involves the passengers and their insurance companies, an accident involving a commercial vehicle means that the company which owns or leases the vehicle will be getting involved, as well as the commercial insurance company that insures the vehicle, in addition to the vehicle's driver, as well as various lawyers if the damage done is severe enough. With so many parties potentially involved, sometimes hiring a truck accident attorney to help with your case is almost a necessity.

Accidents as The Driver of A Commercial Vehicle

If you were the one driving the commercial vehicle, you may end up having less direct involvement in the claim than you might expect. After the accident, you'll want to take photos of the damage as well as call your employer to notify them right away. If you don't already know how to get in touch with your employer's insurance, your employer should be able to get in touch with them to start the claim process. If anyone was injured in the accident, getting a police report will make sure there is an objective account of the events of the accident. If there are any injuries between either yourself or anyone involved, you may also want to retain a personal injury lawyer. While the commercial insurance company and your employer will cover the damage to your vehicle, as well as possibly some damage done to the other vehicles involved, the other involved parties may attempt to pursue you personally for their injuries. A personal injury lawyer can help protect you if an injured claimant tries to pursue you personally. After things are resolved at the scene of the accident, you will likely be contacted by your employer and the insurance company that insures the company vehicle for a statement about the accident. If you have retained a Los Angeles truck accident attorney, you can provide your statement to your attorney and have them release it to the necessary parties for you. This helps keep your story consistent if your account of the accident is needed by multiple people.

Understanding Liability

Depending on the state in which the accident occurred, determining which party is liable for the accident can be a bit of a mess to navigate. Luckily, this is something that the insurance companies and truck accident attorney usually handles, but it's not a bad idea to understand how liability works on a basic level so that you can set proper expectations on how things might proceed. Liability works differently from state to state. Some states require the at fault party to be over 50% liable for the accident in order for pursuit of damages to occur. Other states take an all or nothing approach, in which only one party is completely liable, otherwise no collections can be made. The final approach to liability is comparative negligence. With comparative negligence, each party is responsible for the damages equal to their liability. For example, in the case of an accident where liability is split 50/50, your company's insurance company is responsible for 50% of the other party's damages. Since determining liability is a debate that occurs among the involved insurance companies and good personal injury lawyers that may be involved, they'll handle most of the hard work in figuring out who's responsible.

Responsible Parties

If it is found that you were not liable for the accident, or there is a degree of liability on the other party, it may seem obvious who to pursue for your personal damages or medical bills not covered by your company's workman's comp or PIP coverage. While things may appear simple on the surface, there are a number of less obvious parties you may want to pursue in order to ensure you get the most out of your claim. Your Los Angeles truck accident attorney can help dig deep into the circumstances behind the accident and help uncover the best avenues to pursue for your damages. Some of these other avenues may involve pursuing:

-Insurance Companies
-Employers
-Contractors
-Manufacturers
-Government Agencies
-Trucking Companies
-Mechanics and Auto Shops

These are all possibilities that depend on the circumstances behind the accident. For example, if the accident was caused by a faulty part with a manufacturer defect or by a part improperly installed by a mechanic, your West Coast Trial Lawyers may be able to pursue the mechanic or manufacturer for a portion of your damages or medical coverage. Your commercial insurance company can also pursue them on behalf of your employer in order to recoup some of the damages paid out for repairs to the truck. If the truck in question was improperly maintained by your employer and resulted in injuries sustained in the accident, your employer may be responsible for damages above and beyond what the workman's comp would be paying out for your medical bills as well.

What Attorneys Can Do For You

In short, truck accident attorneys can help you in a variety of ways. They primarily will be there to help protect you personally in the event that you are being pursued for damages in an accident. They also work as a liaison between yourself and the various involved parties such as attorneys and insurance companies to ensure the claim moves along smoothly. If you are injured as a result of the accident, your attorney will be able to keep a running log of your medical expenses and ensure you're being properly compensated by your employer's worker's comp as well as determining any other parties that may be responsible for your damages. They will also be able to pursue those parties and argue your case to get the most back for your damages. 

 

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