In commercial truck accidents, plaintiffs are strongly advised to contact a personal injury attorney in Hollywood or their community. Commercial trucking accidents in South Florida tend to be more complicated then car accidents involving another passenger car driver. But what is it that attorneys can do in these cases in order to win settlements? Personal injury attorneys in Hollywood and other South Florida communities take several steps to help you get the best chance of getting compensation:
1) Take steps to preserve the evidence.
Attorneys will usually send a formal letter to the trucking company to ensure companies preserve relevant evidence. It is important to do this promptly, since evidence can quickly become misplaced or erased.
2) Hire accident reconstruction experts.
Accident reconstruction experts are engineers and other professionals who use software and other means to carefully reconstruct exactly what happened in a crash. Using the evidence found at the scene, they can re-create the likely speed and path of the vehicles, helping investigators and attorneys determine exactly what caused an accident.
3) Work with private investigators.
In many cases, attorneys will hire private investigators to find out more about the various possible liable parties. Private investigators can look into backgrounds and can uncover evidence of possible wrongdoing. For example, if a truck company has no written policies for hiring or training truck drivers or if a truck driver has previous charges of drunk driving or reckless driving, a private investigation could help uncover this information.
4) Interview witnesses.
If someone saw the accident take place, attorneys can interview them so their testimony is admissible in court.
5) Get records related to the case.
Attorneys can subpoena medical records, driving records, company documents, police reports, and other documentation to gather evidence against potential liable parties. Going over these records carefully, the can look for patterns of negligence or recklessness.
6) Interview plaintiffs.
Attorneys will often sit down with the people who have been injured in a trucking accident and will offer advice as well as suggestions as plaintiffs try to rebuild their lives. They will also gather testimony from plaintiffs so this information can be used in court.
7) Work with medical consultants.
Attorneys will sometimes work with medical professionals to help decide how much a plaintiff may expect to pay in the future for their medical bills and medical costs. A medical consultant can also offer testimony about how a specific injury can affect the plaintiff’s life.
8) Inspect crash vehicles.
Attorneys can work to secure and inspect the vehicles involved in a crash, which can help uncover the points of impact and the likely events that led to the accident. This can help determine what caused the accident.
9) Determine jurisdiction.
A commercial trucking accident may involve parties from a few different states, and each state may have different caps on damages awarded to plaintiffs. Deciding where to pursue the claim can dramatically affect what sort of settlement a plaintiff can recover. Choosing the right jurisdiction is also important since the wrong jurisdiction can get a case tossed out of court.
10) Talk to insurance companies and take care of the details.
One area where attorneys can be very helpful is in helping plaintiffs deal with the many details that need attention after a trucking accident. An attorney can talk to your insurance company for you, can help you find a rental car, can help you find a car repair shop, can help with paperwork, and can help you deal with the processes that you may have to face.
If you have been injured in a trucking accident in Miami, Homestead, Hollywood, or anywhere in South Florida, contact the law offices of Flaxman Law Group for a free accident consultation.