News & opinion 10 Questions You Should Ask Your Truck Accident Lawyer

10 Questions You Should Ask Your Truck Accident Lawyer

By thei

ve

y n

tu

e,

ccidents come out of no

he

e. One minute you’

e d

iving do

n the f

eey o

sitting

t

stoplight, the next minute—boom, you don’t kno

h

t hit you. Litelly.

fte

n

ccident, it’s completely no

m

l to feel ide nge of emotions. Fe, p

in, confusion,

nge

—the g

ng’s

ll he

e. If you o

someone you love

e

e in

n

ccident, you m

y h

ve the

ight to compens

tion. But ho

do you p

ese

ve these

ights? Ho

c

n you m

ke su

e you get

h

t you need to t

ke ce of you

self

nd you

expenses?

If you h

ve suffe

ed

n inju

y

s the

esult of

n

ccident c

used by someone else, you dese

ve f

ind just compens

tion.

hen youccident involves

l

ge t

uck, you need

n expe

ienced

tto

ney by you

side.

nt to m

ke su

e you <

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.comhen-do-you-need-

n-

tto

ney-

fte

-t

uck-

ccident

“>hi

e the

ight

tto

ney > to help you

in this fight? St

t

ith these questions:

1.

h

t types of c

ses does you

fi

m focus on?

Befo

e you discuss you

c

se o

you

inju

ies, the numbe

one question to

sk you

tto

ney is: “

h

t’s you

focus?” Su

e, Uncle H

l m

y h

ve 20 ye

s of expe

ience

s

lye

, but if he h

s neve

t

ied

t

uck

ccident c

se, he’s p

ob

bly not

good choice.

hen it comes to <

h

ef="https:

/c

inju

yvictims.com

c

uses-of-t

uck-

ccidents

“>t

uck

ccidents >, stick

ith

t

uck

ccident lye

. Even bette

, you nt

n

tto

ney

ho

egul

ly

o

ks

ith t

uck

ccidents.

hy does this m

tte

? Bec

use pctice m

kes pe

fect. Extensive expe

ience me

ns they knoh

t to look fo

in

c

se,

h

t type of evidence is impo

t

nt,

nd

hich

elev

nt ls

nd

ules c

n help you

in you

c

se. Plus, the

e’s

good ch

nce they’ve

o

ked

ith the insunce comp

ny you’

e going to be going up

g

inst. This is

huge

dv

nt

ge.

2.

h

t do you chge?<

h2>
Most

tto

neys

o

k on

contingency b

sis. This me

ns they’ll get p

id

ce

t

in pe

cent

ge out of you

fin

l settlement o

judgment. This m

y vy slightly by

tto

ney, so be su

e to

sk. No

, most

tto

neys

ill tell you, “You don’t p

y unless you

in.” But in m

ny c

ses, this does not include genel costs th

t the

tto

ney m

y f

ont du

ing the c

se.

This includes:

  • Filing fees
  • Post
    ge

    nd copy fees

  • T

    vel fees

  • ccounting fees<

    li>

  • Expe
    t

    itness fees

It’s

lys

good ide

to knoh

t to expect

he

d of time.

s fo

the initi

l consult

tion, some

tto

neys ch

ge

fee to meet

ith you, but m

ny

tto

neys don’t.

3. Do I h

ve

c

se?

oied you

on’t get

di

ect

ns

e

on this one? Don’t be.

emembe

, most

tto

neys only get p

id if thei

client

ins. Th

t me

ns they don’t

nt to t

ke on

c

se th

t

on’t

esult in

positive outcome. The

e

e m

ny things youtto

ney

ill look

t to dete

mine if you h

ve

c

se,

nd they should h

ve

good ide

by the end of the initi

l consult

tion. They don’t

nt to

ste you

time o

thei

s! Items th

t m

y come into pl

y include:

  • ong>The length of time since the

    ccident: ong> In Tex

    s, victims h

    ve<

    h

    ef="https:

    /st

    tutes.c

    pitol.tex

    s.gov

    Docs/CP/htm/CP.16.htm” t

    get=”_bl

    nk"

    el=”noopene

    nofollo

    no

    efee

    “> t

    o yes f

    om the d

    te of the

    ccident > to file

    t

    uck

    ccident c

    se

    ith the cou

    t. In Louisi

    n

    , you<

    h

    ef="https:

    /legis.l

    .gov

    Legis/L

    .

    spx?d=110515" tget="_bl

    nk”

    el="noopene

    nofollo

    no

    efe

    e

    "> only h

    ve one ye

    >. The

    e

    e ve

    y limited ci

    cumst

    nces

    he

    e you c

    n file

    c

    se beyond this point.

  • ong>The deg

    ee of you

    inju

    ies: ong> The pu

    pose of

    t

    uck

    ccident c

    se is to

    ecove

    d

    m

    ges

    esulting f

    om you

    ccident. If the

    e e no d

    m

    ges, o

    you

    d

    m

    ges e ve

    y limited, you

    tto

    ney m

    y

    ecommend th

    t you de

    l di

    ectly

    ith the insunce comp

    ny.

On

el

ted note, clients often

sk, “Ho

much is my c

se

o

th?” This is

100% v

lid question, but the

ns

e

isn’t

l

ys simple. The v

lue of you

c

se depends on ide y of vi

bles, including:

  • The numbe
    of pties involved<

    li>

  • The othe
    pty’s policy limits<

    li>

  • The
    illingness of both pties to negoti

    te

  • You

    ctu

    l d

    m

    ges

    nd inju

    ies<

    li>

hile this is

f

i

question

nd you should

sk it, be ve

y

y of

ny

tto

ney

ho gives you

n ex

ct doll

mount.

s of no

, the

e is no m

gic c

lcul

to

th

t c

n let us kno

ho

much the insu

nce comp

ny

ill offe

. Negoti

tion is

lmost

l

ys

equi

ed.

4.

h

t d

m

ges c

n I

ecove

?<

h2>
Though it’s h

d to p

edict ho

much

pticul c

se is

o

th, ce

t

in things

e st

ndd in most t

uck

ccident c

ses. The economic d

m

ges (the ones th

t

esult in

di

ect deduction f

om you

pocketbook

nd c

n be p

oven

ith bills,

eceipts, etc.) e genelly

eimbu

sed doll fo

doll

. The non-economic d

m

ges, like you

emotion

l tu

moil

nd lost qu

lity of life, e

he

e c

lcul

ting the v

lue of you

c

se gets t

icky. Th

t s

id, he

e

e

fe

things you c

n expect f

om you

c

se:

Economic d

m

ges:

  • ong>Medic

    l costs: ong>This includes docto

    visits, hospit

    l st

    ys, im

    ging, medic

    tion,

    eh

    bilit

    tion, medic

    l devices—essenti

    lly

    ny c

    e you

    physici

    n deems necess

    y fo

    youecove

    y. Once

    g

    in, the go

    l is to

    ecove

    100% of these costs. Fo

    ve

    y se

    ious inju

    ies, youtto

    ney

    ill likely fight fo lump sum p

    yment fo

    futu

    e medic

    l costs.<

    li>

  • ong>Lost ges:<

    st

    ong>

    hen you miss time f

    om

    o

    k, you lose money. If you c

    n’t m

    ke money, you c

    n’t p

    y you

    bills. You should neve

    h

    ve to

    oy

    bout money o

    feel like you h

    ve to

    etu

    n to

    o

    k e

    ly. Neve

    comp

    omise you

    he

    lth

    nd youecove

    y. Just like medic

    l costs, some t

    uck

    ccident inju

    y c

    ses m

    y me

    it futu

    e lost

    ges.

  • ong>

    esidenti

    l modific

    tions: ong> Inju

    ies like spin

    l co

    d inju

    ies, b

    oken bones,

    nd tum

    tic b

    in inju

    ies c

    n m

    ke it difficult to move ound you

    o

    n home.

    hen this h

    ppens, modific

    tions like

    heelch

    i

    mps, h

    nd

    ils,

    nd st

    i

    lifts c

    n help. Don’t p

    y fo

    these costs out-of-pocket. T

    lk to youtto

    ney to discove

    solutions.<

    li>

Non-economic d

m

ges

You’ll he

lot of n

mes fo

these types of d

m

ges. They m

y be

efeed to

s non-economic d

m

ges o

soft d

m

ges, o

lumped togethe

s “p

in

nd suffe

ing.” These d

m

ges c

n include:

  • ong>Ment

    l

    nd emotion

    l

    nguish:<

    st

    ong> This c

    n include dep

    ession,

    nxiety, PTSD, o

    ch

    nges in sleep beh

    vio

    .

  • ong>Loss of enjoyment of life: <

    st

    ong>Losing the

    bility to p

    ticip

    te in

    n

    ctivity you loved befo

    e the

    ccident c

    n be he

    tb

    e

    king.

    t

    uck

    ccident c

    se should compens

    te you fo

    this loss.

  • ong>Loss of comp

    nionship: ong> Hum

    ns

    e soci

    l

    nim

    ls.

    e

    ely on ou

    pe

    son

    l

    el

    tionships.

    h

    t h

    ppens

    hen you c

    n’t t

    lk to the pe

    son you love o se

    ious inju

    y ch

    nges the dyn

    mic of the

    el

    tionship? You dese

    ve to be compens

    ted fo

    this emotion

    l loss.<

    li>

  • ong>ongful de

    th: ong>S

    dly, t

    uck

    ccidents

    esult in thous

    nds of de

    ths eve

    y ye

    . Money c

    n’t b

    ing

    loved one b

    ck, but it c

    n help you cove

    expenses th

    t ise bec

    use of the

    ccident.<

    li>

5.

ho

ill p

y fo

my inju

ies

nd

el

ted losses?

<

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

comme

ci

l-t

uck-

ccident/”>

fte t

uck

ccident<>, the l

st pe

son

ho should h

ve to c

y the cost of you

bills is you. Bec

use of thei

shee

size, t

ucks c

n c

use much g

e

te

d

m

ge th

n

sm

lle

moto

vehicle. This often

esults in much mo

e se

ious inju

ies

nd, consequently, highe

medic

l bills.

The l

p

otects you in

n

ccident th

t is not 100% you

f

ult.

Typic

lly, the t

uck d

ive

is the p

imy defend

nt in

t

uck

ccident c

se. You

tto

ney

ill pu

sue d

m

ges f

om thei

insunce comp

ny. Ho

eve

, in some c

ses, you

d

m

ges m

y exceed policy limits. Fo

this

e

son, the d

ive

’s employe

is often

joint defend

nt in the c

se.

Othe

pties

ho m

y hold fin

nci

l

esponsibility include:

  • ong>

    thi

    d pty d

    ive

    :<

    st

    ong> Did

    nothe

    eckless d

    ive

    cont

    ibute to the

    ccident? Fo

    ex

    mple, did they s

    e

    ve out in f

    ont of

    n 18-

    heele

    ?

  • ong>

    vehicle o

    pts m

    nuf

    ctu

    e

    :<

    st

    ong>

    shocking numbe

    of

    ccidents h

    ppen bec

    use of vehicle defects. Defective ti

    es o

    b

    kes c

    n c

    use

    d

    ive

    to lose cont

    ol of thei

    t

    uck.

    hen this h

    ppens, the

    uto pts m

    nuf

    ctu

    e

    m

    y hold p

    ti

    l o

    full

    esponsibility fo

    the

    ccident.<

    li>

  • ong>The st

    te o

    loc

    l gove

    nment:<

    st

    ong> These c

    ses

    e

    e, but they c

    n h

    ppen

    hen poo

    ly m

    int

    ined o

    uns

    fe

    o

    dys cont

    ibute to

    n

    ccident.

    nd yes, you c

    n sue the gove

    nment (but you’

    e going to

    nt

    n

    tto

    ney).<

    li>

The

ole of

<

h

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

se

vices

houston-t

uck-

ccident-l

ye

“>t

uck

ccident

tto

ney > is to help you

ecove

d

m

ges f

om

ll

esponsible p

ties. Get help dete

mining li

bility in you

t

uck

ccident by getting

f

ee c

se ev

lu

tion no

.

6.

ill you be my

tto

ney?

You’ve gone in

nd h

d you

initi

l consult

tion. You completely “clicked”

ith the

tto

ney,

nd you’

e feeling g

e

t. Then,

hen you go into you

fi

st meeting, B

NG. Tot

l b

it

nd s

itch.

Fo

lge

fi

ms, the

tto

ney you meet

ith

t the initi

l consult

tion m

y not

lys be the one

ho t

kes on you

c

se. But some

tto

neys

on’t

lys tell you this upf

ont.

This is impo

t

nt info

m

tion, especi

lly if you b

se you

decision on

hom to hi

e b

sed on you

connection

nd ho

much you t

ust you

tto

ney. If someone else

ill h

ndle you

c

se,

sk to meet

ith th

t pe

son befo

e you sign

ny

g

eements.

7. Do you h

ve the c

p

city to t

ke on my c

se?

You

nt to

o

k

ith

n

tto

ney th

t h

s time fo

you, not one

ho is impossible to get

hold of

nd doesn’t h

ve enough ene

gy to devote to you

c

se.

The

e is

di

ect coel

tion bet

een the v

lue of you

c

se

nd ho

much you

tto

ney invests in you. Don’t be

f

id to

sk potenti

l c

ndid

tes

h

t thei

c

selo

d looks like

nd ho

ccessible they

ill be to you th

oughout the c

se. If you don’t feel comfo

t

ble o

don’t feel the

tto

ney is st

ightfo

d, move on.

8. If I’m not h

ppy

ith the insu

nce comp

ny’s offe

,

e you

illing to t

ke my c

se to cou

t?

Let’s get one thing cle

: insu

nce comp

nies h

ve one p

io

ity,

nd it’s not you.

hen it comes to insu

nce comp

nies, nothing m

tte

s mo

e th

n money. So this is ho

it gene

lly pl

ys out:
  1. The insunce comp

    ny offe

    s you

    n insultingly lo

    numbe

    .

  2. The offe
    goes up slightly.<

    li>

  3. The insu

    nce comp

    ny tells you, “this is ou

    fin

    l offe

    .”

hen you

e

ch st

ge th

ee, you h

ve t

o options: eithe

c

ll thei

bluff o

ccept the fin

l offe

.

good

tto

ney should tell you

hethe

the fin

l offe

is f

i

, o

if you should seek mo

e. If you e not s

tisfied, you

nt to kno

hethe

youtto

ney

ill t

ke it

ll the y to cou

t. It m

y come

s

su

p

ise, but some

tto

neys choose not to o

e simply not comfo

t

ble in cou

t. Spe

king of,

sk the

tto

ney ho

much t

i

l expe

ience they h

ve. If the

ns

e

is ve

y little o

none, p

oceed

ith c

ution.

9.

h

t should I do if the insu

nce comp

ny cont

cts me?

Insu

nce comp

nies should not cont

ct you once you h

ve

n

tto

ney. Ho

eve

, in some c

ses, the insunce comp

ny m

y not kno

you h

ve

n

tto

ney, o

o

se, they m

y not c

e. H

ve

pl

n foh

t you should do if you get

phone c

ll o

lette

f

om the insu

nce comp

ny.

good

ule of thumb is, if you get

phone c

ll, tell them to cont

ct you

tto

ney.

efe

ll questions

nd communic

tion to you

tto

ney,

nd if you get

lette

, fo

d it to you

tto

ney

S

P.

10.

h

t do you need f

om me next?

If you decide to sign on

ith

n

tto

ney, it’s

good ide

to figu

e out

h

t level of involvement you

ill h

ve in you

c

se. Some

tto

neys

ill h

ve you g

the

ll you

eco

ds

nd do

lot of the leg

o

k. Othe

s m

y only involve you

hen you

sign

tu

e is needed. Genelly, some things you c

n expect to do include:

  • Em
    il photos of the

    ccident

    nd

    ny

    elev

    nt evidence to you

    tto

    ney<

    li>

  • Sign medic
    l

    ele

    se fo

    ms

  • P
    ovide insunce info

    m

    tion foll pties<

    li>

  • Obt
    in

    copy of you

    police

    epo

    t<

    li>

  • G
    thend fod

    ny

    eceipts fo

    medic

    l visits, ove

    the counte

    pu

    ch

    ses, outo

    ep

    i

    s

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ef="https:

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t J. Guss<><

figc

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figu

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e to

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y

ith

list of items you need to t

ke c

e of

fte

you le

ve,

nd h

ve

good ide

of

h

t comes next.

Don’t settle

hen it comes to choosing

t

uck

ccident

tto

ney.<

h2>
Unfo

tun

tely, Tex

s continues to be one of the

o

st st

tes fo

t

uck

ccidents. F

om ou

Houston he

dqu

te

s

e’ve helped thous

nds of t

uck

ccident victims

ecove

f

om these dev

st

ting

ecks ove

the l

st t

enty yes,

nd no

e’

e

e

dy to extend th

t expe

ience to clients

ll ove

the count

y.

e kno t

uck

ccident c

n h

ve

signific

nt imp

ct on you

life

nd the lives of those

ound you.

e

lso kno

good

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n help e

se you

bu

den

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h

t you

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ve. Let ou

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s. <

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ef=”https://c

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“>Cont

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t J. Guss, Inju

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ccident L

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>

ong>Ste

t J. Guss, Inju

y

ccident L

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s<

st

ong> 12777 Jones

d #297
Houston, TX 77070
(281) 664-6500

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  T ust us hen e sy the e isn’t nything “e sy” bout filing c insunce clim ith...

Drunk Driving Accident Lawyer 15 Jan

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How to Claim for Whiplash After a Car Accident 10 Jan

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