10 Questions To Ask Your Truck Accident Lawyer - Stewart J. Guss, Attorney At Law

By thei

y n

ccidents come out of no

e. One minute you’

e d

iving do

n the f

eey o

sitting

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

t hit you. Litelly.

fte

ccident, it’s completely no

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 in

ccident, you m

y h

ve the

ight to compens

tion. But ho

do you p

ese

ve these

ights? Ho

n you m

ke su

e you get

t you need to t

ke ce of you

self

nd you

expenses?

If you h

ve suffe

n inju

s the

esult of

ccident c

used by someone else, you dese

ve f

ind just compens

tion.

hen youccident involves

ge t

uck, you need

n expe

ienced

tto

ney by you

side.

nt to m

ke su

e you <

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.comhen-do-you-need-

tto

ney-

fte

–

-t

uck-

ccident

“>hi

e the

ight

tto

ney > to help you

in this fight? St

ith these questions:

1.
h
t types of c
ses does you
fi
m focus on?

Befo

e you discuss you

se o

you

inju

ies, the numbe

one question to

sk you

tto

ney is: “

t’s you

focus?” Su

e, Uncle H

l m

y h

ve 20 ye

s of expe

ience

lye

, but if he h

s neve

ied

uck

ccident c

se, he’s p

bly not

good choice.

hen it comes to <

ef="https:

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yvictims.com

uses-of-t

uck-

ccidents

“>t

uck

ccidents >, stick

ith

uck

ccident lye

. Even bette

, you nt

tto

ney

egul

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

se,

t type of evidence is impo

nt,

hich

elev

nt ls

ules c

n help you

in you

se. Plus, the

e’s

good ch

nce they’ve

ked

ith the insunce comp

ny you’

e going to be going up

inst. This is

huge

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

ect

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

se th

on’t

esult in

positive outcome. The

e m

ny things youtto

ney

ill look

t to dete

mine if you h

se,

nd they should h

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:
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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
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el="noopene
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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.

ted note, clients often

sk, “Ho

much is my c

th?” This is

100% v

lid question, but the

isn’t

ys simple. The v

lue of you

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

question

nd you should

sk it, be ve

y of

tto

ney

ho gives you

n ex

ct doll

mount.

s of no

, the

e is no m

gic c

lcul

t c

n let us kno

much the insu

nce comp

ill offe

. Negoti

tion is

lmost

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

ges. They m

y be

efeed to

s non-economic d

ges o

soft d

ges, o

lumped togethe

s “p

nd suffe

ing.” These d

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?

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

comme

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

ge th

lle

moto

vehicle. This often

esults in much mo

e se

ious inju

ies

nd, consequently, highe

medic

l bills.

The l

otects you in

ccident th

t is not 100% you

ult.

Typic

lly, the t

uck d

ive

is the p

imy defend

nt in

uck

ccident c

se. You

tto

ney

ill pu

sue d

ges f

om thei

insunce comp

ny. Ho

eve

, in some c

ses, you

ges m

y exceed policy limits. Fo

this

son, the d

ive

’s employe

is often

joint defend

nt in the c

se.

Othe

pties

ho m

y hold fin

nci

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

ef=”https://c

inju

yvictims.com

vices

houston-t

uck-

ccident-l

“>t

uck

ccident

tto

ney > is to help you

ecove

ges f

esponsible p

ties. Get help dete

mining li

bility in you

uck

ccident by getting

ee c

se ev

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

t. Then,

hen you go into you

st meeting, B

NG. Tot

l b

nd s

itch.

lge

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

se. But some

tto

neys

on’t

lys tell you this upf

ont.

This is impo

nt info

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

se,

sk to meet

ith th

t pe

son befo

e you sign

eements.

7. Do you h
ve the c
p
city to t
ke on my c
se?

You

nt to

ith

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

se.

The

e is

ect coel

tion bet

een the v

lue of you

nd ho

much you

tto

ney invests in you. Don’t be

id to

sk potenti

l c

ndid

tes

t thei

selo

d looks like

nd ho

ccessible they

ill be to you th

oughout the c

se. If you don’t feel comfo

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

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:

The insunce comp
ny offe
s you
n insultingly lo
numbe
.
The offe
goes up slightly.<
li>
The insu

nce comp
ny tells you, “this is ou
fin
l offe
.”

hen you

ch st

ge th

ee, you h

ve t

o options: eithe

ll thei

bluff o

ccept the fin

l offe

good

tto

ney should tell you

hethe

the fin

l offe

is f

, 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

ise, but some

tto

neys choose not to o

e simply not comfo

ble in cou

t. Spe

king of,

sk the

tto

ney ho

much t

l expe

ience they h

ve. If the

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

tto

ney. Ho

eve

, in some c

ses, the insunce comp

ny m

y not kno

you h

tto

ney, o

se, they m

y not c

e. H

n foh

t you should do if you get

phone c

ll o

lette

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

10.
h
t do you need f
om me next?

If you decide to sign on

ith

tto

ney, it’s

good ide

to figu

e out

t level of involvement you

ill h

ve in you

se. Some

tto

neys

ill h

ve you g

the

ll you

eco

nd do

lot of the leg

k. Othe

s m

y only involve you

hen you

sign

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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“>Ste

t J. Guss<><

figc

ption><

figu

e> Be su

e to

ith

list of items you need to t

ke c

e of

fte

you le

ve,

nd h

good ide

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
tto
ney c
n help e
se you
bu
den
nd help you get
h
t you
ightfully dese
ve. Let ou
next big
in be you
s. <
h
ef=”https://c

inju
yvictims.com
cont
ct-us
“>Cont
ct<> Ste
t J. Guss, Inju
y
ccident L

ye
s tod
y.

>

ong>Ste
t J. Guss, Inju
y
ccident L

ye
s<
st
ong> 12777 Jones
d #297
Houston, TX 77070
(281) 664-6500

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10 Questions You Should Ask Your Truck Accident Lawyer

1.
h
t types of c
ses does you
fi
m focus on?

3. Do I h
ve
c
se?

Economic d
m
ges:

Non-economic d
m
ges

5.
ho
ill p
y fo
my inju
ies
nd
el
ted losses?

6.
ill you be my
tto
ney?

7. Do you h
ve the c
p
city to t
ke on my c
se?

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?

9.
h
t should I do if the insu

nce comp
ny cont
cts me?

10.
h
t do you need f
om me next?

Testimonials

1. h t types of cses does you fim focus on?

3. Do I hve cse?

Economic d mges:

Non-economic d mges

5. ho ill p y fo my inju ies nd elted losses?

6. ill you be my ttoney?

7. Do you hve the c pcity to t ke on my cse?

8. If I’m not h ppy ith the insu nce comp ny’s offe, e you illing to tke my c se to cout?

9. ht should I do if the insu nce comp ny contcts me?

10. h t do you need fom me next?

Testimonials

Read More

1.
h
t types of c
ses does you
fi
m focus on?

3. Do I h
ve
c
se?

Economic d
m
ges:

Non-economic d
m
ges

5.
ho
ill p
y fo
my inju
ies
nd
el
ted losses?

6.
ill you be my
tto
ney?

7. Do you h
ve the c
p
city to t
ke on my c
se?

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?

9.
h
t should I do if the insu

nce comp
ny cont
cts me?

10.
h
t do you need f
om me next?