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If you or someone you love was injured in a truck accident, it is normal to feel confused and conflicted about your next steps. How can you get compensation for your losses? What if the insurance company refuses to cooperate with your lawsuit?
A Gastonia truck accident lawyer with Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC, may know the answer to these and all other questions pertaining to personal injury cases in North Carolina. By putting your case in our hands, you can fight for the compensation you need without having to tolerate all the stress and challenges of a claim or lawsuit yourself.
The Two Types of Truck Accident Compensation
Depending on what kinds of injuries you sustained, you could qualify for either or both of the following types of damages.
Non-Economic Damages
“Non-economic” is a legal term referring to the physical and psychological suffering a person may experience after an accident. More specifically, the liable party could pay you on the basis of your:
- Pain and suffering: Any physical or mental symptoms brought on by your accident injuries could entitle you to compensation. This is because these symptoms have had a huge impact on your life and health, and you would not be struggling with them had it not been for the other party’s negligence.
- Reduced quality of life: Do you need help with basic tasks that you performed independently before? Have you had to give up a favorite hobby or activity? These types of losses both qualify as “reduced quality of life.”
- Disability: Disabilities can be either temporary, as with certain head injuries, or permanent, as with paralysis or amputation.
Economic Damages
Economic damages will help you recover from the financial losses the truck accident has caused, including:
- Medical costs: One of the biggest expenses you could face after an accident is the cost of treating your injury, especially if your injuries are life-threatening and/or chronic.
- Loss of income: When you suffer an injury, you may not be able to go to work and earn your usual income and benefits. This can be very hard on your family, but fortunately, you could recover that lost income through a claim or lawsuit.
- Property damage: In particular, you could receive reimbursement for bills related to repairing the damage inflicted on your car in the accident. If your car was totaled, you could get the money you need to buy a new one.
The attorneys at Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC, can pursue all of these damages and more.
What Our Truck Accident Lawyers Can Do for You
After an accident, you may wonder: is it worth it to hire a truck accident attorney? Can they do anything that you cannot do for yourself?
While you can file a lawsuit without legal representation, we cannot recommend this course of action because:
- The law is very complex.
- Truck accidents could involve multiple liable parties, including the truck driver and the trucking company.
- The process of filing suit can be very long and stressful.
- The insurance company has a deep understanding of the law and will use that to their advantage.
Instead of taking action by yourself, you can allow our entire team of lawyers and legal experts to back you up. We would:
- Provide you with a risk-free case review at no charge
- Keep you informed throughout the case and advise you on how you should go about pursuing compensation
- Get in touch with the liable party to let them know you are filing suit against them
- Access certain information from the trucking company, like black box data, truck maintenance records, and dashcam footage to help prove the other party’s negligence
- Collect evidence like police reports, witness and expert statements, and medical records to strengthen your case
- Negotiate with the liable party’s insurance company for a pretrial settlement, if possible
- Represent you in the courtroom and fight for a jury award, if necessary
- Take care of all clerical tasks, such as returning phone calls or filing paperwork
Finally, if you have any questions at any time, we would be glad to answer them.
When to Hire a Truck Accident Lawyer
There are several things you should do after a truck accident before you hire a lawyer. They include:
- Getting medical help: This could mean calling an ambulance for yourself or another injured party. Alternatively, if you are not in immediate danger, make an appointment with your own doctor as soon as you get home.
- Calling the police: A police officer can help render assistance as necessary. Their report will also include many critical details about the accident, so we can request a copy of this report to use as evidence in your lawsuit.
- Collecting whatever evidence you can: If possible, stay on the scene long enough to take photos and get the other driver’s contact information. If you are very badly injured, please leave as soon as possible, and do not worry about collecting evidence.
Most of these tasks can and should be completed before you leave the scene of the truck accident.
Once you leave the scene and have received your first round of medical treatment, you are ready to consider hiring our Gastonia truck accident lawyer because:
- You now have a better idea of what injuries you sustained and how much they will cost you in both money and physical and mental suffering.
- The insurance company will soon contact you if they have not already done so. You should not speak with them on your own, as they may try to take advantage of you or get you to accept less than you deserve.
- Monetary compensation is available to you for a limited time only. After three years, you lose the right to sue for damages, according to G.S. § 1-52.
- The deadline for seeking compensation is even shorter in wrongful death cases: per G.S. § 1-53, you only have two years to file after your loved one’s passing.
In other words, the sooner you hire our truck accident lawyer serving Gastonia, the more we might be able to do to help you get appropriate compensation.
Hiring Our Truck Accident Lawyer in Gastonia
Farmer & Morris Law, PLLC, wants to make the legal process as easy and as painless as possible for accident survivors like you. Call our office to find out what our Gastonia truck accident lawyer can do for you. The initial consultation is free, and you will pay no attorney’s fees until you receive compensation.
