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I was in an accident with a commercial truck. Do I need a truck accident attorney?

The most pressing reason that you would need to hire a trucking accident attorney is that the trucking companies typically have lawyers at the scene of the accident before any of the vehicles are taken away. That means evidence can go missing, witnesses are having their statements taken, the lawyers are meeting with the police and are already starting to develop a defense position for the driver’s actions.

If you do not have an attorney of record and wait too long to hire one, evidence might be lost. While your attorney is still able to access some of the information after the accident, they may not have the chance to see the actual scene, or pictures and find themselves possibly dealing with weeks old eyewitness information. None of those situations is advantageous to you.

The other factors that are present in the aftermath of a trucking accident are typically multiple plaintiffs, such as the truck owner, truck operator, the trailer owner, the person who leases the trailer and more. There are also state and federal rules and regulations to be sorted through to determine which apply in the circumstances. For instance, the truck may be owned by someone in Florida, but the accident happened in Washington and the trailer owner may live in Montana.

Trucking accidents are complex and without a good attorney the plaintiff may be facing a long road to receiving compensation on their own. Insurance companies usually try to dismiss or diminish claims. A trucking accident attorney can handle the insurance companies for you. Insurance companies do not like going to court and tend to settle higher rather than lose a case.

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