Virginia Truck Accident Lawyers

Mistakes to Avoid After a Truck Accident

When you are looking for justice after being severely injured in a truck accident, it is best to do everything in your power to help your chances of success. Here are some of the most common mistakes people make after being involved in a truck accident.

Not Going to a Doctor Right Away

Unless you were immediately taken from the accident scene in an ambulance, you are going to have the deliberate decision to take yourself to the emergency room after the police arrive to get your information.

If you were able to walk away from the accident and feel like you might be okay, it is imperative that you get yourself in front of a doctor regardless.

You need to make sure that you get yourself thoroughly checked out after an accident to ensure that any injuries are addressed.

Without immediate medical attention, you are putting your health at risk.

You are also putting the success of your case at risk if you delay seeking medical treatment.

The insurance company may claim you lied about how you got hurt or how badly you were hurt. This would give them a reason to reduce or throw away your claim.

Don’t give them that opportunity. Go to the emergency room, urgent care, or your primary care doctor.

Not Listening to the Doctor

Your recovery could take much longer if you don’t listen to your doctor. They care about you getting better. They give you advice that is meant to help you become whole again.

You should also know that the insurance company has been known to have private investigators follow people to see if they can catch them doing something against their doctor’s orders.

If they can succeed in getting a photo of you disobeying doctor’s orders, they can say you are lying about how badly you are hurt. That means you could end up with less money for your compensation award.

Listen to your doctor not just for your own wellbeing but for the success of your claim.

Talking to the Liable Party’s Insurance Company

As you may have gathered, the insurance company is not here to be your friend. They have their own agendas that do not align with ours.

Insurance companies want to save themselves money on your claim. That is their main goal. It is not to help you get the results that you deserve because that means they lose profits.

One of the ways they can better ensure that they do not lose money on your claim is if they can get a recorded statement from you.

You may have been led to believe that insurance companies exist to help you through a tough time. Do not fall for this narrative.

When they call you asking to get a recorded statement from you, simply say no and hang up. You have no legal obligations to talk to them about the accident.

Insurance representatives have been specially trained to ask questions in a way that guide you into giving them an answer that hurts your claim.

As to protect your rights to full compensation, do not allow them to get a statement from you. Let your lawyers handle communications with them instead.

Insurance companies that handle truck accidents are especially powerful so you do not want to give them any reason to lower your claim value.

Waiting to Hire a Lawyer

You do not have forever to hire a lawyer. You are limited by the law.

According to the Virginia statute of limitations, you are given two years from the date of your accident to file your claim.

If you  recently injured in a truck accident, you may think that two years is plenty of time to reach out to a lawyer.

If you delay in reaching out to a lawyer, several issues may arise. Evidence could go missing, witnesses to your accident could be impossible to track down.

We suggest that you call a lawyer as soon as you are physically able to.

The longer you wait to call, the higher chance that something goes wrong with your claim before it even begins.

Hiring the Wrong Lawyer

There are a few things that you need to consider when you are looking for a lawyer to handle your truck accident claim.

The very first thing you need to consider is whether they handle truck accident claims regularly.

If you were thinking that you could call up the lawyer who helped you with a traffic ticket, we caution you against that. You want someone who handles truck accident cases on a regular basis, not someone who handles them every once in a while.

While someone might be a brilliant criminal lawyer who can handle traffic violations with ease, that does not make them an excellent personal injury lawyer.

Something else to consider is their level of commitment to their cases. If they are a trial lawyer, you are far more likely to get the insurance company to cooperate.

Insurance companies want to avoid trial. They know that a judge and jury do not care about the money they would like to save from your case. Trial is also expensive for them.

When they are met with a trial lawyer, you are more likely to get them to agree to a fair and reasonable compensation award.

Lastly, the Virginia truck accident lawyers you choose to represent your claim should have a track record of success. They should be able to tell you many stories about past cases in which they have helped people get justice.

Having the right lawyer can make or break your case. You only have one chance to get compensation, so choose wisely.

Virginia Truck Accident Client Story

Disclaimer: The names of our clients and some details have been changed to protect their identity.

Jenna was on her way to a business trip one Thursday when an accident changed her life.

It was 10AM when Jenna hit the road with all of her equipment in the trunk.

She was already armed with a latte in her cup holder and a podcast playing on her car speakers.

She was really enjoying a new true crime podcast. Today they were talking about a famous unsolved disappearance of a young girl.

In a few hours, Jenna would have to set up her booth for the brand she was representing.

She liked her job a lot. The traveling part was still new to her, so she had yet to grow tired of hotel rooms. She liked the idea of room service and solitude at night. Some of her co-workers who she would be meeting at the convention center were less thrilled about traveling.

Jenna knew that if she excelled at the next few conventions that she might get picked to go to some of the upcoming international trips.

The one she was really hoping for was in Paris. She had always wanted to go.

It was in less than a month and her boss had yet to decide which representative would be going.

About two hours into the drive, Jenna decided to get something to eat so she would not have a grumbling stomach when she arrived. She wanted to be able to dive right into things.

France was heavy on her mind, so she grabbed a croissant from a bakery just off the highway.

As she got back onto the road, Jenna called her boss to let her know her ETA. She was making great time, so she was going to be a little bit early.

Because she left just after rush hour, there was very little traffic.

 It was a pleasant drive until Jenna heard a terrible crunching sound, then realized in the split second before her car rolled that she had been hit.

The world spun as she realized her car was rolling down the side of the highway. She felt like she was never going to stop until she crashed into something that blocked the car from rolling any further.

The car was upside down when it stopped moving.

Shaking, Jenna assessed herself. It was hard to tell what she felt. Her heart was still hammering in her ears.

She managed to push herself up enough to unbuckle the seatbelt, but she realized her leg was trapped.

She screamed for help until she saw someone in her window crouched down in broken glass.

They said, “She’s alive! Call 911!”

The paramedics and firefighters extracted Jenna from the car and onto a stretcher where she was rushed to the nearest emergency room.

She had two broken ribs, a shattered fibula, and a moderate concussion.

Jenna’s phone was retrieved from the collision site. She had a a paramedic call her boss to explain what had happened as her voice was too shaky to do it herself.

The paramedic explained on the phone that a truck merged into Jenna’s lane on the highway and she was lucky to be alive.

One of the paramedics said they had seen accidents like Jenna’s and it was a miracle she was okay. Of course, she was looking at a long recovery, but she was still alive to tell the tale.

Jenna wanted to feel grateful, but she was shattered.

Being in this broken and helpless state made her feel powerless. She did not want to have to miss work. She did not want to kiss her dreams of Paris goodbye. She was completely devastated.

Once Jenna had a clear mind, she knew she could not continue feeling helpless. She had to take care of business.

It wasn’t long until she was on her phone searching for Virginia truck accident lawyers. She wanted justice.

Her searching led her to us.

We got her set up with a free consultation right away. During which, she had three main questions that we answered for her.

1. How much do I have to pay to hire a lawyer?
2. When will my claim resolve?
3. What is my case worth?

You are likely wondering the same things. Here is what we told her during our first consultation together.

How much do I have to pay to hire a lawyer?

Jenna was starting to worry about money when she sat down to meet with us. She had gotten her bill from the hospital and had to dip into her savings to make the payment. She was not going to be able to travel or stand for a prolonged period, so work was out of the question for a while.

She looked nervous when she asked us how much money it would cost to retain our service.

We were happy to tell her that paying us any retainer fee or any upfront costs was never going to be something she needed to worry about. 

We work on a contingency fee basis which means we do not charge you a penny unless we win your case.

Even then, we get our earnings from a small percentage of your compensation award from the truck’s insurance company.

Jenna was so relieved to know that she was not going to have to pay us a dime right away. This made her feel so much better about sitting down with us.

She was so concerned that she was going to have to take out a loan to retain our service.

When will my claim resolve?

Being out of work, Jenna was understandably anxious to know when she can expect to be compensated for her accident.

She knew that she was going to be in rough shape financially without her steady income

We told her that, although we do everything in our power to move the case along, the timeline in which it ends is not guaranteed.

We need to know when she would reach maximum medical recovery. It would tell us that she was done paying for medical care. Then we would have a full understanding of all her losses both financial and otherwise.

We also had to consider the cooperation level of the insurance company. If they dragged their feet and did not offer a fair award, it would lengthen the timeline for us.

We made sure Jenna knew that we would push the case along as fast as we could. We told Jenna to focus on her recovery and we would handle the legal aspects.

What is my case worth?

The question of a case’s worth is almost always asked in the first consultation.

Unfortunately, we cannot promise you anything right away.

We need to get to know your case better.

Your case value is calculated based on your financial losses such as medical bills and lost wages. It also includes your non-financial losses such as pain and suffering.

In Jenna’s case, she was going to be in a lot of pain for a very long time. She missed a lot of work and had medical bills piling up.

Her case value was based on all of the ways the truck accident negatively impacted her life and cost her financially. .

Call Our Virginia Truck Accident Lawyers Today

If you have been seriously injured in a truck accident, please do not hesitate to give our office a call. We care deeply about the success of your case. We will fight until the bitter end to provide you with full and fair results. Call today to get set up with your free first consultation.