Philadelphia Truck Accident Lawyer

If you’ve been hurt by a reckless truck driver, you may have grounds for a lawsuit. But where do you begin, and what can you do to recover from this accident?

The lawyers at Baratta Law, LLC are here to help. Reach out to a Philadelphia truck accident lawyer if you’re hurt and unsure where to start when it comes to getting fairly compensated.

Trucking Accident Injuries Can Be Devastating

A large vehicle collision is particularly dangerous, especially for victims like motorcycle riders, passenger vehicle drivers, or pedestrians. When these crashes occur, you may have questions and severe injuries. The injuries suffered in a trucking accident can have a lifetime impact on your financial and medical future unless you have an advocate to fight for your cause.

There has been an increase in trucking accidents causing injuries and fatalities in recent years. The most disturbing statistic is the percentage of fatalities that have resulted from large truck crashes, relative to the numbers of these types of vehicles on our roads.

Truck drivers’ failure to uphold their duty of care to the public often results in serious injuries compensable by insurance companies. Unfortunately, many factors contribute to large vehicle or truck cases, often complicating liability and prolonging pain and suffering for catastrophic injury victims.
The representation of skilled accident consultants will provide guidance through these areas of Pennsylvania laws and courts. Victims need the experience and assistance of a Philadelphia truck accident lawyer on the path to being awarded justice.

Determining the Cause of Your Philadelphia Trucking Accident

Establishing liability and proving a driver’s negligence can present a particular challenge in trucking accident cases. Some large vehicles are backed by companies with lawyers who handle accident claims in association with insurance agencies. They’re not concerned with whether injured victims are paid reasonable settlements for the actions of negligent drivers.

In a state government like Pennsylvania’s, comparative negligence laws also factor into trucking accident lawsuits. Injured victims may be given the designation of partial fault for a collision due to relatively small factors such as minor speeding. Insurance companies know how to use contributing factors and comparative negligence to reduce the settlements offered to victims.

Lawyers with experience handling large truck matters will prepare your claim for a winning outcome from beginning to end. That representation involves the following:
Timely collection of evidence
Obtaining various types of information and documentation
Seeking detailed witness statements
Resources to investigate all factors of the accident
Commitment to proving the other drivers’ liability

Compensable Damages in Trucking Accident Cases

Victims of truck accidents are compensable for their losses under the same laws and rules governing other types of personal injuries. That includes those sustained on business premises or medical malpractice, or a normal passenger vehicle accident. However, there may be a considerable increase in the expenses incurred by a collision with a large vehicle.

Trucking accident injuries are often catastrophic enough to change several areas of life due to the size and weight of the vehicle. It is only rightful for insurance companies to pay victims on a reasonable basis for every individual, compensable damage they’ve suffered due to a truck driver’s negligence. Accident victims are entitled to several forms of compensation:

Medical Bills – Both immediate medical attention and unpredictable future care needs can be quite costly. In big truck accidents, injuries can be devastating. Burns, paralysis, broken bones, long hospital stays, amputation, and disfigurement require years of medical treatments like occupational or other rehabilitation and a continued need for the use of prescription drugs.
Property Damage – In a collision with a large truck like a tractor-trailer or 18-wheeler, passenger vehicles stand little chance of not being totaled. While you await a reasonable property damage settlement from an insurance adjuster, you may have rental car or other transportation expenses. These are compensable losses in large truck cases.
Lost Income – The types of serious injuries suffered in trucking accidents often cause victims to miss out on wages from potentially hundreds of hours they are unable to work due to a driver’s negligence. A decreased household income can make a difference in your quality of life. Financial strain can make a stressful, painful situation worse.
Pain and Suffering – Some damages are a challenge to calculate or quantify, such as mental anguish or ongoing trauma. As your physical injuries and property are repaired, you may also experience invisible but considerable pain and suffering or emotional distress. A skilled attorney can help you evaluate, calculate, and pursue non-economic damages for pain and suffering.
Punitive Damages – In Pennsylvania, a judge may award compensation beyond economic and non-economic damages if the driver’s actions qualify as outrageous or willfully malicious. This type of damage is awarded to punish negligent parties for their carelessness and deter others from deciding to operate a vehicle improperly or while under the influence, distracted, or tired.
Incidental Expenses – Predicting the future costs of severe injuries is tough, so accident lawyers must evaluate all expenses. That can include thousands of dollars in home or vehicle modifications, in-home medical assistance, reduction in future earning potential, or even lodging near a medical provider. You deserve to be paid every penny.

Circumstances of your specific accident injuries can change the compensable damages you’ve earned. An effective trucking accident lawyer will collect information and evidence needed to calculate reasonable settlements. Once an attorney has reviewed your case, they can answer important questions and give a more comprehensive picture of your compensable damages.

What Assistance Can a Personal Injury Lawyer Provide?

Some people may view hiring lawyers as a simple matter of convenience, letting someone else handle their accident claims. But your attorney has built a career on a foundation of knowledge of personal injury laws. That includes laws like Pennsylvania’s modified comparative negligence law that allow companies to take advantage of victims by offering lowball settlements.

Unsure how to get insurance companies to accept accountability for their drivers’ negligence? Here are some of the many ways our team of lawyers and assistants provide the assistance trucking accident victims need.

Review Your Claim and Represent You at No Charge Unless We Win

Trucking accident lawyers take cases on a contingency basis. For your case, that means once they’ve reviewed and accepted your possible claim, they won’t charge you anything upfront or at any time during their representation.

Contingency fees are fixed percentages of final settlements or verdicts agreed upon at the beginning of a case. That means we don’t get paid unless we achieve sufficient success for our clients.

Evaluate Damages Claimed

Once a truck accident lawyer has reviewed your possible claim, they can provide a picture of the compensable damage you’ve suffered.

From the time they represent you, your attorney will continually follow your relief care, increasing your peace of mind by answering questions about your case. They can use that knowledge to negotiate with insurers or achieve winning verdicts in trials.

Handle Accident Claims and Insurance Negotiations

When you’re dealing with pain and recovery from serious injuries after a truck accident, the last thing you want to do is file insurance claims, answer an adjuster’s questions, pick up a police report, or order your medical records. Worse, you may be afraid of making a mistake.

These are all important steps toward a winning outcome. There are countless benefits of hiring a professional to handle the legal details and factors of your accident.

Maximize Insurance Settlements and Court Verdicts

One major advantage of hiring an attorney with a reputation for excellence in accident cases is that they have the abilities, knowledge, and resources to make sure you are awarded the maximum amount possible for your injuries. Although we give insurance agencies every chance to reach reasonable settlements, we’re prepared to use the courts to pursue justice if needed.

Schedule a Consultation with a Philadelphia Truck Accident Lawyer at No Charge Today

Although our lawyers cannot guarantee a specific outcome in your claim or fix all your problems, Baratta Law, LLC is interested in your trucking accident story. Each attorney in our office is a top-rated national leader in personal injury practice areas with decades of experience. More importantly, our clients can always rest assured we have worked our hardest and communicated with them diligently.

If you’ve been seriously injured in a trucking accident, schedule a free consultation with our lawyers today by calling 215-914-8132 or filling out the form below. Ensure you and your loved ones are covered by the guidance of a skilled professional and a friendly legal team. Contact a Philadelphia truck accident lawyer dedicated to winning outcomes through quality service to our clients.

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Philadelphia Trucking Accident FAQ

After a truck accident, it’s important to have your legal issue addressed by lawyers and consultants who are experts in practice areas involving catastrophic personal injuries. Our clients typically have many questions by the time they’ve first called our office. Here are a few of the most common questions we see regarding vehicle crashes with large trucks.

What Are Some Common Causes of Trucking Accidents in the United States?

Distracted Driving – When distracted drivers are operating oversized vehicles, a choice to continue eating while driving, for example, has often turned dangerous and resulted in deaths. Other categories of distracted driving include fatigue, texting or other active cell phone use, and otherwise making safety optional by failing to keep an eye on the roads.
Driving Under the Influence – Truckers who have consumed alcohol or have illegal drugs in their bodies are perhaps most dangerous to the public. They are in no condition to operate any automobile. A truck driver who sees his or herself as the exception to basic traffic laws like those regarding intoxicated driving and hasn’t followed them can cause lifetime injuries or death in an instant.
Defective Truck Parts – People often associate defective products with medical devices, electronics, household appliances, children’s toys, or food items. But when parts are manufactured for use in vehicles, particularly oversized and heavy vehicles, manufacturers should give their attention to ensuring they’re constructed with the utmost care to avoid preventable and serious injuries.
Improper Truck Maintenance – A trucker’s license and many companies obligate them to perform formal, recorded maintenance checks. These drivers are responsible for the care and service of their rigs, and their carelessness can result in a serious accident. For example, improperly loaded cargo can cause a rollover. Losses due to negligence in terms of maintenance are compensable.

What Is the Deadline for Filing a Claim?

Called the statute of limitations, the deadline for filing a claim for damages sustained in trucking crashes is the same as the statute for other types of personal injury: two years from the date of the accident. To be awarded economic damages for expenses like medical bills in addition to pain and suffering, it’s crucial to meet every filing deadline in your case. For an effective, professional law office, response time is key to putting your case in a winning direction. An extension to the statute of limitations is rare. The sooner your case is reviewed, the sooner we can get started on establishing liability and pursuing the rightful compensation you deserve for the injuries you’ve been handed by the negligence or carelessness of other people.

What is Modified Comparative Negligence?

In about a dozen states including Pennsylvania, trucking and other vehicle accidents are subject to comparative negligence laws. All parties may be assigned a percentage of fault. In a pure comparative negligence state, any percentage can bar accident victims from recovering damages. These agencies are experts at using that designation to justify low settlement offers. Pennsylvania’s modified comparative negligence doctrine states a victim may recover compensable damages if their partial contributory actions were not greater than the defendant’s. This makes it possible for even injury victims who bear up to 50 percent of the accountability for an accident to seek justice and financial recovery with the help of a skilled lawyer.

How Will I Prove the Other Driver’s Negligence?

If another party is responsible for your trucking accident injuries, your attorney will take steps to establish the liability of the defendant. This will be an active, ongoing process throughout your case so your attorney has the information they need to prepare sufficiently. When trials become necessary, our lawyers open with confidence in their knowledge and abilities. The insurance coverage a defendant has, as well as the victim’s personal injury protection (PIP) insurance and many other factors, can complicate the determination of liability for your accident injuries. An experienced accident attorney will make sure truckers and companies protected by insurance pay all expenses incurred when their drivers have violated traffic laws.