Are you wondering how you can find a good Salem truck accident injury attorney? This article covers this and the different ways a truck accident happens.
Truck accidents are not uncommon in Salem, Massachusetts. It could be an injury or a fatal accident and can turn a victim’s life upside down. Despite this traumatic experience, you also have to deal with medical expenses and lost income.
Therefore, the law allows you to file an insurance claim. If you want to have a successful personal injury claim, it might be a good idea to have a truck accident injury attorney on your side.
The goal is to start building a case that will help them limit liability. The right Salem truck injury lawyers will represent you and diligently pursue compensation for your losses. However, you might not know how to find a good Salem truck accident injury attorney. This article will explain the factors to consider when looking for the right attorney for your case.
How Truck Accidents Differ From Other Motor Vehicle Accidents
Although both are automobile accidents, a collision with a commercial truck differs extensively from one with a passenger vehicle or motorcycle accident. If you’re in a pedestrian accident involving a passenger car, you only have to deal with the insurance and liability of the driver.
It is pretty different when you’re involved in a trucking accident. There are usually several liable parties to consider. Sometimes, the truck driver is the only party responsible if they’re an independent contractor. However, the trucking company, cargo loaders, and third parties may be liable for this commercial vehicle accident.
This usually means dealing with more insurance providers, in-house personal injury lawyers for the truck companies, and other entities. Also, most trucking companies have insurance providers that respond to a scene immediately after a trucking accident. The ideal way to handle truck accident cases is to not do it on your own.
Seeking the legal service of a top truck accident injury attorney will make the process easier. Your experienced attorney will manage all communications related to the case and carry out negotiations with the liable party’s legal team.
What Causes Truck Accidents?
Negligent drivers cause most truck-related accidents. However, there’s still a sizeable percentage of these automobile accidents that result from other external factors. Some common causes of truck accidents include:
- Reckless driving includes disregarding traffic rules, speeding, and tailgating
- Drowsy driving
- Intoxicated drivers
- Driver’s inexperience
- Overloaded truck
- Falling debris from the truck
- Mechanical issues
- Distracted driving
A distracted driver is one whose attention is on other activities aside from driving, e.g., texting with a cell phone. In any of these instances, you can file a liability insurance claim for monetary compensation.
How To Find a Good Salem Truck Accident Injury Attorney
Choosing the right personal injury attorney to represent you in legal proceedings is an important decision. Your legal team will efficiently handle every part of your case, including negotiating with the negligent party’s insurance carrier. The factors below will ensure you make the right choice for you.
Reputation
Reputation is one of the best ways to gauge auto accident attorneys’ success and how they will fare with the opposing counsel. You can also get referrals from co-workers, friends, and other people you know personally.
If a personal injury law firm has a successful record with past clients, it means they have the respect of other lawyers in the community. If it’s a small city or town, you can count on the lawyers and judges to be aware of each other’s reputation. You want truck injury lawyers that are respected.
Legal Experience
Another essential consideration when looking for a good Salem truck accident injury attorney is their experience. Most lawyers share information about their practice years and notable cases they won over the years on their website. However, you’re looking for more than a personal injury lawyer. Although the combined experience from various cases can be helpful, you should focus on a lawyer with trucking accident experience.
So, look beyond a lawyer that has handled auto accident cases previously. This is because an accident victim’s losses are worse than damages from a passenger vehicle accident. The trucking industry also follows different regulations from passenger cars.
Therefore, you need to consider law offices with extensive experience in trucking accidents. Commercial truck accidents are usually a specialty. While your personal injury attorney might have experience in construction accident cases or premises liability cases, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be excellent for your truck accident case.
When you first meet or consult with a truck accident injury attorney, ensure you ask questions about similar cases they’ve handled. Find out if they won the case or were able to get fair compensation for the personal injury victim. Before narrowing down your law office choices and engaging a law firm, this information is essential.
Resources
A truck accident case might require several experts to establish liability on the at-fault party’s side. For example, some truck accident cases require using an accident reconstruction expert, actuary, traffic engineer, and other experts who can help you build your claim.
Ensure you ask truck injury lawyers about these experts and how often they’ve worked together. You should also ask about the experience these experts have and if your attorney has the financial resources to hire the best.
Part of your attorney’s job is to investigate your compensation claim thoroughly. While a police report and medical records come in handy, it doesn’t always provide all the information you need. This is even more important when there are questions about who’s at fault. With adequate resources, your Salem truck accident injury attorney will be able to hire a professional who can recreate the accident scene.
Negotiation Skills
If you’re looking to get maximum compensation from your commercial trucking accident case, you need an attorney with excellent negotiation skills. This might be the most crucial part of your personal injury lawsuit. An excellent lawyer uses the right strategy and tactics to formulate a strong argument for why you deserve financial compensation for injuries and property damage.
If this is a comparative negligence case, your lawyer also tries to minimize your responsibility for the accident. However, being a personal injury victim doesn’t shield you from sharing responsibility for the accident. In such a case, your lawyer needs to be able to defend your claim, and get you monetary compensation.
Sometimes, the company’s insurance carrier tries to make you responsible for part or all of the crash. However, a truck accident injury attorney with decades of experience will be able to reduce your liability or prove your innocence and get you a fair settlement.
Dedication
When looking for law offices to seek legal assistance from, consider the dedication they can offer. Decades of experience won’t matter if the accident attorney is too busy to give ample attention to your case. Therefore, you should ask yourself these questions when searching for the ideal legal counsel.
- How responsive was the firm when I contacted them?
- How soon did they respond to me?
- Was by call returned by an assistant or the lawyer?
- How quickly was I able to book an appointment with the lawyer?
- Did the lawyer give me their undivided attention during the consultation, or were they distracted?
Truck injury lawyers are always busy. This is a given as most law offices are usually brimming with activities. However, your case is just as important and deserves ample attention. A good law firm will always be available when you need them.
Payment
Although most truck injury lawyers use a contingency fee agreement with their clients, some charge hourly. Find out the type of payment a truck accident injury attorney offers before hiring their legal services. If your attorney uses a contingency agreement, you won’t need to pay them until there’s a successful resolution.
However, when you make a financial recovery from your case, the lawyer earns a settlement percentage. This works in the victim’s favor because they don’t have to pay upfront and the lawyer works hard to win the accident claim.
Furthermore, you should also ask about additional fees as this could increase the contingency fee. Sometimes, the attorney fees increase if your truck accident claim makes it to trial.
Also, ensure your accident attorney puts the contingency fee agreement in writing. Note that you can always negotiate for a lower fee. Finally, don’t hire the first law firm you visit, look around to see what other law firms are charging to verify you’re paying the competitive fee.
Contact a Salem Truck Accident Injury Attorney Today for a Free Case Review
Suppose you suffered a serious injury in a truck accident or have a loved one involved in a fatal accident involving a truck. In that case, you should contact our truck accident injury attorneys. We are a full-service personal injury law firm that handles personal injury and wrongful death claims from truck accidents.
When you book a free consultation with our truck injury lawyers, we’ll answer any question you might have concerning your case, review the available information, and explain your legal options to you. Our entire team is ready to get to work to secure the best level of compensation for you. Contact Michael Kelly Injury Lawyers today to get started on your case.
