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Pennsylvania car accident attorneyAccidents in the United States are one of the leading causes of deaths and injuries. According to NTHSA, in 2000, there were an estimated 6.3 million highway traffic crashes, which killed more than 41,000 and injured more than 3.1 million people.
An accident caused by others can lead to personal injury and or wrongful death for which you may be eligible to claim your social security disability and or worker's compensation benefits. If you or a loved one have been in an accident that involved a serious personal injury, know your legal rights by contacting the nearest or simply fill in the search box above to get access to your nearest accident attorney.
The act of driving is dangerous enough all by itself. As such, even when everyone is a safety-conscious and law-abiding driver, accidents are going to happen. Fortunately, most of them are not serious. Unfortunately, because of the careless inattention or reckless actions of some drivers, it is usually the very worst accidents that are the most preventable.
There is one thing that is worse than getting in a motor vehicle accident in the first place?and that is getting in an accident with an uninsured motorist. Fortunately, if you have uninsured motorist coverage, your insurance company will pay you the compensation for the accident that you cannot recover from the uninsured motorist. Unfortunately, that process often requires that you bring an arbitration claim against your own insurance company.
Tractor-trailer crashes are not typical motor vehicle accidents, and for that reason, should you or a family member be the victim of such a crash, you need to hire an attorney who understands that your case shouldn?t be handled the same way as a two-car collision.
Why You Need a Truck Accident Attorney
Critical evidence that?s favorable to you can disappear quickly, so time is most certainly of the essence for a thorough investigation of your accident. Your truck accident attorney will be the key point man or woman in making sure that the necessary evidence is collected in a timely fashion to support your case.
By the time you hire a lawyer in a truck accident case, you are already at somewhat of a disadvantage. The motor carrier and its insurer will have an adjuster, and possibly a collision reconstruction expert, on the scene within hours of the crash, especially if there has been a fatality or serious injury. The truck company?s defense attorneys also get a steady stream of truck litigation and have lots of experience with this type of work. It?s important that you have experienced counsel as well; someone who understands the special issues relevant to truck cases.
Before an attorney takes your case, she or he will need to decide if its a good case.You may have a claim if the truck driver or the owner of the truck was at least partially responsible for the accident. Your lawyer will have to decide if the amount of damages in your case are large enough to justify the time it will take to prepare your case and the expenses the attorney will need to lay out in the process.
Preparing Your Case: Preserving Evidence Upon agreeing to take your truck accident case, your lawyer?s job is to immediately send a certified letter to the motor carrier?s owner or president and possibly the driver, instructing them to preserve any information regarding the operation of the truck or the driver?s driving record for the 3-month period prior to the crash.
Hiring One or More Experts
Your counsel will hire an expert, possibly more than one, to go with him or her to investigate the scene of the accident and then to inspect the vehicles involved. The experts your lawyer engages will be able to identify the essential evidence and help your attorney evaluate its relevance to and impact on the case. Your lawyer may even need to get a temporary restraining order to protect the vehicles, their contents, and all important documents, including the driver?s log books, which are typically disposed of after 6 months.
The expert?s investigation will include photographing and/or videotaping the scene, noting the presence of tire marks, debris, marks on trees, signs, buildings, etc., documenting interior and exterior damage to the tractor, the trailer(s), the car(s), guardrails, the roadway, and any other property. The expert will also document physical features of the road and any obstructions.
Collecting Evidence
Your attorney will speak to witnesses, interview the investigating police officer, and obtain a copy of the police report. Much of what your lawyer will do has to do with collecting documentation from the trucking company regarding: the driver, (logs, personnel file, driver qualification information, drug test results), the truck and the trailer, (safety, maintenance and repair records, load information, satellite and communication data), the company?s safety records, etc.
Later on in the litigation your lawyer will conduct depositions of the driver, possibly the truck company owner, any witnesses, and any others who may have knowledge or information favorable to your case.
Be certain your attorney has handled many truck accident cases. If a lawyer is inexperienced in this area of the law, find another one who has this experience. The success of your case depends a lot on the skill of your attorney.
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