If you have been involved in a truck accident in California, you should start thinking about your options. The first thing that shall come to your mind is whether you are injured. The injuries resulting from accidents include spinal cord injuries, serious injuries, minor injuries and any other injury. You must seek medical attention urgently after checking for injuries and other damages. Your medical records must contain the details of all the injuries that you might have suffered.
When this is done, you shall realize that you have been inconvenienced significantly and may want to ensure that the person responsible for the accident is held accountable and made to compensate you for your injuries and losses.
After deciding to file a claim against the responsible parties, it is crucial to consult with a truck accident lawyer to research the statutory timelines for claims like yours. Note that these timelines can vary depending on whether you plan to file your claim with the insurance company or initiate a lawsuit against the party at fault.
Understanding Your Case’s Filing Deadline
Fundamentally, you must understand the difference between filing an insurance claim and filing a truck accident case. This understanding will help you understand your case’s process and timelines.
Insurance companies have different policies about how things should happen for them. These policies govern the things that need to be done for them to process or reject your claim. It is, therefore, necessary that you understand the unique policies that apply to your insurance coverage.
In most instances, insurance companies require their insured to notify them about the accident as soon as it happens. However, some provide reasonable window periods within which you must inform them about your involvement in the accident. It is, therefore, vital that you work within the timelines of the insurance policies so that the auto insurance company has no reason to reject your claim.
It is further crucial to understand that whereas most truck accidents are resolved through insurance settlements, there are certain situations in which the insurance companies offer little or no compensation. When this happens, it is crucial to understand that you may always file a truck accident lawsuit in pursuit of compensation. California’s laws provides that one has two years from when the accident occurred to file a personal injury lawsuit. If you file a suit outside the dictates of the statute of limitations, your claim may be defeated, and you may be unable to recover any compensation. It is therefore vital that you engage the services of an experienced truck accident lawyer so that they can help you file a claim.
Importance of Timely Evidence Collection
It is crucial to understand that as much as the issue of filing claims within time is crucially important, it is not the only thing to be concerned about when pursuing compensation. It is crucial to understand that the chances of your case’s success depend on the evidence in your possession. Therefore, you must collect all the necessary evidence as soon as possible.
The evidence that you should collect includes the following.
The camera footage of the traffic
Camera footage for traffic is usually stored by the applicable traffic requirements. In most instances, the camera footage is stored by time-bound regulations. It is, therefore, necessary that you get to get the camera footage beyond they are overwritten.
Eyewitness testimony
Eyewitnesses may not be living or working within the exact locality of the accident. They may therefore be challenging to find should they not be interviewed at the accident scene. It is, therefore, crucial that the eyewitnesses are questioned about the accident when they are still at the accident scene. By doing so, you shall be able to record the much they remember without risking them forgetting anything about the accident.
The police report
It is important that you collect the police report on the accident. The police report shall contain the names of the trucking companies involved, the truck accident victims and any other information about the truck accident.
Forensic evidence
Forensic evidence include the truck skid marks, the broken glasses, and other debris found on the road, which would form part of the evidence in support of there being a truck accident. This type of evidence is degraded by the sheer passage of time. It is, therefore, necessary that you put together such evidence as soon as possible.
Black box data
These data shall help the authorities or the courts determine the issue that brought about the accident. Therefore, the data must be retrieved as soon as possible before they are overwritten.
It follows from the above that so many things require urgent attention. Therefore, you must engage with a truck accident lawyer as soon as possible so that they can assist you in putting together the evidence before they are lost or damaged. You should contact a lawyer when you are involved in an accident.
Why Do Insurance Companies Impose Filing Deadlines?
Various insurance companies impose timelines within which they can only accept claims to expedite the claims process. Most would detest dealing with insurance claims that happened in the distant past as they know that evidence may have been lost. Moreover, as they would always want to investigate the claims before making decisions, they would like to avoid situations where their investigators cannot produce conclusive reports.
Moreover, the deadline imposed by insurance companies is put in place to avoid situations in which they have to deal with fraudulent claims. Insurance companies avoid old claims because the injuries or damages that shall be produced may not necessarily result from the accident.
Beware of Insurance Company Tactics
It is important to note that insurance companies are business entities whose principal objective is to make profits. Because of this, most insurance companies will vigorously resist any attempt for it to make any compensation. The insurance companies owe a duty to their owners and little responsibility to those injured. Because of this, insurance companies are always keen to ensure that they do not pay any compensation where it is possible to avoid it.
It follows that filling your truck accident claim as soon as practicably possible ensures you can defeat any claim you did not adhere to their timelines.
How a Lawyer Can Help Manage Your Case
A truck accident lawyer helps your case in so many ways. They will assist you with advice and any other assistance necessary when putting together your truck accident claim.
The lawyer shall help you prepare and file a lawsuit, ensure that you adhere to all the necessary timelines surrounding your case, ensure that your case progresses by doing whatever the court shall require, ensure that the time-sensitive evidence and documents are well preserved, ensure that the spoliation letter has been sent to the trucking company to keep crucial evidence surrounding the case, look out for and hire experts who shall assist you in ensuring that you are compensated, establish the number of damages that you should look for, help determine the negligence and liability of the parties to the truck accident, negotiate a settlement with the insurance company if necessary.
A truck accident lawyer strives to do everything necessary to attain a favorable outcome in your accident case. However, as time is of the essence when it comes to truck accident cases, you should contact a lawyer so that they can guide you on the best way forward.
Pursuing Financial Recovery for Your Losses
A truck accident lawyer will do more than file your case within the statutory stipulated deadline. They also pursue compensation for your injury-related losses, such as:
- Medical bills incurred by you and your loved ones when seeking medical attention;
- Payment for the Pain and suffering endured after the accident;
- Compensation for any damage to property;
- Expenses incurred because of the accident;
- Payment for the Mental trauma that you endured;
- Payment for the disability, scarring, and disfigurement that came about from the accident;
- Compensation for lost income and other job-related benefits that you missed out on because of the truck accident;
- Payment for the loss of future earning capacity; and
- Wrongful death-related costs, such as funeral and cremation costs
If you need more clarification about the filing deadline for your case, our experienced truck accident attorney at Big Ben Lawyers can evaluate your truck accident situation and guide you through your options to ensure that you make the most appropriate decision.
Contact Big Ben Lawyers Today for a free consultation
At Big Ben Lawyers, we are available and willing to assist you in making the best decision. Our advice shall be based on the circumstances of your case and our wealth of experience in dealing with accident claims in California. During our free consultation, we shall advise on the issue of the timeline surrounding your unique situation.
It is always important to contact your lawyer as soon as you are involved in a truck accident as you are time bound in putting together evidence and filing your claim in court.
You should contact Big Ben Lawyers so we can start building your case by putting together the required documents. As soon as you get us, we shall answer all the general questions that you may have about the truck accident. We shall also address all the case-specific inquiries that you may have. We shall also give you a free consultation of the legal options available to you. During the free legal consultation, we shall ensure that we have highlighted to you the possible damages that you could seek and a quantification of the same.
Reach out to the able lawyers at Big Ben Lawyers today for more information on your case and any general inquiry you may have.