Depending on the findings of the investigation, your lawyers will advise you whether to settle with the insurance company or go to court.
Truck accidents account for 9.2% percent of all traffic fatalities in the state of Colorado, at least according to 2017 figures. That year, there were 87 fatal truck crashes. The number of people injured is in the thousands, and most of them are occupants of passenger cars that have the misfortune to be hit by a truck 20 times as heavy.
If you were recently injured or lost someone in this sort of accident, you need to look up the best Colorado truck accident lawyers to understand what your rights are. If you know what’s good for you, don’t talk to your insurance or anyone from the trucking company until you’ve scheduled a free consultation with reliable Boulder truck accident lawyers.
If someone from the trucking company reaches out to you, don’t mistake their interest for genuine compassion. They’re only interested in finding ways to minimize the value of your claim and to cover their tracks if they were in any way responsible for what happened.
Trucking is a billions of dollars industry and to make those huge profits they often ignore federal road safety regulations forcing their drivers to work until they cannot keep their eyes open. Literally. A nationwide survey came to the astonishing conclusion that 25% of truck drivers fall asleep behind the wheel. Even if it’s just for a few seconds that’s plenty of time to crash into another car.
Your truck accident lawyers will start their investigation by sending out spoliation letters requesting all concerned parties to preserve all documents relevant to the crash. As far as the driver is concerned, your attorneys will want to see the data on the Electronic Logging Device on the truck to see whether the driver was in compliance with federal regulations concerning the number of hours worked in one shift. A commercial driver is not allowed to drive for more than 11 consecutive hours, after which they must take a 10 hours break. If the driver spent the night partying, that’s on him. However, if he didn’t get enough sleep because of his extenuating schedule, that’s on the company and your lawyers will make them pay for their greed.
Skilled attorneys also have good contacts among independent experts and they might call on them to review the technical report on the truck. If there was a mechanical failure, the trucking company can be held accountable.
Depending on the findings of the investigation, your lawyers will advise you whether to settle with the insurance company or go to court. In most cases, accident lawyers prefer to settle out of courts as it takes less time.
As for the compensation you’re entitled to this includes economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages are calculated based on your medical bills, the property damage and your lost wages.
Non-economic damages are meant to compensate you for your pain and suffering. As opposed to other American states, in Colorado you can claim non-economic damages even for minor injuries, but, of course, you cannot expect to get millions of dollars for a concussion.
