6 Stages of a Truck Accident Lawsuit in Florida
April 8, 2016
If you have been in a truck accident and are thinking about filing a lawsuit against the driver or trucking company responsible for your injuries, here is a list of the various stages of Florida truck accidents lawsuit, so that you know what to expect.
Stage #1 Contacting your Attorney regarding the Truck Accident
When you contact your attorney, he or she will be interested in finding out how the accident happened. Questions that you may need to answer with your attorney may include the following:
–From which direction did the truck come?
–Were you hit from behind?
–What were the details in terms of how you were involved in the accident with the truck?
Stage #2 Securing Evidence
The next stage of your truck accident lawsuit will be securing the evidence needed to pursue a claim against the truck driver and/or trucking company. This will include analyzing skid marks on the road where the accident took place, the points of impact on your car or vehicle from the truck or other cars on the roadway, and an inspection of the truck itself. In fact, at this stage of your case, the truck is the main piece of evidence.
The truck needs to be thoroughly investigated to find out if there were any maintenance issues that could have led to the accident. Often, an investigation will uncover, for example, that a truck’s brakes had not been properly adjusted, the steering wheel had not been properly maintained, or other maintenance issues occurred that may have led to the accident.
Stage #3 Filing the Truck Accident Lawsuit
You and your lawyer file the actual lawsuit to gather and preserve the trucks maintenance documents. The documents you will most be interested in preserving will be:
–The trip manifest
–The logbook
–The bills of lading
-Toll receipts
You will also be interested in any documentation that can help you determine where the truck was 30 days prior to being involved in the accident with you.
Truckers are often on the road beyond the number of hours accepted under the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act. This means that drivers are often fatigued from driving longer than they should. This, in turn, could result in drivers falling asleep at the wheel and causing catastrophic injuries on the roads.
Stage #4 Discovery
This stage can be broken down into two phases:
–Your deposition
-Your examination
During your deposition, you will be required to give a statement under oath regarding the accident. Typically, before you give your deposition, you and your attorney will sit down and go over how you want to respond to the questions you will be asked. These will include questions about:
–Your background
-What happened in the accident,
–Your injuries
-How you feel now, as opposed to how you felt before the accident.=
Some time after your deposition, you will be examined by a doctor from the trucking company. This doctor will be there to represent the trucking company’s interest. Often, your attorney will also have you examined by a separate, impartial physician.
Stage #5 Settlement Negotiations
You should complete all of the other phases before negotiating with the trucking company, since you want to be negotiating from a position of strength. You want to be able to dictate the terms of your settlement negotiations. This can only be achieved if you have collected and preserved the evidence necessary to support your claim for compensation.
Often, in cases where a family has lost a loved one in a trucking accident, the only thing left to provide closure for the family is the settlement. One of the advantages of settling your claim before going to court is that there will be finality for you and your family. However, if a fair settlement cannot be negotiated, the case may have to go to trial.
Stage #6 The Truck Accident Trial
The case may need to go to trial in order to obtain the compensation that you or your family deserve. This will also be an opportunity to explain the traumatic events to a jury so that they can get an idea of who you are and the impact that the accident has had your family.
This is often the key to being fully compensated for the pain and suffering that you and your family are enduring now, and will have to endure in the future. For this reason, every personal injury case should be prepared, from the very start, to go to trial. If you’re prepared for this, you will be fully ready to present a strong case to the jury when you have to go to trial.
Contact an Auto Accident Attorney at Jodat Law Group Today
The attorneys at Jodat Law Group provide aggressive, experienced representation for victims of truck accidents in Florida. To find out if you may have a claim for compensation, schedule a free consultation at one of our convenient office locations today, call us at 877-735-0265, or contact us online.
