Bentonville Truck Accident Lawyer

Being in a truck accident is frightening and can leave you feeling shocked and unsure of what to do.

These steps will help you protect your health and maximize your chances of building a strong case for recovering damages:

Call 911

The first thing you should do after being involved in a truck accident is to call 911, especially if someone has been injured.

Law enforcement officials will come to the accident scene and will file a report that you can use in your defense.

Help Others

Truck accidents tend to be serious due to the massive size of the vehicles involved.

Pay attention to your own injuries, but also be mindful of the injuries and damage to other vehicles that others have suffered, and offer your assistance if you can.

Exchange Information

Exchanging information with other drivers involved in the truck accident is important so that you can obtain compensation.

Even if you have their name or the name of the trucking company they work for, contacting them can be difficult.

Document the Scene, Speak with Witnesses

If you can, take pictures of the accident scene including all vehicles involved.

The pictures may be invaluable evidence in proving how the accident happened.

It can also be a good idea to get the contact information of witnesses so that they may back up your version of events.

Seek Medical Attention

You should seek medical attention after the accident, even if you don’t initially think that you are hurt.

Some injuries may not manifest right away.

Getting medical attention also creates a record that ties the injuries to the truck accident.

Contact an Attorney

If you have been involved in a truck accident, you should contact an experienced lawyer to help with your claim.

They will help you determine which party is at fault for the accident and thus liable for any injuries and losses you may have suffered.

After a truck accident, you deserve to focus on healing from your injuries and getting your peace of mind back.

You don’t need the added stress of navigating the legal system.

Plus, the steps to getting compensation can be confusing and overwhelming.

A lawyer will help guide you through the entire process detailed below:

Investigation

The insurance company will probably gather evidence to limit their liability and thus reduce the amount they offer to you.

That’s why you should let the lawyer perform their own investigation to adequately represent you.

Filing a Claim

Once the investigation is complete, the lawyer will then file a claim.

The claim will include compensation for damages owed to you, which includes both material losses and injuries suffered.

The claim will also identify the at-fault party.

Negotiation

If your lawyer is able to reach an agreement with the insurance company, the claim will be resolved out of court with a financial settlement.

The lawyer will handle all negotiations involved in this process.

Litigation

If a compromise is not reached in negotiations with the insurance company, the case will go to court, where it will be up to a judge or jury to determine the outcome.

The lawyer will represent you in court and ensure that you receive the compensation you are rightfully entitled to.

There are three (3) categories of damages you may be awarded after a truck accident:

1. Economic Damages

These are damages that can be assigned an actual dollar value.

The economic damages include lost wages, modifications to your residence due to the accident, current and future medical bills, physical therapy costs, etc.

2. Non-Economic Damages

This compensation is for damages that are much more difficult or impossible to assign an actual dollar value, since they are almost always intangible items.

Non-economic damages include pain and suffering, potential lost earnings, loss of consortium, etc.

3. Punitive Damages

This type of compensation is typically awarded in addition to the economic and non-economic damages.

Punitive damages are awarded by the court to make an example out of a negligent truck driver or trucking company.

It is perfectly normal to wonder how much compensation you are entitled to in a truck accident claim.

However, the amount of compensation a claim is worth varies depending on several different factors.

It is usually very difficult to determine how much your claim is worth, which is why you should hire a knowledgeable truck accident attorney to help you out.

In Arkansas, truck accident victims have just 3 years from the date of the accident to file a claim.

It might seem like a lot of time, but you might be surprised by just how quickly 3 years pass after a truck accident.

That’s why you should hire a truck accident attorney to help you file your claim and avoid missing critical deadlines.

Determining fault in truck accidents is almost always a matter of identifying the “at-fault” or negligent party.

In some accidents, it is easy to tell which party acted negligently, but in others, fault is not always easy to assign.

That’s why you need a truck accident lawyer representing you to prove that fault rests with another party for the accident.