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How Long Do You Have to File a Claim for a Truck Accident?

How Long Do You Have to File a Claim for a Truck Accident?

The effect of a truck accident can be life-altering in ways that a victim never expected. One moment they are driving their vehicle, and the next moment they find themselves in a medically critical situation that could cause them tremendous physical and financial pain.

No one anticipates a truck accident, but approximately half a million truck accidents happen in the United States every year. Therefore, it is reasonable to prepare for the possibility that you may face such a situation.

How do you prepare for a truck crash? How long do you have to file a lawsuit? Who can help? Should you hire a truck accident lawyer?

Have You Been Affected by a Truck Accident?

Truck Accidents can cause immense stress which is why you need a truck accident lawyer to assist you in your claims for compensation. Let our professional attorneys assist you and get you the results you desire.

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How Should You Respond if You Are in a Truck Accident?

The immediate moments after a truck accident are critical. The faster you respond to keep yourself and others safe, the better. It will likely be highly unclear right after a truck accident occurs if anyone has been injured or not. Your first responsibility is to check the status of everyone involved (including yourself) in the accident to determine if anyone requires medical attention.

You should call emergency services even if nobody appears injured. Truck accidents may cause internal injuries that are not visible to the naked eye. The only way to know is for a medical professional to look over the injured persons involved in this accident.

If anyone on the scene is unresponsive, you should attempt life-saving measures to the best of your ability while also alerting emergency services to the scene. When you call 911, they should guide you through how to perform CPR if you don’t know how to do it. Listen to their instructions carefully and do what they say to the best of your ability. You might save a life.

 

Common Injury Types and Why Contacting an Attorney Is Critical

Getting in touch with an attorney shortly after a truck accident is always wise. Don’t let anyone tell you that you shouldn’t do this or that you don’t have a case. They don’t know the nature of your case, and there are many situations where an attorney must look over the facts of your case to see if there is something worth exploring there or not.

Lean on your attorney to provide you with that information as they understand the legal matters that are the most relevant to your case.

Common Types Of Injuries In A Trucking Accident

Truck accidents can injure individuals in several different ways. When you know what injuries attorneys commonly see, you may understand why you need an attorney immediately after an accident.

A few of the most common types include:

  • Whiplash This injury is commonly defined as the rapid snapping of the neck back and forth due to a collision. Whiplash is common not only in truck accidents but also as the result of sports injuries and even physical abuse. Attorneys can seek damages for the victims of whiplash that they sustained from a truck accident.
  • Back Injuries Another common injury type are back injuries sustained when one is involved in a truck accident. This can happen due to the significant force applied to the back during the accident.
  • Concussion A concussion is a brain injury caused by a bump or jolt to the head. These injuries are serious, so get in touch with an attorney if you suffered a concussion due to a truck accident. Even if your symptoms seem mild, there is the potential for long-lasting health ramifications. Attorneys can help you obtain the assistance you need to win a settlement or judgment in your favor if you sustain a concussion.

These are just three common injury types seen in truck accidents, but this is certainly not an exhaustive list. No matter what injury you sustain in a truck accident, you should seek the advice of an attorney if you wish to obtain compensation for it.

The Law Limits the Time to File Your Case

You do not have unlimited time to file a lawsuit after being involved in a truck accident. Statutes of limitations in every state in the country dictate how much time you have to file your lawsuit. It varies from state to state. For example, the statute of limitations in California currently stands at two years. Meanwhile, Illinois will give you up to five years to file such a suit. Florida allows four years.

Some people hear this and think that this is plenty of time to get their lawsuit filed, but they shouldn’t allow themselves to fall into that kind of thinking. Thinking like this makes it all too easy to start to slide down the slippery slope of procrastination.

You probably have a lot going on after a truck accident, and getting together with an attorney to begin to pursue your case may not be at the top of your list of priorities. However, delays in getting your case filed may prevent you from filing it all together.

When you put your filing on the back burner, you allow time to elapse that you need to get the lawsuit filed. It is a process that takes some time, and the closer you push it toward the statute of limitations deadline, the bigger the risk of hitting that limitation and not being able to file.

Lawyers request that you contact them as soon as you can do so after an accident. A lot goes into reviewing your case and ultimately getting it before a judge.  Your lawyer may need as much time as possible. They want to help you, but they can’t do so until you reach out to them. If you are even remotely considering filing an injury claim, please reach out to an attorney as soon as possible.

Compensation Available to You

There are various forms of compensation that may be available to the victim of a truck accident. When you hire a successful lawyer, they will look for every form of compensation that they can win for you and your case. Here are some of the forms of compensation that may be available to you:

Medical Bill Compensation

The main form of compensation that most injury attorneys will focus on as they work on a case for their clients will be the medical bills that the client has accrued due to their injury. The client didn’t do anything wrong to put themselves in a situation where they should have ended up in the hospital, but they are now suffering from those expensive medical bills anyway.

That is why an attorney will pursue the responsible party or parties in court to pay for the damages they have caused to their client. This is often the largest portion of a client’s compensation, as medical bills can easily be very large.

Pain and Suffering

There are legitimate claims to be made about the pain and suffering that one faces following a truck accident. They are forced to find new ways to cope with the physical limitations and challenges that life has thrown at them following their accident, and it is not easy to do. Therefore, an attorney may seek some pain and suffering compensation while in court. The amount you can receive in pain and suffering compensation may vary from state to state. Consult with your attorney about the potential to include this as a part of your case.

Lost Income

Spending time off work because you are injured and cannot perform your job duties can be financially devastating. People who are handed this station in life are often quite frustrated by what they rightfully see as a miscarriage of justice. Thus, it is important to speak with your attorney about the potential to roll lost wages into the claim that is made in court on your behalf.

Lost wages are something that the court can fairly easily quantify, improving your chances of getting this part of your compensation claim validated in court. They can see how much money you left on the table due to your injuries and time spent away from work, and you may be able to win at least this part of your claim in court as a result of that fact.

Loss of Enjoyment of Life

This last piece is subjective and doesn’t always get included in every truck accident lawsuit, but you should ask your attorney about it nonetheless. The loss of enjoyment of some aspects of your life may qualify as part of your compensation claims in a truck accident lawsuit. The reason for this is that the truck accident may have taken away parts of your life that you would have otherwise enjoyed.

Many people include the sensitive subject of their ability to enjoy a fulfilling sex life with their partner. If injuries from the truck accident prevent them from having the enjoyable sex life they once had, then it is possible to include this in the lawsuit. After all, it is another loss that has affected your life.

Reach out to an Attorney to Go Over Your Options Today

There is no time like the present to get in touch with an attorney who can help you with your truck accident claim. The attorneys want to help out with these cases, and they can begin to review your documents and information as soon as you reach out to them. They need to take a hard look at your case to see what they may be able to do to help you, so you need to give them the time to do exactly that.

Present them with all of the facts about your case and get that information over to them quickly.

You deserve to have the very best attorney to help you get the compensation you deserve. Find an attorney who will agree to take your case on a contingency basis so that you don’t have to pay anything to the attorney until they win the case for you. Doing this will put you in good shape to proceed with your claim.

Perenich Law injury Attorneys

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