How a Lawyer Can Help After a Trucking Accident

Trucking accidents almost always cause catastrophic injuries. If you were hurt or someone you love was killed in a Michigan trucking accident, you and your family might be entitled to compensation. But recovering the compensation you deserve is not always easy. Trucking companies and their insurance companies know that truck accidents cause serious injuries. They have armies of well-trained and highly-skilled insurance adjusters and lawyers who are dispatched immediately after a trucking accident to “mitigate risk” and do their best to ensure the trucking company is not held responsible for the harm it caused.

To level the playing field, you need to work with a personal injury law firm that has extensive experience litigating trucking accident claims and knows how to get results. At Muth Law, P.C., our trucking accident lawyers have more than 35 years of experience helping people who were hurt in trucking accidents. We know that injuries from a truck accident can devastate a family. Let us take some of the burden off of your shoulders so you can focus on your health and your family.

Trucking Accidents Are More Complicated than Car Accidents

In most truck accident cases, there is more than meets the eye. Unlike a car accident, where the claim will typically be resolved between two drivers and their respective insurance companies, multiple entities might be responsible for a trucking accident. These include the truck driver and trucking company, the manufacturer of the truck, shippers, brokers, loaders, maintenance providers, and others. And behind each of these entities is an insurance company whose goal is to make sure they pay you and your family as little as possible.

Multiple Parties Could Be Responsible for Causing Your Injuries

When you work with Muth Law, we will act quickly to identify the potentially responsible parties and notify them of their duty to preserve potentially relevant evidence. In addition to identifying the driver and the company they work for, we will thoroughly investigate the accident to identify other factors that caused the accident. Shippers, brokers, loaders, maintenance providers, and others can also be partially responsible for causing a trucking accident. We will explore the relationships between these companies, identify who was responsible for your injuries, and hold them accountable for the harm they caused.

Additional Evidence Is Available After a Trucking Accident

In many truck accidents, it initially appears that the truck driver was a “lone wolf”—an owner-operator with a minimum limits insurance policy. But after investigating the accident, we may discover that this driver had a history of driving for a particular company, and may have even had prior safety violations such as speeding, hours of service violations, or drug use.

In addition, we will follow the money to identify who hired the driver, who was responsible for loading the cargo, and the terms of the contract between the shipper and the trucking company. We will also work to identify the broker who arranged the contract and who might have retained responsibility for oversight over the work being performed.

Any or all of these entities may have contributed to the unsafe conditions that led to the accident that caused your injuries. We will identify the responsible parties and hold them accountable for the harm they caused.

Complex Federal Laws Apply to Trucking Accidents

Commercial trucking companies are regulated by the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA), which is responsible for enforcing federal laws and regulations that apply to the trucking industry. Truck drivers and the companies they work for must adhere to FMCSA rules and regulations, such as the hours of service rule and others. If they do not follow the rules and a crash occurs, they can face serious legal consequences.

Experts Are Often Necessary to Prove Your Case

When we handle a catastrophic truck accident claim, we routinely work with accident reconstructionists and other experts to analyze the cause of the crash and to offer evidence about the severity of your injuries. Experts can provide critical insight into factors such as accident reconstruction, biomechanics, truck safety, road safety, proper loading procedures, the cause and severity of your injuries, and your prognosis.

These experts may be called upon to provide testimony to prove certain elements of your case. Unlike lay witnesses, who are not permitted to offer opinion testimony, people who are qualified as experts are permitted to express their opinion on a fact at issue in your case.

We will identify and work with the appropriate experts to analyze and testify about information that is relevant to your case.

Muth Law, P.C. Fights for the Compensation You Deserve

A catastrophic truck accident can be devastating to you and your family. When you work with Muth Law, we will offer emotional support and help your family recover the compensation you deserve.

While no amount of money will completely make up for your injuries, financial compensation can pay for past and future medical bills and lost income after a catastrophic injury from a truck accident. If someone you love was killed, your family might be entitled to compensation for funeral and burial expenses and other compensation that is available in a claim for wrongful death.

If you were hurt or someone you love was killed in a Michigan truck accident, the trucking accident lawyers at Muth Law are here to help. We are based in Ann Arbor and proudly represent people in Ypsilanti, Ann Arbor, Washtenaw County, and throughout Michigan. You will never pay us an attorney fee until we recover money for you. Please contact us today to schedule a free, confidential consultation to discuss your truck accident injury. Call us at 734-481-8800 or send us an e-mail. We look forward to serving your family.