After a truck accident, victims want to know who is liable in a truck wreck, if there is a deadline to file a claim, an estimate of how much a settlement will be, and how long a personal injury claim may take. Fortunately, a Norfolk truck accident attorney can be a comprehensive resource to learn all of the above.
If a negligent truck driver has caused a collision with you, it is guaranteed that the trucking company will have their insurance company and lawyers review the details. Instead of facing them alone to save money, employ our Norfolk personal injury lawyers, who will cover your legal costs until we win your case.
The law office of Christina Pendleton and Associates can help you fight for the financial support you deserve. Discover how our firm handles the cases of truck accident victims with our experienced truck accident lawyers in Norfolk.
Understanding Liability in Truck Accident Cases
The question of fault in a Virginia truck accident puts significant pressure on every driver on the road. Drivers are expected to uphold what is known as a state-wide duty of care. This duty requires drivers to act as reasonably as possible on the road.
This means obeying traffic laws and striving to keep one another safe from harm. Drivers accused of neglecting their duty of care or otherwise deliberately violating it can be held liable for any accidents they cause.
That said, Virginia also gives drivers some legal leeway courtesy of the state’s contributory negligence statute. Code of Virginia § 8.01-58 notes that in any instance in which full blame for a crash cannot be attributed to a single party, neither party can fight for compensation.
Before you file a commercial truck accident claim, discuss contributory negligence with a truck accident lawyer in Norfolk to learn more about its impact on your case.
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Assigning Liability in a Commercial Truck Accident
To complicate matters further, it isn’t always another driver who’s responsible for a truck accident. Trucks, rather, represent the labor of several different parties. If any one of those parties neglected their jobs, they may have endangered all the other individuals that a trucker may have come into contact with.
Liability in a truck accident can fall on parties other than the truck driver. It may also fall on the truck’s manufacturer, the driver’s parent company, the truck’s loading staff, or a maintenance crew. You can even bring a case against local government representatives if you believe road construction or damage contributed to your losses.
Once you’ve established an idea of who may be liable for your losses, you need to prove their fault. Insurance claims can help with this process. You can also work with a legal team to establish a correlation between your losses and another party’s recorded behavior.
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When Should I Call a Norfolk Truck Accident Attorney?
Professional legal advice can make the aftermath of a truck accident easier to contend with. The services that legal teams can provide you can help you understand post-accident liability, the complexities of legal negligence, and the different ways you can request compensation for your losses.
You can connect with Norfolk truck accident lawyers even if you’d rather keep your case out of court. Most truck accident claims do not go to trial but rather allow all parties involved to meet on an equal legal footing. A legal representative can help you address settlement offers, negotiate with liable parties, and manage your post-accident assets.
No matter what this process looks like for you, an attorney can help you keep your best interests in mind.
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Our Truck Accident Attorneys Can Meet Virginia’s Statute of Limitations
Virginia does not allow its injured residents to act on cases that it deems expired. As such, you’ll want to keep the state’s statute of limitations in mind. Code of Virginia § 8.01-243 gives all residents two years to act on their losses.
Suppose you do not submit a truck accident complaint within the allotted two-year period. In that case, Virginia courts will consider your case expired, and you will not be able to seek compensation for your losses.
If you have the opportunity, you can sit down with a personal injury attorney with extensive experience in truck accidents within days of your wreck. The more time you give yourself to gather complaint-essential information, the sooner you can bring your case before a Virginia court.
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Our Norfolk Truck Accident Lawyers Operate on Contingency
Because truck accidents can be so costly, many families feel reluctant to pursue post-accident legal action. We recognize that barriers to legal action can prevent deserving families from receiving the financial support they need. As such, our law firm offers all our legal services on a contingency fee agreement.
Contingency allows you and your family to focus on your recovery even as you receive legal guidance. Even then, you’ll only see a bill for that guidance if Christina Pendleton & Associates wins your case. If you’re worried about being able to afford an attorney, a contingency-fee basis makes it feasible.
What Compensation Should I Ask for After a Truck Accident?
Post-accident compensation strives to make your recovery simpler. That said, it can be challenging to know what kind of compensation you are able to ask for after a truck accident. This is where a consultation with Norfolk truck accident attorneys can come in handy.
You can assess your accident for both economic and non-economic losses and then detail the extent of those losses in your complaint. Some of the most common damages to request include:
- Care for medical expenses
- Physical therapy
- Lost wage or opportunity for employment
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional pain
Should the circumstances call for it, you can also request compensation for funeral expenses and wrongful death. If it appears that the liable party acted in gross violation of the law, the court may even opt to apply punitive damages to your case. However, you may not request these damages along with the rest of your potential compensation.
Don’t Let Severe Truck Crash Injuries Ruin Your Life – Get the Maximum Compensation You Deserve
Broken bones, spinal cord damage, and traumatic brain injuries are severe injuries that are all too common for victims of truck accidents. But you can fight back. Our attorneys will hold negligent trucking companies and drowsy, distracted drivers accountable, getting you maximum compensation so you can move forward.
Our firm collaborates with experts like medical professionals, accident reconstructionists, and vocational specialists to assess the long-term care and expenses needed before demanding a settlement amount. The point of legal assistance is to place yourself in the best position possible to receive a fair payout.
Trucking Company Negligence: A Major Factor in These Preventable Crashes
Inexperienced drivers, driver fatigue, and overloaded trucks – these examples of trucking company negligence often prove to be a major factor in these devastating yet preventable truck crashes. We’ll analyze the following to build an airtight case against irresponsible trucking operators:
- The driver’s log of hours driven
- Cell phone records
- Information from the truck’s electronic data recorder
- Cargo loading records
- Maintenance logs
- Traffic camera footage
Eyewitness accounts are also reliable sources that we will use to pinpoint the fault and get you paid following a truck accident in Norfolk.
Let the Pendleton Law Team Go to Work For You
Recovering from a truck accident doesn’t have to put more strain on you and your family. Instead, let a Norfolk truck accident lawyer take on that burden for you. The team at Christina Pendleton & Associates has served over 80,000 clients and can use that experience to fight for your financial support.
You can use our online contact form or call our office to learn more about the legal services available to you.
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