If you have suffered an injury in a crash with a commercial vehicle, you may be eligible for financial compensation. That said, compensation can be difficult to get, as insurance companies are incentivized to pay out as little as possible, and they often start with unreasonably low first offers. Fortunately, a trucking accident lawyer in McLean, VA can get you the compensation you deserve.
Trucking Companies Must Have an Insurance Policy
Under federal trucking regulations, trucking companies are required to have a commercial insurance policy with a minimum of $750,000 in coverage. The reality is that few insurance companies will write a policy for that low of an amount (policies will usually begin at $1 million). If a trucking company is prudent and smart, they will have much more coverage. Otherwise, they will be at risk of being put out of business entirely by an angry jury that has handed down a so-called nuclear verdict.
However, insurance companies are in the business of making money, and they do not want to pay the full value of your claim. They will do whatever is in their power to avoid that result, including dragging out settlement negotiations for as long as possible to wear you out and increase your sense of desperation.
What You Are Entitled to in a Truck Accident Claim
Remember that you are entitled to full compensation for all of your damages in a truck accident settlement. These may include:
- Medical expenses
- Lost income
- Pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Emotional distress
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Embarrassment and humiliation
Settlement Offers Will Almost Always Be Low
You can expect that the insurance company’s first offer will bear little connection to the actual value of your case. Your truck accident attorney will review your medical records, your income, and perhaps even work with experts and witnesses to determine the amount of your damages. Next, they will file an insurance claim on your behalf or a lawsuit with the court.
The insurance company will then proceed to its usual tactics with the intent to pay as little as possible to settle your claim. When you have proven that their policyholder was to blame for the accident, they will have a legal obligation to pay you the full damages that you have suffered up to the full amount of the policy limit. However, the insurance company is certainly not going to do this at first. They will try to see what you may be willing to accept in a settlement, hoping that you are unaware of the full value of your claim. Fortunately, if you have hired a truck accident lawyer, there is little chance of that happening. The first offer will simply be their opening gambit in what can be a long and drawn-out settlement negotiation.
You Can Up the Legal Pressure on the Insurance Company
As a victim, do not lose sight of the fact that the opening offer is exactly that – an offer. The insurance company does not have the power to determine how much money you may be due in a settlement.
They are in a position where they have to negotiate with you and your attorney. All they can do is propose a deal for you to consider. If the deal they offer does not work for you, it is always your option to reject it. In fact, that is exactly what you should do if the insurance company is not offering you enough money for your damages.
When the insurance company is not offering enough money, you have several options about how to proceed. You can always continue to negotiate with the insurance company. The claims process is informal, and you can elect to engage in it if the negotiation suits your truck accident attorney’s legal strategy. Your lawyer will likely try to continue to negotiate a settlement, right up to the end of your case, because it is often in your best interests to do so.
However, you can also choose to file a lawsuit against the trucking company in court. You can take this step at the outset of the legal process, or you can file your case after negotiations seem to be stalling. Either way, the insurance company is involved in the case because they have a duty to defend their policyholder. Even if you have filed a lawsuit against the trucking company, it will be the insurance company who makes the settlement offers. Of course, the insurance company’s offer will be subject to the possibility that their policyholder may file a direct lawsuit if the case is not settled and the trucking company suffers a bad loss in court that can have been avoided.
The choice of how to proceed is entirely yours. The insurance company has every reason to be afraid of a jury, and you can leverage that to your advantage. In truck accident cases, juries can be complete wild cards. Remember that juries are groups of people who have emotions, and they can get angry when they see a plaintiff who was seriously injured by the careless actions of a truck driver and their employer. There is even the possibility that you can be awarded large punitive damages, which is something that only happens when your case goes to trial.
For these reasons, when you have proof showing the truck driver was to blame for the accident, you are in the driver’s seat. You have every incentive to hold out for all the money you deserve when the facts and law are on your side. Your truck accident lawyer can turn up the legal pressure on the insurance company to raise their settlement offer.
Contact a Truck Accident Attorney Near You Today
Do not trust that an insurance company is making you a fair offer after a truck accident. Retain a personal injury attorney to represent your rights and ensure that they are treating you fairly. Remember – you only get one chance to settle a truck accident case, so make it count.