How do you recover from a forklift accident? After working with emergency responders and medical professionals, you can request that a forklift accident lawyer in Carbondale help you investigate your losses. Together you can bring evidence of negligence forward in civil court and demand damages for the losses you faced.
Morelli Law Firm’s Carbondale personal injury lawyers understand how confusing the days, weeks, and months following a forklift accident can prove. That’s why we offer personal injury case consultations free of charge. You can turn to our team for legal guidance and representation in your effort to secure forklift accident damages.
Reacting to a Forklift Accident
You need to seek medical attention immediately after a forklift accident. Once you’ve had any injuries addressed, you can talk to your insurance provider about what kind of financial support you can expect from the plan you’ve invested in. Unfortunately, that coverage may not address all of your post-accident bills. There is, however, another course of action available.
You can work with forklift accident lawyers in Carbondale, IL, to bring your forklift losses to a judge’s attention. That judge can then decide what your right to civil action looks like. If your case moves forward, you can negotiate for a settlement with your liable party, or you can request that a judge and jury oversee your case.
That said, you have a limited amount of time in which the state of Illinois allows you to bring a personal injury claim forward. According to 735 Illinois Compiled Statutes section 5/13-202, you have two years to make your case, or else Illinois civil courts can disregard your claim.
When to Call a Forklift Accident Lawyer in Carbondale
If you only have two years to act on your losses, when should you get in touch with an attorney? That is up to you. Technically speaking, you have the right to represent your own best interests in the wake of a forklift accident. Doing so, however, may make it more difficult for you to heal or return to work.
If you have an attorney representing your best interests instead, you can put the onus for investigating your losses onto their shoulders. Morelli Law Firm’s personal injury lawyers know how to scope out an accident scene to bring forward the evidence that may most effectively help you argue for compensation.
Our attorneys can also interface with a liable party on your behalf, ensuring that you’re not intimidated out of legal action or otherwise addressed inappropriately. You can even request that we speak with your insurance provider should your claim for damages go unaddressed.
Holding the Right Parties Liable for a Forklift Accident
Who do you hold liable for a forklift accident? The answer varies between accidents. When in doubt, you need to look at the evidence available at your accident scene. That evidence helps you make an assertion of liability that sticks when you go before a civil judge. The evidence that’s most relevant to your case may include the following:
- Security camera footage of the forklift accident
- Photos of the accident
- Debris from the accident scene
- Statements from bystanders
- Expert witness opinions
That said, forklift accidents, in particular, can see other parties get roped into your personal injury claim courtesy of the contracts those parties have with one another. It’s our responsibility as Illinois’s personal injury lawyers to help you untangle those contracts and assign blame for your losses to the right party.
The parties liable for a forklift accident can include the following:
The Forklift Driver
Forklift drivers who don’t seek out consistent training or operate a forklift without a license engage in deliberate and dangerous behavior. If these parties work as independent contractors, you can use what evidence you have of their negligence to hold them personally accountable for your financial losses.
The Forklift Driver’s Employer
Certain employers take on responsibility for their forklift drivers’ behavior if those drivers work as employees under a corporate banner. The risk of liability drives many companies today to hire forklift drivers as independent contractors and not employees.
Our team of Carbondale, IL, forklift accident lawyers can help you determine what role a forklift driver plays under their company’s masthead. If the driver works as an independent contractor, we can hold that individual responsible for your losses. If the driver works as an employee, we can meet with that employer’s legal team to demand compensation on your behalf.
The Forklift’s Manufacturer or Distributor
There’s always a chance that a forklift may malfunction while on a worksite or while traveling from one spot to another. If a forklift malfunction resulted in your endangerment, then you may have the right to hold that forklift’s manufacturer or distributor liable for your losses.
These forklift accident cases fall under the umbrella of product liability cases. You can work with an attorney to determine what a forklift manufacturer’s history of legal action looks like and if you’re not the only person who’s suffered an accident at the hands of a particular brand.
Carbondale Forklift Accident Lawyer Near Me 877-751-9800
Your Liable Party May Owe You Damages After a Forklift Accident
Recovering from a forklift accident takes a considerable amount of money, even if you’re not grievously injured. You shouldn’t have to dip into your emergency fund to pay for your post-accident medical expenses. If you work with a Carbondale forklift accident attorney, you can demand that a liable party pay for your recovery.
You may specifically request non-economic and economic damages for your forklift accident-related expenses. This means that a liable party may have to help you pay for:
- Accident-related medical bills
- Lost wages while you’re out of work
- Property restoration and replacement
- Property rental, if necessary
- Emotional distress
- Mental anguish
- Pain and suffering
You can turn to an attorney for help assigning a dollar value to all of these losses.
Let Our Team Help You Recover From a Forklift Accident
Forklift accidents can leave you in a physical and financial lurch. You, however, can rely on a forklift accident attorney in Carbondale throughout your quest to recover. Morelli Law Firm’s team of personal injury attorneys has years of experience working in Illinois’s civil courts, and we’re ready to put that experience to use on your behalf.
You can learn more about what rights a forklift accident entitles you to by having a conversation with our attorneys today. Morelli Law Firm makes it easy for you to request a case evaluation. You can contact us through Morelli Law Firm’s online contact form or by calling our office. Let’s schedule your appointment ASAP.