When a semi-truck crashes into your car, do you know what to do next? Likely not! It’s a rare situation. Most semi-truck crashes cause incredible injuries and property damage to victims. You may be unable to work or pay your bills after they have struck your vehicle and injured you.
What you should do is contact our Marion truck accident lawyers at Morelli Law. You may be eligible for compensation to make you whole again after your accident. We will help you get cash through an insurance claim or a lawsuit to cover your costs.
Why Hire a Lawyer After a Semi-Truck Accident in Illinois
Illinois is an at-fault state. This means that proving an auto insurance claim requires you to show that the other driver was at-fault for the accident. The insurance companies will send out claims adjusters to investigate what happened and come to a conclusion about fault and how much you’re owed.
A lawyer allows you to challenge both the claim that you may be at fault and the amount of money you should get from your semi-truck accident. Insurance companies prefer to pay victims as little as they can get away with. They will use tactics against you that will make it harder to win.
By hiring a lawyer, you’ll have someone on your side who can do the fighting for you while you recover from your injuries. A lawyer also gives legal advice that can protect you from losing your case, seeks out evidence, files paperwork with the insurer and the court, negotiates with the insurance company, and much more.
Potential Parties in a Semi-Truck Accident Case
Semi-truck drivers have more dangerous vehicles, so they have much larger insurance policies. However, in many semi-truck cases, there are multiple parties you can sue. For example, the employer of the driver may also share liability in the accident. They could cover costs that the driver cannot.
Another potential party is the company or individuals who loaded the truck. Improper loading could make a semi-truck tip over or cause the cargo to fall out. Morelli Law’s semi-truck accident lawyers in Marion can investigate whether this was the cause.
More rarely, the truck manufacturer, a repairperson, or even the people responsible for road maintenance could share liability. When you work with our team, we will identify everyone who may hold liability and pursue claims against them all to maximize your potential compensation.
Marion Semi-Truck Accident Lawyer Near Me 877-751-9800
Will My Case Need to Go to Trial to Win?
Can a semi-truck accident case take a long time to win? Yes. A semi-truck crash can easily involve more than two vehicles all with their own claims. However, only a few crash cases make it all the way to trial, which is the option that takes the longest. Most cases end with a settlement.
If you don’t have a lawyer, then settlement or dropping your claim are your options. That puts all the power in the hands of the insurers. These companies hire entire law firms dedicated to defeating and minimizing claims. If you fight them alone, you’ll likely get much less than you could get.
If you have one, then not only do you have someone who knows how to negotiate with other lawyers on your side, but you also open the option of taking the insurer to court and letting a judge and jury decide the matter. Insurance companies prefer to stay out of court. Going to trial is expensive for them, and they could lose much more than they’re willing to pay.
How do I Know If a Settlement Offer Is Fair or Not?
If the crash report and other evidence demonstrate that the semi-truck driver was at-fault for the accident, then the insurer may reach out to you with a settlement offer right away. It may be worth a lot of money and seem like a fair amount to you. But is it really?
There are numerous damages you may receive that you don’t know about. For instance, there may be injuries that haven’t fully developed, yet that could cause pain or disability. There may be significant non-economic damages you may receive as well.
To truly know if a settlement offer is fair, you need a lawyer on your side. Our Marion semi-truck accident lawyers will use their experience to calculate the true value of your claim and demand the insurers pay you what you should truly receive. Ultimately, the choice is yours about when to accept a settlement, but you need to have someone help you make an informed decision.
How Expensive Are Your Services?
Many lawyers will say that you will owe them nothing unless you win your case. We’re the same. Personal injury lawyers have found that this is the fairest way for everyone to get access to legal representation after a semi-truck accident. But should you win, how much will you owe?
There are two factors. The first is the contingency percentage. Our lawyers are paid a percentage of your final settlement. A common percentage is 33%, but it can go up or down depending on how hard your case is to win and whether your case goes to trial.
The second is how much you end up winning. Contingency fee arrangements give your lawyer incentive to get the most money they can for you. The more they get, the higher their fee gets relative to the percentage. So if you win a huge amount, yes, your fee will be high, but it will be the same proportionately to what you’d pay if you won a lower amount.
Work With Our Marion Semi-Truck Accident Lawyers ASAP
Our attorneys offer complimentary consultations to discuss your options for financial recovery after a truck accident. These consultations help us assess your case and allow you to ask questions about your claim and our services.
The Morelli Law Firm has decades of legal experience helping clients get compensation for losses in semi-truck accident cases. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation to learn your legal options. The sooner you call us, the sooner we can help you get paid for what happened to you.