Damages After a Clearwater Truck Accident
If you have been injured in a Clearwater truck accident, there are several damages that your truck accident lawyer may be able to help you pursue to contribute to your recovery. These damages can include a wide number of things including medical bills and treatment costs. You can recover damages for lost wages or any out-of-pocket expenses that you have had to incur, whether it be hiring someone for lawn maintenance when you used to care for it yourself, or hiring a cleaning service because you are no longer able to clean your own home. You are able to recover compensation for loss of ability to perform regular tasks, as well as compensation for loss of consortium if you have lost the companionship of your spouse or family member.
Lastly, you can also recover for pain and suffering, which not only takes into account what your injuries are but also the pain you have gone through and the suffering you have had to endure because of those injuries. If you are suffering from injuries due to your involvement in a truck accident, a Clearwater personal injury lawyer will be able to guide you through the processes of seeking damages to pay for the injuries you sustained.
Responsibility to Pay Damages
The at-fault party is responsible for paying for the property damage in the case. If the at-fault party does not have insurance, then the driver’s insurance company will cover it.
Insurance Coverage
Auto insurance will cover:
- Property damage
- Injuries and medical bills
- Lost wages
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Loss of consortium
- Pain and suffering
Caps on Damages
There are caps on certain truck accidents. If the truck is used by a governmental agency or a non-profit organization, some of the caps can involve sovereign immunity. In these cases, there could be certain caps to what a claimant is allowed to recover.
Role of an Attorney in Recovering Damages
The attorney’s primary role in recovering damages is to protect their client from being taken advantage of by the insurance company. An insurance company will try to settle a case for much less than it is worth, especially if the individual is not represented by a personal injury lawyer because the company knows that this is likely the person’s first car accident, whereas the adjuster is dealing with hundreds, if not thousands, of cases. If the individual does not retain an attorney that has far more experience than the opposing side, they are at a much higher risk of being taken advantage of.
An attorney will do an investigation of the different insurance policies and individual parties that may be liable in a case. So, it may be the truck driver, it may be the person that owns the truck, or it may be the company that rents the truck. There may be multiple insurance policies dealing with a single car accident case.
First, an attorney will find all the policies that may attach to the claim. Then, they will compile all of the client’s medical bills and medical records and put them together in a demand package which is an explanation in the lawyer’s words that argues why this specific accident caused these injuries, and how these injuries have affected their client’s life, their loved ones, their ability to work, and what pain and suffering the client has had to go through as a result of the injuries from this accident.
The truck accident lawyer sends the demand package to the insurance company and will argue with an adjuster or an attorney to maximize the value and settlement of their client’s case.