Framingham Truck Accident Lawyer
Don’t let a semi-truck crash ruin both your future and your finances. Instead, get the compensation you need to pay for your recovery by working with a Framingham truck accident lawyer.
Getting hit by a commercial truck can easily be the most damaging and traumatic experience of your life. Whether it was a semi, a dump truck, or some other large vehicle, the damage done to both you and your car are bound to be significant.
Figuring out how to pay for your medical bills, repairs, and other-accident related expenses are problems that simply add to an already stressful and overwhelming event. Even if you know what compensation you need, determining where it needs to come from and being certain that you’re getting a fair settlement are both incredibly difficult.
In the end, working with a Framingham truck accident lawyer from Joel H. Schwartz, PC can reduce the burden you’re feeling while simultaneously ensuring that you get a fair and full settlement.
Dealing with No-Fault Insurance After a Semi-Truck Crash
Because Massachusetts is a no-fault state for auto-insurance, compensation for your medical bills will first need to come from a claim filed with your own insurance, regardless of who actually caused the crash.
Unfortunately, once the limits of your personal injury protection (PIP) are reached, your insurer won’t provide any further funds—and considering the violent nature of a truck accident, this is very easy to do. Also, PIP doesn’t cover all of your damages. Most plans will not compensate you for damage done to your property and vehicle, and noneconomic damages such as pain and suffering will not be covered.
Getting the most out of your PIP coverage is important and is the first step taken after any 18-wheeler wreck. A Framingham truck accident lawyer from our firm will make sure that your insurance pays you what they should and will also provide guidance should your policy limits be exceeded.
PIP Limits Exceeded: Filing a Personal Injury Lawsuit for a Truck Wreck
Once your own no-fault insurance limits are met, you have the option to seek an additional settlement from the driver or entity who caused your semi crash by filing a personal injury lawsuit. There are a few other circumstances in which you might be able to pursue additional compensation in this way:
- Your injuries have resulted in at least $2,000 in medical bills
- Your injuries will result in permanent disfigurement
- Your injuries include a bone fracture or damage done to your senses of hearing and sight
There are other advantages to filing a personal injury claim, as well. In addition to your medical bills, you’ll be able to seek compensation for your lost income, other accident-related expenses, pain and suffering, and lost enjoyment of life. Your Framingham truck accident lawyer will help you identify and correctly value all of these items, thereby maximizing the value of your claim.
Injuries Suffered in 18-Wheeler Accidents
Before accepting any sort of settlement, it’s important to first identify all of your injuries and the extent of the damage done. This is absolutely essential because you don’t want to discover years later that you took a lowball settlement offer and that your ongoing medical needs will greatly exceed your available funds.
Your Framingham truck accident lawyer will consult with your doctor to ensure that the full cost of each of your injuries is fully factored into any settlement offer:
- Brain Injuries – Traumatic brain injuries can easily be some of the most expensive and life-changing injuries to experience. From medication to surgery, the medical costs are certain to be significant, and your life will be greatly affected by the injury.
- Spine Injuries – Whether a herniated disc or a severed spinal cord resulting in paralysis, a back injury can cause chronic pain and limited mobility. It will be certain to affect your quality of life, and specialized equipment and accommodations may be necessary.
- Broken and Fractured Bones – Bone injuries can range from simple fractures to crushed bones that require surgery to install pins, screws, and metal plates.
- Facial and Eye Damage – Permanent disfigurement may call for reconstructive surgery, and nothing will be able to restore your sight. These injuries can automatically justify a personal injury lawsuit.
- Wrongful Death – If your family member died in a truck wreck, you can seek compensation through a wrongful death lawsuit.
Who Caused Your Commercial Truck Accident?
Proving who was responsible for your truck crash is just as important as correctly assessing the value of your financial and noneconomic damages. It’s even possible that multiple parties were at fault, meaning that in order to get the most compensation possible, you’ll need to identify all of them and name them in your lawsuit.
A Framingham truck accident lawyer from our office can make it substantially easier to not only identify these parties but also to prove how they were at fault. For example, if your accident was caused by a distracted, drowsy, or drunk truck driver, it will be necessary to prove this circumstance.
Even then, it’s possible that the trucking company played a role, as well. If the trucker was being asked to work longer shifts than what’s legal or if a truck part failed due to poor maintenance, you would be owed compensation from them, as well.
However, if the part failed due to a design or manufacturing error, then the company who made it would be to blame. Likewise, even a government agency could be at fault if poor road maintenance was involved in your semi accident.
Consult an Experienced Framingham Semi-Truck Wreck Attorney
Becoming the victim of a truck crash makes you justified in seeking monetary compensation for all of the expenses and life changes caused by the accident. While the insurance company should look out for your best interests, the only thing you can count on them for is a minimal settlement that won’t cover all of your needs.
At Joel H. Schwartz, PC, we’ve been helping accident victims like yourself for well over fifty years now, and we can help you get the compensation that you need to pay for your recovery and put your life back on track. To arrange a free consultation with a Framingham truck accident lawyer, either give us a call at 1-800-660-2270 or contact us through the form on this page.