Smithtown, NY Truck Accident Lawyer
In most truck accident cases, the occupants of the other car are the ones who face the most serious injuries, not the truck driver. Truckers have huge vehicles that weigh over 20 times the weight of most sedans, potentially crushing smaller cars and leaving the drivers and passengers seriously hurt.
If you faced injuries in a truck accident, you may need help from an experienced attorney to get the compensation you need for your accident. Victims could be entitled to insurance claims and lawsuits that can help them recover lost wages, medical expenses, and other damages.
For help with your case, call The Carrion Law Firm’s truck accident attorneys today at (718) 841-0083.
Damages for Truck Accident Victims in Smithtown, NY
In any injury case, victims can typically claim “damages” from the at-fault party. “Damages” are both the name of the specific harms you face as well as the money paid to compensate you for those harms. Damages are typically broken down into two main categories – economic and non-economic damages – but breaking them down further can help you understand what you could be entitled to compensation for in your accident case:
Lost Wages
If the injuries you suffered in a truck accident keep you from going back to work – either temporarily or permanently – then you could be entitled to compensation for those lost wages. The driver who caused your crash is ultimately responsible for the fact that you cannot work, so the driver and their employer should be made to pay for these damages.
Lost wage damages can include compensation for the period of time you were out of work while recovering from your injuries. However, many injuries affect people going forward, potentially leaving them with disabilities that require them to take it easy or prevent them from working altogether. In these cases, the projected future lost earnings can be claimed, too.
Medical Expenses
Our truck accident lawyers can also help you claim compensation to cover the medical expenses related to your crash. If the other driver was responsible for the crash, then they should be the one to pay for the injuries they caused you.
Your no-fault insurance is supposed to cover a portion of medical expenses (as well as lost wages), but this is often less than the full coverage you need. If you take your case to court or file a third-party claim, medical expenses can be claimed for the full value of all surgeries, hospital stays, doctor’s appointments, therapy sessions, rehabilitation, and other care needs related to the accident.
Pain and Suffering
Damages for “pain and suffering” cover the majority of your “non-economic” damages. Whereas medical bills and lost wages have a clear monetary value attached, the feelings of pain, discomfort, emotional distress, and other mental, emotional, and psychological effects of the crash do not have receipts or statements giving them a financial value. These damages can still be claimed, but calculating them is often complex.
Lawyers and insurance companies typically get a starting value by multiplying your other damages by a multiplier based on how serious your injuries are. Alternatively, a per-day value can be assigned to your pain and suffering and multiplied by the number of days you suffered or will suffer. Your lawyer can help you understand what pain and suffering damages should be included in your claim and how much they are worth.
Punitive Damages
We have yet to mention punitive damages, as they are rare in most injury cases. However, they can be ordered in truck accident cases where the trucking company or driver has been repeatedly accused of the same kind of negligent conduct or where their conduct was extremely reckless. Instead of compensating you for your injuries and other effects, these damages are ordered to punish the defendant and are paid to the victim on top of their other “compensatory” damages.
Suing for Damages in a Truck Accident Case in Smithtown, NY
In any auto accident in New York, your right to sue is limited under New York’s no-fault insurance system. Under this setup, each driver has insurance to pay for their own medical bills and lost wages. As mentioned above, these damages do not cover your injuries in full in most cases, meaning that you will need to file an insurance claim against the other driver or sue them in court to recover the remaining damages. However, your right to do so is limited to certain situations.
First, you can always sue for death. This means that if a loved one was killed in a truck accident, our attorneys can help you file a lawsuit for their death and get compensation for the economic harm related to their death.
Second, you can sue if your injuries are “serious” under New York law. This threshold is often met in cases with substantial injuries and covers any permanent injuries, loss of function, broken bones, or injuries that will disable you for at least 90 of the following 180 days after the accident. Talk to an attorney about whether your injuries satisfy this requirement.
If these requirements are met, you can file an insurance claim against the at-fault driver’s liability insurance. This can provide much of the coverage you need for the rest of your damages, but it might not cover everything.
Our attorneys can negotiate with insurance on your behalf, but if a fair settlement is not reached, we can file the case in court and pursue damages in a lawsuit.
Suing Truckers vs. Trucking Companies in Smithtown, NY
In most cases, you can file a claim directly against the driver who hit you. However, if they caused the crash while working as a truck driver, then you can often sue the trucking company they work for as well. The trucking company might also share direct liability if it failed to keep its truck in good working order or hired dangerous drivers.
Call Our Smithtown, NY Truck Accident and Injury Attorneys Today
For a free case review, call the truck accident lawyers at The Carrion Law Firm by dialing (718) 841-0083.