Flint Truck Accident Lawyer

Recovering from a truck accident can be expensive, particularly if you’re not financially liquid to begin with. The negligence of truck drivers, trucking companies, manufacturers, and related parties can all see you forced to contend with expenses that last months or years beyond the accident itself.

Fortunately, you can hold the parties responsible for your accident accountable for their negligence in Michigan’s civil courts. When you collaborate with a truck accident attorney in Flint, MI, you can file a complaint against a liable party. That complaint can then pave the way for you to receive a settlement matching or exceeding the cost of your accident.

Who to Hold Responsible for Truck Accidents

To take action after a truck accident, you need to know what party is responsible for the negligence that resulted in your losses. More often than not, you might assume that if a truck driver caused your accident, that driver may have to come forward when summoned in civil court.

This, however, is not always the case. Only independent contractors have to represent themselves in civil court. If a truck driver operates as an employee under a company, and if that driver was on duty at the time of an accident, their employer may take the stand on their behalf.

Proving Truck Accident Liability with Evidence

All that said, you must have evidence on hand if you want to accuse a particular party of causing your recent truck accident. You can work with truck accident lawyers in Flint to discover this evidence and compile it into a cohesive complaint. The evidence that is often seen as most valuable in the wake of a truck accident can include:

• Footage of the accident
• Police reports detailing the nature of the accident
• Bystander testimony
• Expert witness testimony

You can also work with truck accident attorneys to secure black box data from an accident involving a truck. Black box data can elaborate on the behavior of a driver – or more specifically, the functions of a truck – at the time of your accident.

Presenting an Assertion of Fault to a Civil Judge

When establishing fault for your accident, you need to make sure that the complaint you bring before a civil judge is as thorough as possible. Specifically, you need to do more than claim that one particular party bears responsibility for your accident. 

You need to further establish that the party in question had a responsibility to keep you safe while you were on the road. In other words, your complaint should indicate that the named party refused to behave reasonably while on the road, and that said unreasonable behavior resulted in your accident.

In doing so, you’re indicating that the liable party in question owed you a duty of care and subsequently violated that duty. When you can prove that a party violated the duty of care owed to you, you can more effectively argue for justice before a judge.

Discussing the Value of Your Truck Accident Case

When you bring a truck accident case to the attention of a civil judge, you give yourself the right to demand compensation for your losses. The compensation you elaborate on in your complaint can range from economic to non-economic, depending on what evidence of loss you’re able to bring forward.

Specifically, most truck accident complaints allow you to request financial support for your:

• Emotional distress
• Pain and suffering
• Stress and/or PTSD
• Medical expenses
• Property damage
• Time lost at work
• At-home assistance

You can work with truck accident lawyers to determine which of these losses apply to your case and how best to address them when submitting a complaint. Our team can use a combination of your available invoices and state-approved multipliers to assign value to your case.

You may, however, receive a settlement offer before you have time to calculate your case’s value. You do not have to accept these offers without first considering your losses, yourself. Bring a settlement offer to a Flint truck accident attorney, and we can ensure that an insurance provider isn’t trying to undervalue your accident.

Filing Your Truck Accident Claim

Once you’ve established both fault and the value of your case, you can bring your claim to the attention of civil representatives in Flint and beyond. Specifically, you need to submit your completed truck accident complaint to a county clerk before you can take legal action against the party you named as liable for your losses.

What’s more, you need to submit your complaint on a tight deadline. Michigan Compiled Laws §600.5805 limits your actionable time to two years from the day your truck accident occurs. Try to file your claim after that, and Michigan courts can deny you your right to legal action.

Truck Accident Claims Give You Control Over Your Recovery

After you file your truck accident claim, you need to wait for a county clerk to determine whether or not your request for compensation can move forward. If a court opts to proceed with your case, you can exert some additional control over your circumstances.

Specifically, an approved claim allows you to summon the party you named in your complaint for conversations about your losses. You can have those conversations outside of court in settlement negotiations or in court in front of a judge. You can even begin conversations outside of court and move to trial if your negotiations prove unsuccessful.

You can discuss how you want your case to move forward during an initial case consultation with a Flint truck accident lawyer. Our team can work within our means to help you work within the civil justice system.

Take Action Against Negligent Truck Drivers Today

Truck drivers have a civic responsibility when they’re on the road. Drivers who do not pay attention to their surroundings or who otherwise engage in negligence can cause severe accidents. Similarly, trucking agencies, manufacturers, and related parties can all play a role in another person’s roadway losses if they fail to uphold their duties of care.

You can contact a White Law PLLC truck accident lawyer in Flint, MI, to discuss your right to financial support. Get in touch with our firm by calling our office or using our contact form to schedule a consultation with our team.