Truck Accident Blog. All about Orange County, California and surrounding areas truck accident injury cases.

Choosing an Orange County Truck Accident Lawyer is a serious undertaking and not something that should be entered into solely on the basis of an advertisement.  Below are some common issues you should discuss when meeting with an Orange County Personal Injury Lawyer.

The issues present in a truck injury or car accident case can be complex.  When you consult a truck accident injury attorney inquire about the following:

1. Insurance.  A trucking company may be insured by several different insurers.  Handling all of the various representatives and understanding the potential shared liability can be complex. Make sure you attorney has it under control.

2. Trucking Company Investigators.  An accident can be a huge liability for a truck company.  To minimize the cost trucking companies often hire investigators.  The investigators arrives on the scene as soon as possible, collect evidence and interview witnesses.  Their only job is to minimize the exposure to the trucking company.  For these reasons you should ask your attorney about hiring a separate investigator.

3.  Evidence destruction or loss.  When examining a case to determine fault crucial evidence can be overlooked, lost, or destroyed.  If this evidence isn’t timely collected, cataloged, and analyzed it may prejudice your case.

4.  Compensation.  The claims asserted in any given case will vary, however, you may be awarded damages for past and future medical expenses, lost wages, the inability to earn future wages, pain and suffering, and for loss of quality of life.  In the event that you lose a family member in a truck accident, you may file a wrongful death claim.  A wrongful death claim may seek damages for funeral expenses, loss of economic support and loss of companionship.

5.  Retainer agreement.  What does your written retainer agreement include? That is, do you require clients to front costs for things like expert witnesses, exhibits, etc.  Many times attorneys offer no fee representation but do not get into the weeds about what this means.  To properly represent a client up to and including trial, an attorney may incur considerable expense.  Usually those expenses are passed on to the client in the form of costs that are separate from attorney’s fees.  Attorneys fees are typically subtracted from any award. If there is no award there are no attorney’s fees.  However, and this distinction is important, there are almost always costs.  And costs are borne by the client even in the event that there is no recovery.  They may be small or substantial depending on the case.  The important thing is that you understand how they work.  Insist upon an explanation (as this information will be included in your retainer agreement).

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Interested in how to protect your rights after a truck accident? Read on:

1.  First and most important, call for medical assistance if anyone is injured;

2. Take photos/video of the scene;

3. Get the contact information of the other drivers, passengers, and witnesses;

4. Do not speak with other insurance companies or sign any documents;

5. Do not speak with the Truck company’s claims adjuster or sign their documents;

6. File a police report and report your accident to the local Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV);

7. Photograph/Video the damage to your vehicle prior to any repairs;

8.  See a doctor even if you do not think you are seriously injured;

9.  Get in touch with a qualified Orange County truck accident lawyer.