If you were injured in a truck accident, Oklahoma personal injury law allows you to seek full compensation against the parties responsible for the truck wreck for the injuries you have suffered. However, trucking companies often fight vigorously to avoid paying out any compensation following big rig accidents involving their drivers and vehicles. The insurance companies that represent trucking companies hire investigators, accident reconstruction experts, and attorneys immediately to investigate serious accidents and are seasoned at denying claims for all types of reasons.
This is why it is so essential to hire an experienced truck accident lawyer in Oklahoma who can take immediate action to protect your rights. Cain Law has its own rapid response team of investigators, accident reconstruction experts, and truck safety experts to document and preserve evidence to win your case. Here is what you need to know about truck accident liability and how the Cain Law team can help.
Who Is Responsible for a Truck Wreck?
Trucking operations often involve many parties, all of whom may bear some responsibility for the tractor trailer accident. Depending on the circumstances surrounding the case, responsible parties might include:
- The truck driver
- The trucking company
- The truck owner
- The brokers who arrange transportation for shippers
- The shippers or cargo companies
Some accidents involve defective tires, auto parts, or semi-trucks. In these situations, the companies that manufacture the defective parts or vehicles may be responsible for the accident and the damages that result. In other accidents, another driver might act negligently and be responsible for the injuries you suffered.
An experienced OKC truck accident attorney can review the circumstances surrounding the truck wreck and identify all potentially liable parties. We can then pursue compensation against each liable party.
How Compensation Is Determined in a Truck Crash Case
Tractor trailer accidents can cause catastrophic injuries and extensive property damage. Compensation is tied to the amount of losses injury victims suffer because of the crash, which might include:
- Past and current medical expenses for immediate medical care
- Future medical expenses that are anticipated for future medical care
- Lost wages and lost earning capacity
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish and emotional distress
- Costs to repair or replace your damaged vehicle
An Oklahoma truck accident attorney can gather documentation regarding the full extent of your losses and advocate for maximum compensation.
Common Excuses Truck Companies Use to Deny Claims
Because truck wrecks may involve significant compensation paid to accident victims, trucking companies and the insurance companies and defense lawyers that represent them will try to deny claims for any reason possible. Some common excuses they may make to deny or minimize your claim include:
- Your own negligence – The trucking company might try to argue that you caused the accident. They might claim you were driving too fast or too slowly, were distracted, or overcompensated once you recognized danger.
- Acts of third parties – The trucking company might try to blame the accident on other motorists or parties in an attempt to evade their own liability.
- Sudden emergency – The insurance company may claim the truck driver was forced to act in a certain manner because a “sudden emergency” arose and, that by acting in such a way, the driver avoided a worse situation from occurring.
- Tire or equipment manufacturers – Rather than admitting their own negligent maintenance, trucking companies might try to blame the manufacturer of tires or equipment that failed in the collision.
- Intentional acts – Intentional acts are often expressly excluded from coverage. Therefore, if the truck driver had a fit of road rage and plowed into your vehicle, the trucking company might try to escape liability by arguing the truck driver intentionally caused the wreck.
- Acts of God – The insurance company might also try to deny claims by saying that they were due to “Acts of God.” These usually include weather conditions, like tornadoes or lightning strikes. However, truck drivers are required to adjust their speed and driving when poor weather conditions are present.
What to Do If a Trucking Company Denies a Claim
If the trucking company denies a claim for any of the reasons described above or any other reason, the best course of action is to contact an experienced OKC truck accident attorney. This is especially important if the trucking company engages in fraudulent activity, such as encouraging the truck driver to provide false information during investigations or completing cursory investigations only to deny liability.
Insurance companies are for-profit entities. They collect premiums and try to pay as few claims as possible to maximize their profit margins. You need a lawyer who is looking out for your best interests after you are injured in a truck crash.
How Cain Law Can Help You
Our legal team can quickly get to work to help with your claim by:
- Conducting an in-depth investigation to identify all parties who contributed to the crash
- Collecting evidence that uncovers liability or that the insurer has engaged in misleading statements or bad faith
- Helping coordinate medical care for you
- Building an aggressive case against liable parties
- Preventing the destruction of important evidence that can establish liability in the case
- Arranging evaluations by medical experts to determine future medical needs
- Completing evaluations by vocational experts to determine loss of earnings and future loss of earnings capacity
- Calculating your losses with the use of economist expert
- Fighting for maximum compensation
If you or a loved one has been hurt in a truck accident, contact Cain Law for a free case review.
