If you suffered injuries in a collision with a commercial semi-truck in Omaha, you may be feeling overwhelmed. Although you likely qualify to obtain compensation from the truck driver, the trucking company, or both, the process is complicated.
You need an experienced Omaha truck accident lawyer to navigate the claims process, deal with the insurance companies, and advocate for you to help you get the full and fair compensation you deserve.
At Steffens Law Office, we have a proven and experienced Omaha truck accident lawyer standing by to assist you with every aspect of your case and recovery. Contact us today for a free consultation.
Why You Need Our Truck Accident Lawyers in Omaha
Truck accident claims are typically more complex than car accident claims and other traffic accident claims. Commercial truck accident lawyers are attorneys who, through training and experience, understand the specific complexities of these types of vehicle collisions and can help injured parties navigate the process to obtain compensation. Some ways truck accident claims are unique and complicated include:
1) Commercial semi-trucks have more regulations than regular vehicles.
Semi-truck operators are required to take frequent rest breaks because of the long distances they drive and the long hours they work. Routine maintenance checks are important to make sure that a truck’s brakes, tires, and other mechanics are functioning properly.
Finally, the load weight of a truck is regulated to make sure that the cargo being carried is within the specifications called for by the vehicle manufacturer for safe operation.
An experienced truck accident lawyer will know trucking industry regulations and can investigate to determine whether the truck driver or their employer violated regulations or requirements.
2) Commercial semi-trucks are larger and heavier than passenger vehicles. They can easily cause more damage than a regular vehicle in truck crashes.
Truck accidents tend to cause more damage due to the sheer size and weight of commercial trucks. Truck accidents can cause severe injuries to occupants of smaller passenger vehicles, including fatal injuries. Moreover, the physics of a semi-truck differ from other vehicles on the roadway. This makes trucks more susceptible to weather, road conditions, or other variables that could cause an accident.
A truck accident attorney can help a client assess the extent of their injuries and losses to ensure they pursue the necessary compensation. A lawyer can also investigate the cause of the truck crash and whether the truck driver was driving too fast for the conditions, for example.
3) Depending on the carrier, the driver, and the nature of the cargo, there may be more than one party and insurance company responsible for your injuries.
Usually, when a passenger vehicle accident occurs, only the at-fault driver’s negligence is considered. However, where commercial semi-trucks are concerned, several more entities may be liable. These can include the truck driver, the trucking company that employs them, the maintenance facility of the trucking company, and even the company that loaded the cargo.
An experienced semi-truck accident lawyer in Omaha will know how to make sense of these different companies and their possible role in causing the accident.
4) The company that owns the truck that caused the accident will usually carry a commercial insurance policy.
The trucking company’s insurance company likely has many investigators, adjusters, claims specialists, and even defense attorneys to handle claims. Their sole focus is to evade or lessen liability and therefore pay you a lower settlement or no settlement at all.
An experienced commercial semi-truck lawyer will understand the protocols and tactics the insurance company may use to deny or devalue a claim. They should understand how to navigate this world and how to develop strong legal arguments with supporting facts and documentation of your medical expenses to properly value your case and ensure the best possible outcome for settlement.
As you can see, the right lawyer on your case is critical. Although truck accidents are personal injury cases, many personal injury lawyers have little to no experience with commercial semi-truck accidents, the applicable laws, or the insurance companies that represent trucking companies.
Bottom line: you want your lawyer and their law firm to have the experience, training, and drive to handle your case professionally from start to finish. This is the only way to ensure the best chance for maximum compensation for your case.
When Should I Consult an Attorney for an Omaha Truck Accident Claim?
The earlier you contact an Omaha truck accident lawyer, the better. Here are some of the reasons you should start considering which lawyer to hire as soon as possible:
Evidence Is Dynamic
Tire marks on the roadway, debris from the accident, and even data captured by video or computer will not last a week, let alone forever. Hiring the right truck accident lawyer in Omaha as early as possible will ensure that your legal team can begin gathering and preserving evidence immediately.
An attorney can demand and properly preserve vital evidence needed to support your claim, including eyewitness testimony, video surveillance footage, the truck’s “black box” data, and the truck driver’s logbook.
Protect Yourself
As mentioned, the truck insurance company will have a virtual army of employees to lessen or eliminate your recovery in a settlement. One of the first tactics most insurance companies will try is attempting to obtain your recorded statement.
Here’s how that usually works: a very friendly insurance employee will call you and inform you that they work for XYZ Insurance and would like to ask you some simple questions about what happened. The problem is the information you provide them will only be used against you.
Never provide the insurance company representative with recorded information without your lawyer present to protect you, so don’t fall for this trick. Never talk to the other driver's insurance without representation. Hire the right lawyer early on to protect your interests!
Build Your Case Properly Early On
If you hire the right attorney early on to gather and preserve your evidence, protect you from dirty tactics by the insurance company, and ensure your medical care, treatment, and expenses are being submitted correctly, your case will have a much higher likelihood of settling for full value.
Ensure You File within the Statute of Limitations
Nebraska has a four-year statute of limitations for filing a personal injury lawsuit in civil court. If you don’t have an attorney file your lawsuit for you within that time, you will likely lose any right you have to pursue compensation.
Keep in mind that insurance companies may have their own deadlines on when you must file an injury claim with them. Also, claims against government entities typically have very short deadlines.
Thus, you need to contact an Omaha truck accident attorney as soon as you’re able to discuss any deadlines that could affect your case and begin the claims process.
What Does a Truck Accident Attorney Do?
1. A competent truck accident attorney in Omaha, NE, experienced with representing victims injured in accidents with commercial semi-trucks will want to understand everything about your specific facts. Where did the accident occur? What was the weather like? How was the traffic that day? These and one hundred other questions will be answered by the attorney and her team conducting the initial factual review of your case. The attorney will also obtain an accident report, and once you become an official client, send out letters of representation to the relevant insurance companies, medical providers, and other involved parties.
2. Your lawyer will focus on your injuries, treatment, and recovery. You may hear the term: MMI during this time. This just stands for maximum medical improvement, and simply means getting you to the point where you have recovered from your injuries and have undergone all necessary medical treatment and therapy to help facilitate recovery. Your lawyer will keep carefully maintained records of the medical care you’ve received, the physical therapy and other therapies you have undertaken, and the associated expenses, all to build your case’s value so that the relevant insurance company can properly evaluate the dollar amount of your injuries, pain and suffering, and other damages for eventual settlement.
3. Your Omaha truck crash lawyer will draft a demand for settlement on your behalf and send it to all the responsible parties. The demand is a legal document that marshals the facts and law applicable to your situation and makes a “demand” for monetary damages incorporating all of the medical care, treatment, and therapy you have undergone, and also includes other forms of damages like pain and suffering. The demand is usually sent by certified mail or email and allows a reasonable time for the insurance company to respond.
4. Your lawyer will negotiate with the responsible parties to obtain full settlement value for your injuries and attempt to avoid litigation or trial. Most often, litigation is not necessary. The fact is that the trial and the discovery process are very expensive, and if possible, all parties will want to avoid the expense and uncertainty of a trial. Instead, they will hopefully negotiate in good faith toward a resolution that fairly compensates you for all you’ve been through. Once payment is received, your lawyer will facilitate payment of your medical expenses and other costs and fees from the settlement, then distribute the remainder to you and provide you with an accurate accounting of where your money is going.
How Much Does an Omaha Truck Accident Lawyer Cost?
An Omaha truck accident lawyer usually works on what is known as a contingency basis. Meaning, that your attorney will not send you a bill or require any upfront payment for services. Instead, she will accept a pre-negotiated portion of your settlement as her attorney’s fee.
This has several benefits, three of which follow:
- If You Don’t Get Paid, Neither Does the Attorney
In a contingency fee agreement between a client and an attorney, the attorney does not get paid anything until the client settles his case. This is an important benefit because it means that your attorney will work hard to obtain a settlement for you. After all, they only get paid once you do!
- Your Attorney Only Makes More Money if They Obtain a Bigger Settlement
You and your attorney are on the same team, looking to obtain the best settlement possible. Your attorney should be doing everything in their power to resolve your case for the highest amount and lowest cost possible. Both of you will benefit from their effort.
- You Do Not Pay Any Money Up Front
Perhaps most importantly, at a time in your life when medical bills, vehicle repair or replacement costs, missed work and lost wages are stacking up and causing a drain on your finances, it’s relieving to know that your attorney should not cost you anything upfront and only gets paid after you do.
How Do I Find the Best Truck Accident Lawyer in Omaha?
In the internet age, finding a lawyer is easy. However, finding the right commercial truck accident lawyer is far more challenging.
Here are steps to get you started:
1) Only Consider Lawyers With the Right Experience
Your personal injury case is too important to trust to a lawyer right out of law school with no experience. Make sure that whomever you choose has extensive experience settling commercial semi-truck accident cases for people just like you.
2) The Right Lawyer Will Listen Very Carefully and Be Accessible to You
Lawyers are busy, but your case is too important to trust to someone who won’t give you the time of day. Make sure that before you hire a specific lawyer, you have had ample opportunity to meet them by phone, over Zoom, or in person. They should carefully consider your questions, be transparent with their answers, and welcome the opportunity to earn your trust and your business.
3) Consider the Lawyer’s Reputation
This point is placed last because it’s the most important, but also because there are some lawyers with great reputations who may be too busy to assist you or not experienced with your specific legal situation. Our advice is simple: find a lawyer who is experienced in your legal situation, takes the time to listen and answer your questions, and most importantly, has the reputation for resolving matters well and delighting their clients.
Check Google and Yelp. Look on the lawyer’s website, and feel free to ask around. You may even ask the lawyer directly for references. If the lawyer is worth your time and has the reputation you’re looking for, he should welcome the chance to demonstrate his qualifications to you.
What Types of Compensation Can I Receive from an Omaha Truck Accident Claim?
In an Omaha truck accident claim, the types of compensation you may be eligible to receive can vary based on the specific circumstances of the accident and the resulting damages. Compensation typically falls into two main categories: economic and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
- Medical Expenses: Compensation for all past and future medical bills related to the accident, including hospitalization, surgeries, medications, rehabilitation, and other necessary medical treatments.
- Lost Wages: Reimbursement for income lost due to the accident, including time off work for medical appointments, recovery, or any permanent disability that affects your ability to work.
- Property Damage: Compensation for the repair or replacement of your vehicle and any other personal property damaged in the accident.
Non-Economic Damages
- Pain and Suffering: Compensation for the physical pain and emotional suffering resulting from the accident and your injuries.
- Emotional Distress: Damages for emotional trauma, anxiety, depression, or other psychological effects caused by the truck accident.
- Loss of Consortium: If the accident resulted in the loss of companionship or support from a loved one, you may be eligible for damages.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: Compensation for the loss of ability to enjoy activities or aspects of life that you could participate in before the accident.
Punitive Damages
In certain cases where the actions of the at-fault party are deemed particularly egregious, intentional, or reckless, punitive damages may punish the wrongdoer and deter similar behavior.
Nebraska follows a modified comparative fault system. If you are partially at fault for the accident, your total compensation may decrease by the percentage of fault assigned to you. If your fault exceeds a certain threshold, you may not recover any compensation.
To navigate the complexities of a truck accident claim and determine the damages you may deserve, consult a personal injury attorney in Omaha.
Contact Our Experienced Omaha Truck Accident Attorney for a Free Consultation
At Steffens Law Offices, our personal injury attorneys are skilled negotiators and have years of experience with commercial truck accidents and difficult, complex cases. We take pride in our reputation and are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to answer your questions.
Call us now at (402) 414-4896 to speak to a live person about your accident.