Truck Accident Settlements

San Antonio Personal Injury Lawyers » Truck Accident Settlements

Our Attorneys Have Settled Hundreds of Texas Truck Accident Claims Over the past 20+ Years

San Antonio Texas 18 Wheeler Accident Law Firm

Not all truck accident cases can be settled out of court, but most of them can. The idea behind a settlement is to reach an agreement that both parties find beneficial. You are looking for an amount of compensation you feel is fair, and the defendant wants to offer you just enough money so that you feel the amount is equitable. Make no mistake about it, though, if the defendant thinks that your case is worth less than what you are willing to take to settle, then they will take the case to trial and make you prove them wrong. Please visit this website

In order for you to have the best possible chance of obtaining a fair settlement, you will have to have the help of an attorney who is experienced in settlement negotiations, and knows how to help you obtain fair compensation. At Our Law Offices, our attorneys have helped thousands of clients secure equitable restitution without the need for a trial. If you would like to speak with one of our lawyers, please call 1-855-392-0000 (toll free) for a confidential and free consultation.

What Makes Defendants Offer Fair Settlements

Even though your case will, in all likelihood, not go all the way to a trial, the value of your claim is solely based on the amount of money that the defendant stands to lose in court. If the defendant feels there is no chance it will lose because you failed to take the proper steps needed to prove to a jury that you deserve compensation (that is, you failed to hire an attorney), then your case is worthless irrespective of its merit.

For example, say an 18-wheeler rear-ends your car. The police report states that the truck driver is 100 percent responsible for the accident, and you have incurred $50,000 in medical bills. Based on merit alone, you have a strong case. However, if you are unable to convince the defendant that you know how to get the evidence you need to win your case admitted into court, then your case, as stated previously, is worthless irrespective of its merit. It is not worthless because you do not have a valid claim; it is worthless because you will never have a chance to prove your case to a jury because you failed to get your evidence. It will be just as if it never existed in the first place.

The notion that a defendant wants to settle out of court merely out of the goodness of its heart is nothing but pure fantasy. If the defendant quickly offers you an easy settlement, it is because that defendant knows something that you don’t; it wants to get out of the case as cheaply as possible before you figure that out. You will have to have the help of an attorney who not only has a vast amount of experience in litigating truck accident cases but, more importantly, has a track record of winning them. Your best chance of obtaining a fair settlement offer is by convincing the defendant it will run the risk of losing much more money should your case go to trial. Your best chance of making that convincing argument is by having a skilled lawyer working on your side.

It is vitally important that you proceed as if you intend to take your case to trial, even if you intend to settle. The merits of your case are not enough; you have to prove to the defendant you have the evidence you need to prove your case, you will be able to admit that evidence in court, and you will be able to make a convincing enough argument that will prove the merit of your case to a jury. If you can impress that upon the defendant, you will be able to compel that defendant to settle.

What Your Case is Worth

You have incurred monetary and other losses due to the injury you sustained in your accident. In legal terms, these losses are referred to as “damages.” When you undertake personal injury legal action, you are attempting to obtain financial compensation for these damages. In order to obtain fair compensation, you will have to calculate your damages and prove to the court that they are valid.

To determine the value of your damages, you add up all of the individual elements of your applicable damages…
Pain and Suffering
Past Medical Expenses
(NOTE: This falls under the heading of the “paid and incurred rule.” In many cases, there are two different costs for medical care: there is the “list price” and the price that the medical provider accepts as full and final payment for the bill. Section 41.0105 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code states, “recovery of medical or health care expenses incurred is limited to the amount actually paid or incurred by or on behalf of the claimant.” This means you will not be awarded compensation based on the total amount of charges, but the amount you have actually paid.)

Future Medical Expenses
Repair Bills
Mental Anguish
Impairment
Lost Wages
Loss of Future Earning Capacity
Disfigurement
Loss of Consortium
Punitive Damages

… and you will have the total value of your case. Next, you factor in the percentage of fault of the defendant in decimal form. For instance, if the trucking company is 80 percent at fault, you multiply the sum of your total damages by .80. This obviously does not take into consideration any damages you may pursue from third parties that may have contributed to the accident.

There is, however, an exception to the “comparative fault” portion of this formula. If the defendant is less than 50 percent responsible (meaning you were mostly responsible, irrespective of their contributory negligence), then you get nothing. If you have $100,000 in damages, and the defendant is 52 percent at fault, then they must pay you $52,000. You will be responsible for the other $48,000 of your damages, since that is the portion that you are found to be at fault. However, if the defendant is found to be 40 percent at fault and you have 50 percent fault, then you get no compensation. In effect, you have lost your case. The effect here is that the court does not want people suing for marginal differences of fault for an accident.

But how do you determine the percentage of fault of the defendant? Unless you have substantial investigatory skills and years of experience in pursuing personal injury legal action, you can’t.

San Antonio 18 Wheeler Accident Law Firm

Plus, as you can see from the above list, many damages are tangible (such as lost wages and repair bills), while many are subjective (pain and suffering, disfigurement, mental anguish). Any attorney can put a price tag on tangible damages, but you need one with experience to put one on the more subjective types of damages. At Our Law Offices, we have two decades of experience in representing truck accident victims. We will look at our past cases and be able to determine the true worth of all of your damages. And we will gather the evidence you will need in order to be able to prove to the court that your damages are valid and you are not merely looking to the court for free money.

Again, you have to prove that the defendant is responsible for the accident to the extent that you say it is, and that the amount of damages you are seeking is justified. In order to have the best possible chance of doing so, you will need the help of an attorney. If you would like more information or to see how we may be able to help, call Our Law Office at(210) 820-0020