If you’re considering suing a trucking company after an accident, be warned: These companies don’t make it easy to secure compensation. Major corporations have hefty legal teams that attempt to reduce or remove their liability as much as possible.
Understand the tactics these organizations use to avoid paying accident victims. Then, contact a truck accident lawyer to build a rock-solid case.
Trucking Company Liability Loopholes and Tactics
Truck companies don’t want to pay a penny more to accident victims than they have to, and they have the time and legal resources to deny and defend their liability at all costs. These companies often use unethical or even illegal tactics to claim their driver was not responsible for your accident or to avoid paying you much money.
These are a few trucking industry legal defense tactics to watch out for:
- Manipulation of crash site evidence: In the aftermath of your accident, you were likely very overwhelmed. While you spent time addressing your injuries and reeling from the crash, the truck company was already at the scene, cleaning up evidence that may have been helpful in your case. They may have moved the truck before photos were taken or otherwise manipulated the scene.
- Black box data tampering: Commercial vehicles often contain black boxes that track their movements and the driver’s activity. This data can prove invaluable in your claim, which is why trucking companies sometimes tamper with it to remove any indication of their driver’s liability.
- Lowball insurance settlement offers: The insurance adjusters representing trucking companies may comply with your claim, only to present you with an incredibly insufficient offer. They may pressure you to accept this offer or indicate to your truck accident lawyer that you will not receive a higher one.
- Case stalling: Trucking companies have all the time in the world, and it is much cheaper for them to stall and wait out a lawsuit than to actually pay for one. They may continually delay your case or make excuses to prolong it.
- Concealment of FMCSA violations: Truck companies may be in violation of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulations when their drivers cause accidents. The organization in your case may attempt to conceal these violations so as not to hurt their defense.
How You Can Circumvent These Tactics and Build a Strong Case
Truck companies don’t make it easy to claim compensation, but your truck accident lawyer can counter any loopholes and defense tactics they may use. With the help of your attorney, you can build a strong case and maintain your right to adequate compensation by:
- Collecting as much evidence as possible early on in your case, before the company has time to tamper with it
- Never speaking to the truckers directly and only communicating through your attorney
- Being prepared for your case to take some time and resisting the temptation to accept a lowball settlement or rush the process
- Using evidence the truckers do not have access to, like your own medical records and photos of the vehicle, to support your case
- Calling out any shady tactics used by the company and incorporating them into your evidence against it
Let Our Truck Accident Lawyers Help You
While an accident claim against a major trucking company may be a bit more involved than your typical car crash case, you still have the right to seek compensation. At Stewart & Stewart Attorneys, we have extensive experience helping Indiana crash victims protect their rights and start moving forward.
Contact us today at (800)-333-3529 to schedule a consultation with our truck accident lawyers.