Truck accident cases are usually much different from car accident cases. A fully loaded truck can weigh upwards of 80,000 pounds, which is roughly 16 times the weight of the average car. This means it can do more damage and cause more serious injuries than a car can during a crash.
Consider filing a personal injury case if you’re ever involved in a truck accident. A truck accident lawyer can assist you with liability determination and file negligence claims on your behalf against a truck driver, a trucking company, a truck part manufacturer, or even a cargo-loading service. They can also negotiate a settlement and take your case to trial when necessary.
Find out about the compensatory damages you can seek to recover in a truck accident case with a lawyer’s help below.
Economic Damages
In the aftermath of a truck accident, you’ll likely have a large stack of bills for medical appointments, car repairs, and more. You might also be unable to work following a truck accident and need to account for lost wages.
A truck accident lawyer can assist you in trying to recover economic damages. These damages are monetary losses that are easy to calculate.
Examples of economic damages include:
- Medical bills
- Medication and medical equipment expenses
- Transportation costs
- Lost wages
- Loss of future earnings
Ensure you keep any relevant bills you receive after a truck accident. Your truck accident attorney can use them to showcase the monetary impact that a commercial vehicle crash had on your life.
Non-Economic Damages
You’ll have to deal with more than bills following a truck accident. Being involved in a truck crash is often an extremely traumatic experience, and it can leave you with mental and emotional scars.
A truck accident lawyer can also lend a hand as you seek to recover non-economic damages. These damages aren’t typically as easy to calculate as economic damages, but the right lawyer will know how to assign them a fair monetary value.
Examples of non-economic damages include:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Mental anguish
- Permanent scarring and/or disfigurement
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Recovering non-economic damages is more complicated than recovering economic damages since it’s tough to put a price tag on something like pain and suffering. Working with an experienced truck accident lawyer may put you in a better position to pursue these damages successfully.
Punitive Damages
Was your truck accident caused by:
- A truck driver demonstrating road rage?
- An intoxicated truck driver?
- A truck driver tinkering with their cell phone while driving on a busy highway?
In Indiana, you can attempt to recover punitive damages in certain truck accident cases. Punitive damages aren’t designed to compensate you so that you can cover your truck accident-related expenses. Instead, they’re put in place to punish defendants who showed intentional, malicious, and/or reckless negligence.
Indiana caps punitive damages at either three times the compensatory damages awarded to a plaintiff or $50,000, depending on which is greater.
Hire a Truck Accident Lawyer To Pursue Damages in Your Case
The average truck accident is very costly. It can take a major toll on your physical and mental health as well as your financial well-being. By hiring a truck accident lawyer, you can strive to recover damages so you can improve your chances of making a full recovery from a truck crash.
Stewart & Stewart Attorneys can set you up with a trusted attorney for your case. They will help with everything from settlement negotiations to engaging in insurance litigation. Contact us at (317) 537-9616 to schedule a consultation.