When you have been injured in a devastating truck accident, you may be unsure about your available options for pursuing compensation. Generally, it is either an insurance settlement or a civil lawsuit. Although both choices have pros and cons, a well-versed commercial vehicle wreck attorney from Dannheisser Injury Law can make a difference in your Sarasota truck accident settlement case by advocating for you. While many large firms depend on settling cases quickly and moving on, our philosophy is to do what is best for our clients.
After you have been injured in a commercial vehicle collision, the first move is to preserve and gather the facts and evidence in the case. Solid evidence is essential to leverage against insurance companies that may not want to risk going to court when overwhelming evidence points to a verdict in favor of the injured party. However, our lawyers are highly experienced with trial and will not hesitate to take a case to court if it is in a person’s best interest.
The gravity of a person’s injuries from a truck accident is an important bargaining tool for a settlement in Sarasota. Since truck accidents are almost always catastrophic, injured motorists may need a lifetime of medical care for permanent injuries that include paralysis, brain and head trauma, and loss of limbs. Generally, a settlement or judgment after a trial includes an assessment of the following damages:
Many attorneys are intimidated by large, corporate insurance companies. Our attorneys at Dannheisser Injury Law are adept at negotiating with insurers to get the best possible outcome for our client.
One tactic insurance companies use is to blame the person injured for the truck accident. When an attorney has copious evidence, they will know if a portion of the fault lies with the injured motorist. They will resist the insurer’s efforts to lowball a settlement by factoring that fault into what is acceptable. Under state law enacted in 2023, codified as Florida Statutes § 768.81, an injured party is barred from collecting damages when they are more than 50 percent responsible.
Insurers may try to argue that the injured party is more than 50 percent responsible and concede some percentage of fault as negotiations proceed. Our Sarasota attorneys have successfully negotiated insurance settlements and litigated before juries for more than four decades. We can advocate for an injured person so that they recover compensation for the full amount of their damages.
The US Code of Federal Regulations § 387.9 requires trucking companies to secure liability insurance in amounts depending on the truck’s weight, whether it travels out of Florida, and whether it transports hazardous cargo. The minimums are between $750,000 and $5 million. Our well-practiced attorneys are committed to negotiating adequate insurance settlements for clients after Sarasota truck accidents. If insurers do not cooperate, we are not afraid to head to court to convince a jury.
Insurance companies are well known for offering settlements not covering the injured party’s expenses. Many large law firms accept low offers because their business model demands a certain volume of cases with the amounts won secondary. We are not like that at Dannheisser Injury Law. Our local lawyers take the time necessary to maximize a Sarasota truck accident settlement award if it is inadequate.
It is crucial to talk to our experienced attorneys as soon as possible to ensure that valuable evidence can be collected. Contact our firm today to set up a consultation.
