How to Obtain Truck Accident Compensation

Because of the sheer weight and size of semi-trucks, an accident involving one of these massive vehicles may change your life forever. You may become paralyzed or physically disfigured, and you may suffer emotionally for the rest of your life. The good news is, our lawyers can help you get the truck accident compensation you deserve.

For over 26 years, we have helped truck accident victims in the Carolinas get the compensation they deserve. We know the tactics insurance companies use to avoid paying you the money you deserve, and we know how to take them on in and out of court.

Call Auger & Auger Accident and Injury Lawyers at 800-559-5741 or contact us online to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation to learn about all of your options when it comes to getting truck accident compensation.

A Look at Compensatory Damages

Compensation, also called damages, is the money that you can receive after a truck accident or other type of personal injury. In general, “damages” are intended to make repayment to restore justice and make up whole again. The main type of damages is called compensatory damages. These damages are intended to help you recover the real losses you suffered, as well as your intangible losses.

Compensatory damages are further divided into two general categories: economic and noneconomic. As mentioned before, economic damages help you recover the real money you lost as a result of the accident. These damages include:

Past and future medical bills
Property damage
Out-of-pocket expenses
Lost wages
Lost earning capacity
And more

Economic damages are generally easier to prove than any other type of damages. That’s because you will usually use receipts, invoices and other pieces of physical evidence to prove your losses.

The other type of compensatory damages is called noneconomic because they are intended to compensate you for the non-monetary losses you suffered. Noneconomic damages are more difficult to prove since you likely won’t have physical evidence to show these types of losses. That’s why your lawyer may work with experts like doctors and psychologists to show you suffered mentally and emotionally.

Noneconomic damages include:

Physical pain
Mental suffering
Emotional distress
Hedonic damages (a.k.a. Loss of enjoyment in life)
Loss of consortium or companionship
Physical disfigurement
And more

What Are Punitive Damages?

Punitive damages are not intended to make you whole. Instead, they are intended to punish the person responsible for the wreck and deter similar behavior in the future. While each state has different laws specifying when and how punitive damages can be assessed, they’re generally awarded if the truck driver acted with gross or wanton misconduct or recklessness.

“Wanton or reckless behavior” are very high standards. As such, punitive damages are rarely awarded. However, they are more common in truck accidents, since large trucks have strict regulations to follow. Punitive damages could reach several million dollars, depending on who the defendant is in the case. These high amounts are most often seen when the trucking company is at fault.

Every state has different laws regarding punitive damages. These include:

In North Carolina, punitive damages can be awarded for malice or willful or wanton conduct, and are capped at three times the amount of compensatory damages, or $250,000, whichever is greater.
In South Carolina, you may seek punitive damages if you can prove the truck driver acted with willful, wanton, or reckless conduct. They are capped at three times the amount of compensatory damages, or $500,000, whichever is greater.
In Georgia, punitive damages can be awarded if the “defendant’s actions showed willful misconduct, malice, fraud, wantonness, oppression, or that entire want of care which would raise the presumption of conscious indifference to consequences.” Punitive damages are capped at $250,000.
Finally, Florida law states that punitive damages may be awarded if the defendant acted with intentional misconduct or gross negligence. They are capped at three times the amount of compensatory damages, or $500,000, whichever is greater, in most cases.

Getting the Truck Accident Compensation You Deserve

In order to get the compensation you deserve, you must show that another party is at fault. This may be the truck driver, the trucking company, the party responsible for maintenance on the truck, the manufacturer of the truck and its parts, or a combination of these parties.

In some states like Georgia, you must show that you were no more than a certain amount at fault for the wreck (usually 49 or 50 percent). In states like Florida, you can legally recover compensation, no matter how much you’re at fault for the accident. And in a handful of states including North Carolina, you can’t seek compensation at all if you are even 1 percent at fault for the wreck.

If the other party was at fault, you must prove that they acted negligently, and the wreck wasn’t just a freak accident no one could have foreseen. Of course, they can be held at fault if they caused the collision intentionally, but that’s extremely rare.

Negligence is a legal term that refers to a person that acts in a way a reasonable person wouldn’t, and therefore causes injury. In general, you have to prove four elements to show negligence. These include:

A person had a duty of care to you, whether that means following the laws of the road or properly maintaining the truck to avoid causing accidents
That person breached their duty of care, such as by improperly manufacturing a truck part or speeding on an unsafe road, and their actions caused a foreseeable accident
Any injuries you sustained were directly caused by the truck accident
You suffered real damages like medical bills or lost wages because of the wreck

Get the Help You Need to Gain Truck Accident Compensation

If someone else is at fault for the wreck, you may receive a settlement offer from their insurance company. Chances are, this offer will be a lot lower than what you need or deserve. But the moment you accept it, you forfeit your right to seek greater compensation.

Before you accept any kind of settlement offer, give us a call first. We can review all the details of your case to determine how much truck accident compensation you may be owed. Give us a call at 800-559-5741 or contact us online to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with a truck accident attorney from Auger & Auger Accident and Injury Lawyers today.