If you were badly injured in a truck accident and are considering legal action, you might be wondering how much you can expect to receive. The answer depends on numerous factors, including the skills and resources of your lawyer.
When you work with The Florida Firm Injury and Accident Lawyers, you have the benefit of decades of experience. Our attorneys routinely achieve excellent results negotiating Orlando truck accident settlements for our clients. We are so well-regarded that our legal colleagues, other area professionals, and former clients refer their clients with truck accident claims to us.
How the Settlement Process Works
If you were seriously hurt in a truck accident, you can bring a claim against the trucking company or another at-fault party. You must be able to prove the party was negligent and that their negligence was the direct cause of your injuries.
When you hire our Orlando attorneys to manage your truck accident case, we investigate to locate evidence of negligence and ensure we can connect the evidence to your injuries. If so, we will send a letter to the potentially responsible parties and their insurers describing your claim.
When the evidence is overwhelming, a case might settle quickly, but more often, there is a lot of talk back and forth. It is typical for the parties to spend considerable time deciding whether you have any responsibility for the wreck and, if so, how much. Most claims eventually settle within six to twelve months, but if numerous parties are involved or you have significant injuries, it could take longer.
Damages You Could Claim
The money you receive should be enough to cover your expenses and provide you with compensation for the injury’s impact on your quality of life. Depending on the seriousness of your injuries, your damages could amount to a substantial sum. Our Orlando lawyers have obtained numerous high-dollar settlements for the victims of truck accidents and their families.
Your pain and suffering damages are hard to estimate. You are entitled to compensation for your physical pain and mental trauma, disability, inconvenience, scarring, and diminished ability to enjoy life. The value of these losses is subjective and depends on your:
- Age when the injury occurred
- Pre-accident health
- Extent of your temporary and permanent disabilities
- Degree to which the injury altered your day-to-day activities
In general, the more severely the accident impacts your lifestyle and relationships, the more pain and suffering damages you should receive.
You can estimate your economic damages with reasonable accuracy. They reimburse injury-related financial outlays and losses, plus any future losses like reduced earning potential. We may hire an actuary to calculate the extent of your lost earnings over your lifetime so that we can include a demand for that amount in your claim for damages.
Does It Ever Make Sense to Go to Trial Instead of Settle?
Settlements provide certainty and can happen relatively quickly, so settling is often the preferred outcome for all parties. However, the attorneys at our Orlando office are skilled litigators, and we never shy away from bringing a truck accident case to a jury when doing so is to your advantage. There are several circumstances that might favor going to trial rather than accepting a settlement.
Sometimes the defendants are unwilling to offer a fair settlement or seem to be negotiating in bad faith. That may be a strategy to wear you down or cause delays, hoping you will settle for less than you deserve.
When the other side seems to be engaged in gamesmanship, sometimes the best response is to call their bluff and file a lawsuit. In other cases, taking a case to court may be advantageous to you financially.
Punitive Damages
Florida Statutes § 768.72 allows you to pursue punitive damages when the defendant in a case intentionally tried to harm you or acted with conscious indifference to the risk of harm to others. These are rare and extreme situations, such as a truck driver driving recklessly due to road rage or driving while severely intoxicated. When there is clear evidence that would support a request for punitive damages, our Orlando lawyers might suggest taking a truck accident case to trial rather than accepting a settlement.
Work With Orlando Truck Accident AttorneysSkilled in Negotiating Generous Settlements
When another party’s negligence caused a wreck that injured you, you must hold them accountable for your losses. Sometimes that means going to trial, but more often, a negotiated financial settlement is the best outcome.
At Colling Gilbert Wright, we have a long record of negotiating favorable truck accident settlements in Orlando. You pay nothing until we put money in your hands. There is no risk in working with us, so contact our truck accident team today.