Reasons to Contact a Truck Accident Lawyer

If you were hurt or a loved one was killed in an East Tennessee truck accident, you may be entitled to recover compensation from the truck driver and the trucking company. However, in most cases, the insurers for the driver and company will look for ways in which you were to blame so that their monetary exposure may be reduced. They may hide or alter evidence and create unnecessary delays. Establishing liability as well as damages may be complicated. You may not be able to recover compensation as a victim or a family member of a victim if you do not have knowledgeable and dedicated legal representation. At the Hartsoe Law Firm, Knoxville truck accident lawyer Mark Hartsoe is an experienced advocate who has an accident reconstruction team on standby 24 hours a day that he can dispatch to the scene of your crash.

Often, truck accidents result in multiple people being seriously injured or killed. Injuries may include paralysis, traumatic brain injury, amputation, burns, and other scarring or disfiguring injuries. Many accident victims will try to bring a claim against an at-fault driver's insurance policy. However, they will be limited by the amount of coverage available.

In most cases, it is important to retain an attorney who can bring in all of the responsible parties, possibly including a trucking company. However, the trucking company and its insurers will take all steps possible to avoid liability. Sometimes these steps include destroying, falsifying, or hiding evidence. Mark Hartsoe understands how to stop this from happening or pursue sanctions if it does.

Tennessee courts follow the principle of modified comparative negligence. This means that your damages will be reduced by your percentage of fault for an accident. You may be barred from compensation altogether if you were found to be 50% or more at fault. Knowing this, insurance companies may look for ways in which you may have been at fault. Although they may seem friendly when they call, their purpose for calling is to help the truck driver or trucking company and avoid paying you damages. Never talk to the other driver’s insurance company. Do not give them a recorded statement.

In Tennessee, certain family members may be able to file a wrongful death claim when a loved one dies in a truck accident due to someone else's negligence. The first person with the right to file a wrongful death lawsuit is the surviving spouse of the victim. When there is no spouse, the surviving children or next of kin may file. If there are no children, the personal representative of the victim’s estate is entitled to file suit. After that, the surviving parents may file if the victim was dependent on them at the time of their death. The administrator of the victim’s estate when the victim was a dependent with no parents at the time of their death is next in line to be able to file.

An experienced attorney can determine the cause of a truck accident and develop an appropriate strategy to bring in all of the appropriate parties in a personal injury or wrongful death case. There may be multiple parties at fault. Potentially responsible parties include the truck driver, the trucking company, a manufacturer of truck parts, a repair shop, a third-party loading company, contractors, government entities, and other drivers on the road.

When multiple defendants are involved, the defendants will usually point at one another and back at the plaintiff in order to avoid or reduce their responsibility. It is crucial that you focus your efforts on insured parties with the financial ability to pay for your damages. Since you may not hold most defendants responsible beyond their individual percentage of fault for a truck accident, and damages tend to be substantial in these cases, sometimes exceeding coverage, it is crucial to retain a plaintiff's attorney who is able to develop a strategy that is most likely to yield actual payment of your damages.

Truck accidents are devastating for people in smaller vehicles and pedestrians. After a crash that results in injuries, there are numerous reasons to contact Knoxville truck accident attorney Mark Hartsoe. Call the Hartsoe Law Firm at 865-804-1011 or contact us via our online form to set up a free appointment. Mark Hartsoe represents people who need a motor vehicle collision attorney throughout East Tennessee, including in Knox, Blount, Monroe, Loudon, Jefferson, Grainger, Cocke, Campbell, Hamblen, Greene, Anderson, Cumberland, and Fentress Counties.