Auto accidents are traumatic, emotional events for everyone involved. This emotional difficulty is amplified when it results in the wrongful death of a loved one. If the accident involves a semi-truck, there is a good chance that the big rig carries significant insurance protection that can make filing a lawsuit feel complicated, drawn-out, and overwhelming. Legal action might even be the last thing on your mind when facing the death of someone you love. However, seeking justified financial compensation can make a tremendous difference in navigating outcomes that may follow an unexpected death. That includes medical and other costs, loss of income, time away from work, or services for your psychosocial wellness, to name a few.
If you find yourself in this devastating situation, the team at Sally Morin wants to help. With over 30 years of experience handling traffic injury and wrongful death claims, including truck-related accidents, we know what it takes to get what you deserve.
Here is an overview of your rights and important next steps to take after being in a wrongful death truck accident.
Immediate Medical Care and Legal Support Actions
After being involved in a truck-related incident, there are a few urgent steps you should take. First, call emergency responders and seek medical attention. Injuries sustained in an accident can sometimes be internal or have a delayed onset. It is important to make sure you are safe and healthy first and foremost. Second, start a formal paper trail of events. Gathering the trucker’s insurance information, filing a police report, and filing a claim with your insurance are key steps for establishing official documentation of damages and events. Having these formal documents can help you if you choose to pursue legal action later. Lastly, contact a lawyer capable of handling an unlawful death lawsuit for advice on additional or next steps needed to protect yourself and your family following a wrongful death accident.
What’s a Wrongful Death Lawsuit? 4 Things to Know as a Victim
After all initial steps are taken to support the immediate safety of you and your family, you may be thinking more seriously about filing a legal action. Here are some important things to keep in mind as you consider suing for wrongful death following a truck accident.
Wrongful death claims help the loved ones of victims killed by negligence.
Wrongful death claims are defined as civil actions brought against an individual or entity responsible for someone’s death due to negligence. Negligent behaviors include any action or lack of action that is reasonably expected to maintain safety in a given situation. If that action or lack of action results in a fatal accident, the victim’s family members or other dependents have a right to file suit.
Truck accidents are often caused by avoidable actions.
The California Department of Highway Patrol released a report on the statistics surrounding truck-related accidents. Each year, hundreds of people are killed in trucking accidents, and nearly 10,000 more are injured. Most of these accidents were caused by avoidable, negligent actions. The top preventable trucking accident causes include speeding, improper turning, unsafe lane changing, and abiding by automobile right-of-way.
When you are involved in a truck-related accident, you will want all the facts on the circumstances that led to the incident. Because the data shows there is a strong likelihood the accident and wrongful death could have been avoided.
The trucking insurance company is not on your side.
The nature of insurance is to protect the client. Insurance representatives for trucking companies are hired to deny their fault in an accident, argue against its impact on the victims, and minimize any financial payouts. It can be challenging and exhausting to go against these large insurance teams, let alone think clearly during a traumatic life event like losing a loved one. Dealing with insurance can add stress and heighten emotions during an already difficult time.
Wrongful death compensation suits consider a holistic view of loss.
Even though no amount of money can fill the space of a lost loved one, adequate financial payments can provide peace of mind, comfort, and real-world support as a healing family looks to the future. When determining compensation after a wrongful death in a truck accident, you and your legal team should carefully consider multiple life factors that were and remain affected.
- What are the current and anticipated financial costs (i.e., hospital bills, burial, loss of income)?
- What are the emotional and psychological costs on you and your loved ones (i.e., time needed away from work, pursuing counseling, or other support needed since the death)?
- Were there physical or nonphysical costs to your lost loved one before their passing?
While these questions can feel impossible to answer in terms of dollars and cents, taking time to holistically evaluate the impact and losses of a wrongful death truck accident can help ease your journey of healing and recovery.
The Sally Morin Personal Injury Team: Wrongful Death Attorneys You Can Trust
The experience of grieving a lost loved one is hard enough. If your family is involved in a wrongful death trucking accident, you want a team of trusted experts on your side to handle the litigation so you can focus on healing. A wrongful death attorney will handle communicating with other parties and conducting the investigation, saving you from the additional stress and emotional burden.
Sally Morin Personal Injury Lawyers are highly experienced in pursuing and navigating wrongful death claims due to truck-related incidents. Let our team support you and your family during this unimaginable time by helping you recover all that to which you are entitled. Contact us today by calling 877-380-8852 for a free online case evaluation.
