Navigating the Aftermath of a Truck Accident in Illinois
In the United States, thousands of people are seriously injured or die in truck accidents every year. In Illinois, interstate highways, such as the highways that intersect across the Chicago area, can be extremely deadly, especially if there is a traffic stop causing other traffic to slow down. In addition, other variables, such as construction or even debris on the road, can result in catastrophic accidents.
If you or someone you love has been injured in a truck accident, you may be at a loss for what to do. The most important thing you can do if you have been injured in a truck accident is to hire a knowledgeable truck accident attorney who can protect your rights and pursue compensation against any negligent parties involved.
The Importance of Hiring an Attorney After a Truck Accident
Many unique issues must be handled and dealt with in the aftermath of a truck accident. Experienced attorneys know how to work through complex issues and are privy on how to:
- Accurately study and understand law enforcement reports, as well as eyewitness reports. These types of accounts can be crucial in understanding the crash's circumstances.
- Interpret proper documentation received from the truck driver's place of employment to figure out whether the employer was negligent in the maintenance of the truck, hiring the driver to begin with, lackluster employee training, or negligent in a different way.
- Examine the truck driver's driving history, seeing whether the driver has a history of driving violations.
- Figure out which party was at fault. This can be extremely complicated, particularly in accidents involving multiple cars. Multiple negligent acts can have occurred. In addition, there could be more than one person responsible or company responsible.
- Understand Illinois law on comparative negligence may be applied, allowing injured parties to recover damages even if the injured party is partly to blame for the accident. This will depend on the percentage of fault allocated to each involved party.
- Confer with insurance companies to potentially settle out of court if possible. If an out-of-court settlement is impossible, knowledgeable attorneys can litigate your case in a courtroom if needed.
Contact a Will County Truck Accident Attorney
The aftermath of a truck accident can be tricky because of all the different variables at play. Contact the knowledge Joliet truck accident lawyers with McNamara Phelan McSteen, LLC to pursue the compensation you may be entitled to. Call us at 815-727-0100 for a free and comprehensive consultation.
Source: https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/Insurance/Consumers/ConsumerInsurance/Auto/Pages/comparative-negligence.aspx