Ohio Truck Accident Attorney Helping Injury Victims Seek Damages
Truck accidents can be truly devastating. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) highlights how the weight and size of 18-wheelers often means that a collision with a smaller automobile results in fatal injuries. Indeed, semi-trucks tend to weigh as much as 20 or 30 times more than a regular car. If you or someone you love got hurt in a truck crash, it will be critical to seek financial compensation for your losses. Yet the process for obtaining compensation can be complicated—who is at fault, and should you file an insurance claim or a lawsuit? As an experienced Ohio truck accident lawyer, I can help you seek the financial compensation you deserve.
Determining Liability for Damages
While an insurance claim might be able to get you some of the compensation you need, it is often essential to file a large truck accident in order to be wholly compensated for what you have lost (and will continue to lose in the future). Before you know what type of damages you will seek in your lawsuit, you will need to determine who is at fault for the trucking crash. In many situations, the truck driver’s error caused the crash, but other parties may be liable, too.
For example, the owner of the truck could be responsible if the truck was not properly maintained, and the trucking company owner (the employer of the truck driver) may be responsible as an employer. While you might be able to obtain compensation by suing the truck driver, filing a lawsuit against a trucking company with deep pockets can be much more beneficial.
What Types of Damages Can You Seek?
Ohio law allows nearly all truck accident victims to seek compensatory damages in a lawsuit against the at-fault party. Compensatory damages can include economic damages and noneconomic damages. What is the difference between the two? Economic damages will compensate you for monetary losses, such as losses for which you have a bill, receipt, or pay stub. Non-economic losses compensate for non-monetary losses such as pain or suffering. As you might imagine, noneconomic damages are more difficult to quantify.
You should know that Ohio law does permit the court to cap economic damages at $250,000 in many cases, but if your injuries are catastrophic, your damages award will not be capped. And in cases where the responsible party engaged in particularly reckless behavior that caused the crash, you could be eligible for exemplary damages, which are still paid to the plaintiff but are designed to punish the defendant.
Call My Firm Today for Assistance with Your Trucking Accident Case
Trucking accidents in Ohio are devastating. These enormous vehicles can cause massive damage to occupants of passenger vehicles, and anyone who is injured in a truck collision deserves to be compensated for their losses. Trucking companies often have deep pockets and can afford to pay larger settlements than a negligent truck driver. Depending on the particular facts of your case, more than one party could be at fault. Whether the truck driver, the trucking company, or another party is responsible for your injuries, I’ll Make Them Pay!® Do not hesitate to call my firm at 877.944.4373 for assistance with your trucking collision claim.
