Flint Truck Accident Lawyer

Flint Truck Accident Attorney

If you have been in a truck accident in Flint, Michigan, then you are likely feeling overwhelmed and unsure about what steps to take next. A compassionate and skilled Flint truck accident lawyer from Wigod & Falzon can provide the legal representation you need to pursue the compensation you are entitled to for your resulting truck accident injuries and damages.

The legal team at Wigod & Falzon is solely dedicated to the craft of defending individuals who have been injured in Flint and the surrounding areas in Michigan. With decades of combined experience, our truck accident injury team has the local and state legal knowledge, along with the understanding of the insurance claims process, to help you optimize your final settlement amount.

Together, we can design and implement a strategy that fits your case details and needs to pursue the compensation you are entitled to under the law.

What Is a Commercial Truck Accident?

A truck accident is a vehicular accident that involves a large commercial truck. These trucks are vehicles that are utilized for transporting commercial property or goods. They are driven by professional drivers who are compensated for their service. While the general public might consider large SUVs and pickup trucks to be considered trucks, these vehicles are not relevant when referring to truck accidents.

A commercial vehicle is defined as a motor vehicle that is used to move merchandise, goods, company property, other vehicles, or passengers. A commercial vehicle is operated by a professional driver who has undergone specific training to do so. To be considered a commercial vehicle, the vehicle must have a combined weight of 10,001 pounds or greater, which includes the weight of additional passengers or cargo.

Some common commercial trucks that are driven on interstates, roads, and highways in Michigan include tow trucks, 18-wheelers, tractor-trailers, garbage trucks, dump trucks, concrete mixers, big rigs, postal trucks, and flatbed trailers.

If you have been involved in an accident involving a commercial truck in Flint and sustained damages or injuries as a result, a dedicated and knowledgeable personal injury lawyer from Wigod & Falzon can support you with getting the compensation you are entitled to.

Do I Need a Flint Truck Accident Attorney?

Whether you need a Flint truck accident attorney is dependent on a variety of factors, including the extent and nature of your damages, whether your injuries resulted in any permanent or severe consequences, and the at-fault parties involved in the accident. By understanding the basic roles and responsibilities of a Flint truck accident attorney and the ways they can potentially support you, you can decide whether you could benefit from the services of such a lawyer. A truck accident attorney can assist you with the following:

• Evaluating Your Truck Accident: A dedicated and experienced truck accident lawyer can listen to your explanation of what happened during the accident, collect all the relevant details and evidence, and analyze the situation to determine whether you have a case in Michigan to pursue compensation through a third-party insurance claim or a personal injury claim.
• Collecting and Presenting Evidence: A key factor of truck accident claims is the evidence and documentation involved to show the liability of each party. If you are more than 50 percent liable for your accident, then you may not be entitled to certain compensation, such as non-economic damages. A skilled truck accident attorney can collect and present key evidence showing that the other parties were liable for your accident.
• Navigating Bureaucratic and Legal Processes: Filing a truck accident claim can be overwhelming if you are not experienced with insurance claims and personal injury claims. An experienced lawyer can guide you through the various legal processes and other bureaucratic steps, fill out and submit paperwork and other key documents on your behalf, and help you meet critical deadlines.
• Negotiating on Your Behalf: An experienced and compassionate truck accident lawyer can take on your insurance companies, as well as those of large trucking businesses, for you. They can leverage their negotiation skills to get you an ideal settlement that covers your injuries and damages.
• Advocating for You in Court: Should you choose to pursue litigation, a truck accident lawyer can represent your case in court. They can bring forward key evidence, including eyewitness statements, and present astute legal arguments to advocate for you in front of a judge or jury.

Ultimately, if you are suffering injuries or damages as a result of a truck accident, it is possible to file a claim by yourself. However, this could result in you losing thousands or even millions of dollars worth of compensation that you are entitled to. By working with a truck accident lawyer from Wigod & Falzon, you can optimize your chances of having a smooth claims process and getting the full compensation you need to recover from your accident.

Common Truck Accident Injuries in Flint

Due to the severe impact of a truck, the resulting injuries tend to be more serious than other vehicle accidents, such as car accidents. In addition to leading to temporary or permanent disability, truck accident injuries can also result in death.

Flint residents who sustain injuries as a result of a truck accident are entitled to compensation under the law. Some of the most common truck accident injuries that can be covered by no-fault insurance, third-party insurance claims, or personal injury claims include:

• Lacerations or Cuts: Cuts or lacerations can be caused by sharp objects or blunt force impacts with certain objects, such as glass shards, metal fragments, or objects on the road. While some accident victims develop scrapes that can heal easily, others may have deep lacerations that require multiple staples or stitches, which can lead to lasting scars or disfigurement.
• Burns: Minor burns to the face and body can commonly occur as a result of a truck accident. However, more severe burns, such as third-degree burns, can take months or even a couple of years to heal, and they carry the risk of permanent disfigurement.
• Head Injuries: Truck accident victims commonly sustain injuries to the head, with concussions being a less severe resulting head injury that can lead to short- and long-term complications, such as headaches and trouble concentrating. Traumatic brain injuries can result in permanent difficulty with cognitive and motor capabilities.
• Sprains and Fractures: Sprains and broken bones can happen as a result of truck collisions. Body parts that are commonly sprained or fractured due to truck accidents include arms, wrists, collarbones, noses, jaws, and ribs. Some fractures or dislocations may require one or multiple surgeries to correct the injury.
• Spinal Cord and Back Injuries: Whiplash is a less severe but commonly experienced neck injury. It can develop immediately after the incident or some time following a truck accident, resulting in chronic pain. More serious back injuries include bulging discs and herniated discs. Severe spinal cord injuries can lead to complications such as paraplegia or quadriplegia.
• Amputations: An amputation can occur during a truck accident from a blunt force impact with a sharp object, resulting in the direct loss of one or more appendages, such as arms, legs, and fingers. It may also be necessary during medical treatments in the accident’s aftermath, with certain injuries, such as a crushed or infected limb, necessitating amputation.
• Mental Disorders: Truck collisions can be mentally traumatic due to the possibility of the victim nearly dying and the threat that they experience to their own safety and well-being. After truck accidents, victims may commonly be battling certain mental disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD, which can require therapy, medication, and other treatment options.

Compensation for Your Damages

If you are suffering from even minor injuries as a result of your Flint truck accident, you are entitled to compensation for your damages. A dedicated and skilled truck accident lawyer from Wigod & Falzon can help you work toward getting the compensation you need to cover your post-accident medical expenses, including:

• Hospital bills
• Clinic visits
• Mediation
• Medical and assistive devices
• Rehabilitation
• Diagnostics
• Associated transportation costs

What Compensation Am I Entitled to After a Flint Truck Accident?

The type and amount of compensation that you may be entitled to under Michigan law for your truck accident is dependent on a variety of factors associated with your case, including the extent and nature of your damages and injuries, the parties involved in your accident, and the liability of each individual involved in causing the accident.

A dedicated and compassionate truck accident lawyer serving accident victims in the Flint area can assist you with understanding exactly what compensation you may be entitled to for your case.

As Michigan is a no-fault truck accident state, you will likely need to first file a claim with your no-fault insurance policy. Regardless of whether you were liable for the accident or not, you will be eligible to receive compensation for your truck accident injuries. In Michigan, all drivers are required to have a no-fault insurance policy, and the type is subject to change, depending on the type and purpose of the vehicle they are operating.

A no-fault policy can cover medical expenses for injured victims, but it typically will not cover property damages resulting from an accident involving multiple moving cars. However, repairs to your vehicle can be covered by collision insurance. A no-fault policy also does not cover non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, scarring, or disfigurement.

Eligibility for Pursuing a Third-Party or Personal Injury Claim

To be eligible tofile a third-party claim with the trucking company or the truck driver’s insurance or to pursue a personal injury claim, you will need to meet one or more of the following criteria:

• Your truck accident happened outside of Michigan.
• The truck driver who was atfault for the crash is not a Michigan resident or does not have an insurance policy in the state of Michigan.
• Your truck accident resulted in permanent disfigurement or death.
• Your truck crash led to serious bodily impairment.
• You are attempting to file for property damages that do not exceed $3,000 in value and are not already covered by your insurance policy, and the other driver is more than 50 percent liable for the crash.

If you are eligible to pursue truck accident compensation through a personal property claim or a third-party insurance claim, then you may be entitled to recover a variety of damages, including those related to lost wages and benefits, disability, disfigurement, medical expenses, and pain and suffering.

Even if you were partially liable for your truck accident, you could still recover some compensation for damages. For example, suppose that you are found by the courts to have been 20% at fault for the accident, with the trucking company being 80% at fault for the accident. If the final evaluation of your damages amounts to $100,000, then you can receive up to $80,000 in a final settlement.

A skilled and experienced Flint truck accident lawyer from Wigod & Falzon can evaluate your case and the extent of your damages, allowing them to provide a more accurate estimate of the compensation that you can expect in your unique situation.

Who Can Be Held Liable for My Flint Trucking Accident?

If you have been hit by a truck in Flint or the surrounding areas, then there may likely be more than one party liable for the accident. The owner of the truck may be just as liable as the driver of the truck, making it possible for you to hold both parties accountable in a claim. The following parties may potentially be held accountable in your Flint truck accident case:

• Truck Drivers: Truck drivers are required to have a certain level of certification and education to prepare for their difficult job. While on duty, they are required to take critical precautions, such as not ingesting substances that could impede their ability to drive, getting enough rest before driving and taking adequate breaks.

If they failed to follow the law or key safety protocols and it led to your truck accident, you can hold them accountable for their recklessness or neglect.

• Trucking Companies: In Michigan, truck companies are vicariously liable for the recklessness or negligence of their employees, including truck drivers. You may be able to sue them for the carelessness of their driver or other reasons, such as failing to adequately train their employees or follow up on safety protocols.
• Truck Maintenance Parties: If the crash was not the direct fault of the driver or the trucking company, it could have been caused by the breakdown of equipment. Parts that are not adequately installed or faulty repairs that have been made to the vehicle can lead to a crash. Truck accident cases that involve indirect causes can be complex and include multiple liable parties.
• Truck Part Designers and Manufacturers: Companies and their employees, such as engineers and factory workers, are responsible for ensuring the safety and quality of the parts that they are designing or constructing. If a truck crash is indirectly caused by the negligence or recklessness of a truck part design or its manufacturers, then they may be held liable in a truck accident personal injury claim.
• Other Trucking Company Employees: Truck crashes can be caused by improperly loading cargo onto trucks. Trucks that are overloaded with weight have a greater probability of Furthermore, if the weight is not evenly distributed, this can create imbalances that cause a crash.

Cargo that is not adequately secured can fall off onto roadways, causing other vehicles to lose control and crash. Employees who are responsible for not adequately loading truck cargo can be held accountable.

• Government Agencies: State and federal government agencies have a responsibility to keep infrastructure safe and secure for the people who use it. Therefore, if a truck accident is caused by faulty public infrastructure, such as potholes or collapsing bridges, then the responsible government agency may be held accountable in a truck crash case.

Determining the at-fault parties in a Flint truck accident can be a complex process, especially if there are multiple at-fault parties involved or the cause of the accident was indirect, such as a faulty brake system.

An experienced and skilled truck crash lawyer from Wigod & Falzon can investigate the cause of your case, collect evidence, and determine the liability of the parties involved. Using this information, they can help you pursue a strategy to get the compensation that you are entitled to under the law.

Fight for Compensation With a Flint Truck Accident Lawyer Today

Truck accidents tend to have more serious consequences than car accidents due to the size and mass of the trucks involved. If you have suffered damages and injuries because of your truck accident in Flint, you can file an insurance claim and, potentially, a third-party or personal injury claim.

Michigan law protects truck accident victims, allowing third-party insurance companies or at-fault parties to pay for the accidents for which they are liable in certain cases. Wigod & Falzon can help you take on large truck companies to get the compensation that you deserve. Get in touch with our loyal and knowledgeable team today to begin pursuing your rightful truck accident injury compensation.