How Do You Choose the Best Truck Accident Attorney in NC?
Key Takeaways:
- How do you choose the best truck accident attorney in NC? Make sure they have experience in commercial vehicles. This type of case involves a commercial vehicle, which can create liability for the driver, carrier, broker, and insurer.
- A truck accident attorney has FMCSA experience, while a car accident attorney may not have this specialized knowledge.
- Evidence related to the accident, such as logs, telematics, and the truck itself, may be lost quickly; therefore, it is imperative to take action as soon as possible.
- If you live in NC, you will need to consider how an attorney handles the 1% contributory negligence standard when selecting your counsel (e.g., you may not recover any damages due to your own negligence).
- The amount of money that a carrier will actually pay is determined by trial readiness rather than settlement volume.
Many of you might be asking yourselves, how do you choose the best truck accident attorney in NC? It begins with understanding the differences between truck accidents and car accidents. There are a lot of other parties involved when a person is hurt in a truck accident than in a car accident (more potential defendants). In addition to the fact that truck accidents are subject to federal regulations and the North Carolina 1% fault rule, there is also the issue of evidence disappearing quickly after a trucking accident.
At Tatum & Atkinson Law Firm, our North Carolina truck accident lawyer understands all four of the issues above. This guide will help you figure out how to tell the difference between your average accident attorney and an attorney who has the necessary qualifications to represent you successfully after a trucking accident in NC and anywhere in Wake County and Raleigh.
For more information regarding a trucking accident or to get your free case evaluation by our experienced lawyers, call (800) 529-0804.
Why a Truck Case Isn’t Just a Bigger Car Accident
An accident involving a truck is a personal injury case presented through a layer of commercial litigation. The federal government regulates the trucks heavily, so the trucking company has large law firms on retainer protecting them; therefore, the way to build your case is different than if you were in a personal injury case without a truck involved.
North Carolina has three of the busiest freight corridors in the Southeast, I-85, I-40, and I-95, with a proportional difference in size. A loaded tractor-trailer can weigh up to 80,000 pounds compared to a 4,000-pound car. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that 5,472 people died in crashes that involved large trucks last year, and approximately 70% of them were in a car rather than the truck. If your attorney is not prepared for a truck accident case, the legal challenges will be one-sided, too.
More Defendants Than the Driver
In a car accident, typically, you only have one driver and one insurer. In truck accidents, there may be multiple parties involved: the driver, the motor carrier for whom he works, the trailer’s owner, the broker who arranged the load, and the insurer for each. Each party may carry its own insurance and can make a claim against other parties. All the potential parties must be identified for the value of the case to be established.
Federal Rules Change the Playing Field
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) regulates commercial motor vehicles. Commercial truck drivers are limited in the number of hours they may drive due to hours-of-service (HOS) restrictions. The use of an electronic logging device (ELD) tracks compliance with the hours-of-service rule by the truck driver.
The trucking company must perform all necessary maintenance on the truck, conduct a background check on the truck driver, and maintain all records relating to the truck and the truck driver. An FMCSA violation could be used as proof of negligence against a trucking company, but the commercial truck accident attorney NC handling the case must know that the FMCSA rule existed and how to request the information.
Evidence Disappears on a Trucking Timeline
The electronic data from the truck, driver’s logs, dashcam video, and maintenance file are under the trucking company’s control, and data in many of these areas is on an automatic cycle that will eventually replace older data sets. Therefore, you must quickly send a spoliation letter to ensure that the items referenced in your spoliation letter do not lose their integrity as potential evidence because, if you wait too long, evidence that is critical to your case could be lost forever.
The 1% Rule Still Decides Everything in NC
North Carolina is one of the few jurisdictions that adhere strictly to the pure contributory negligence rule. If the attorneys for a trucking company find even 1% fault on your part, you will not be compensated; the total compensation will be zero. This is something that the trucking company’s defence lawyers will know and will be working on from the outset. Your attorney will have to counter this with just as much effort as possible.
How Do You Choose The Best Truck Accident Attorney in NC
When searching for the best truck accident lawyer North Carolina for your case, look for experience with trucking-specific laws, extensive investigation training/skills, trial experience, and familiarity with the 1% rule. These qualities are what differentiate between lawyers who have the ability and lawyers who cannot represent your claim properly.
Real FMCSA and Trucking-Litigation Experience
To determine if they have the above qualities, ask the firm about their previous truck accident litigation experience and whether they’ve actually represented clients with a trucking accident or simply advertise it on their website. The Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys is one signal, as it’s a credential built specifically around commercial-vehicle litigation. Both Tatum & Atkinson Law Firm’s founding attorneys have membership in it. However, the real test of whether to hire this firm is to see if the attorney understands how to interpret driver logs and identify violations.
Investigative Resources and the Right Experts
Fatal accidents involving large trucks require expert witnesses. Accident reconstructionists can tell you how the accident occurred. Those who specialize in commercial vehicle accidents can retrieve and analyze truck black-box data of trucks, and medical experts will connect the injury sustained from the accident to the crash force measurement.
You are at a huge disadvantage if your attorney does not have any of these experts. Ask your attorney who they would use in your case, as well as what their fees are.
A Trial Record, Not Just Settlement Volume
Most trucking attorneys settle all of their cases, and the insurance company knows this. An attorney who has never actually tried a case is going to provide you with no value in negotiating with the insurer because the adjuster understands that if there is no potential of going to court, it’s all a bluff. So when you talk with an attorney about trucking claims, a very important question to ask them is, “When was the last time you took a truck case to trial?” With that answer, you will have a reference point to see how the opposite party currently views them.
North Carolina Contributory-Negligence Fluency
If a lawyer primarily practices in states with comparative fault, they may not be aware that North Carolina has a 1% contributory negligence bar to recovery. In fact, if you are found to hold even 1% of the blame for the crash, you cannot recover any damages; if you happen to be at fault, you will not be able to recover any damages. The right trucking accident lawyer will view contributory negligence as the primary basis for their defense and will work to prevent the opposing side from pinning any blame on you.
Common Mistakes People Make When Choosing a Lawyer
Common errors come down to speed, fit, and follow-through. Each one quietly costs money.
Hiring the First Number They Call
The biggest advertiser may not be the best person to work for you, as some firms are high-volume and do not give individual cases the time required to properly build them. Before you hire any firm, you should ask who is going to work on your file.
Confusing a Car-Accident Firm With a Truck Firm
Several qualified car accident litigation attorneys also accept truck accident representation but do not have the infrastructure needed to pursue trucking recoveries. For instance, they may not be familiar with FMCSA regulation issues, may not adequately perform the appropriate investigations of the trucking company’s records, and may not obtain maximum recovery from the accident for their clients. You need an FMCSA truck accident attorney who is aware of these accidents and the rules of the FMCSA.
Waiting Too Long to Call Anyone
With every week you delay, there’s less evidence, and the carrier’s defense team is making more progress than you on the case. The preservation letter, scene inspection, and witness statements: all of these things are more effective if they are done as early as possible. As with so many other things, delay is the one thing that you cannot recover from later.
Questions to Ask During the Consultation
Turn the consultation into an interview; you are considering one of the largest monetary decisions of your life. Ask tough questions and pay attention to what is said.
“Have You Tried a Trucking Case to Verdict?”
You want the answer to be yes and backed with facts. Any lawyer who can tell you about an actual injury trial they’ve been involved with brings a level of leverage to their negotiating ability that an attorney from a firm that only settles does not share.
“Who Actually Works My File?”
You must determine whether you are hiring the attorney you are meeting with, or whether the case will be assigned to a case manager, with whom you will never meet. There are both business models out there; you should have the right to know what type of business model you are getting.
“How Do You Handle the FMCSA and Carrier Records?”
You will want a very clear answer here: spoliation letter, records requests, and the driver-qualification file. If you do not get a good immediate answer to these questions, you will know what you need to do.
Red Flags to Avoid When Selecting a Lawyer
You can often tell by looking at warning signs that your attorney may not be a good choice before signing a retainer agreement with them. These warning signs include:
- Guarantees: No attorney can guarantee a result or a specific number. North Carolina rules of professional conduct prohibit attorneys from guaranteeing results, so if your attorney provides a guarantee of success, you should look for another attorney.
- Pressuring to sign a retainer agreement: A reputable firm will earn your trust and your business, not pressure you into signing a retainer agreement.
- Lack of understanding of who is managing your case: If it is unclear who will be managing your case, this vagueness is an indication that you will have communication problems later on.
- Lack of experience in the trucking industry: Just because an attorney is excited to take your case does not make up for their lack of knowledge about the FMCSA rules.
- Ambiguous fees: The contingency fee calculations must be detailed clearly in writing and in plain English.
Fees: What Contingency Actually Means
North Carolina is home to experienced lawyers who represent clients who have been injured in truck accidents on a contingency fee basis. This means that if you win your case, your attorney will take a portion of the recovery amount; if you do not recover any money, then there will be no fee owed for representation.
The attorney typically pays expenses during your case and is repaid through the recovery amount. Determining the percentage of the fee and the cost of the representation at the beginning of the case should be in writing before signing any documents.
How the Right Attorney Changes What Your Case Is Worth
Choosing a truck accident lawyer can impact the total on your check. Both liability and damages must be created, and both results are rewarded based on early, skillful work.
Liability Gets Built Early
According to the FMCSA’s Large Truck Crash Causation Study, driver action and inaction are the primary causes of 88% of all large truck crashes. To prove liability, you must have access to the driver logs, telematics, and carrier records, and you must act quickly to do so. A firm that acts quickly will have control of the evidence available. A firm that acts slowly will have to work with whatever documentation the carrier gave them.
Damages Get Documented Fully
The value of your case depends on the documentation available to substantiate your claim: medical records, future care forecast, loss of wages, and human suffering. When a firm settles your case before achieving maximum medical improvement, they are leaving money on the table. An appropriate lawyer will wait until the complete picture has been developed prior to trying for the highest possible number based on the evidence.
Wrap Up Your Recovery With the Heavy Hitters
If you’re wondering how do you choose the best truck accident attorney in NC, it comes down to finding a firm that acts swiftly to safeguard important pieces of evidence. Under NC’s strict laws, if you are even 1% at fault, you will be barred from recovering any compensation. The trucking company insurance adjuster will be working hard to pin a higher percentage of fault on you, preventing you from recovering anything.
Tatum & Atkinson Law Firm has been fighting these trucking company tactics throughout North Carolina since 2006. As members of the Academy of Truck Accident Attorneys, “The Heavy Hitters’ know the trucking company and insurance defense strategies and what it takes to protect your claim.
To speak with an attorney from Tatum & Atkinson Law Firm, call (800) 529-0804 today for a free, 20-minute initial consultation during which you will owe nothing unless we recover money for you.
Frequently Asked Questions!
How much does a truck accident lawyer cost in North Carolina?
Lawyers who deal with truck accidents will use a contingency fee model and therefore charge you a set percentage when successfully resolving your case (rather than requiring you to pay them up front). Most firms will cover expenses with the expectation that the costs will be recouped at trial or via settlement.
Will my truck accident case go to trial?
While most cases settle before going to trial, insurance companies will typically offer a higher settlement when they believe an attorney is willing to go to trial. Your attorney’s prior trial results will affect what the insurance company is willing to pay.
Can I still recover if I was partly at fault?
Pure contributory negligence governs North Carolina’s injury laws, meaning any person, even 1% negligent in causing the accident, will not recover from the other party. The defense will attempt to point to you as being the cause of your injuries. Your attorney will need to build a case to eliminate that possibility.
How soon should I hire a truck accident attorney?
Immediately. The truck company carrier may backdate and erase driver logs after an incident, which is why all truck accident attorneys send a preservation letter immediately after becoming involved in a wreck to ensure all important truck data remains intact.
What does a truck accident lawyer do first?
Attorneys send spoliation letters in order to preserve evidence, obtain FMCSA records on the truck company, and take various other steps in order to secure evidence. The accident scene, while at the same time taking over all communications with the claims adjusters.
