How much will you get paid if an 18-wheeler hit you in Texas? There is no set amount a victim gets paid after being hit by an 18-Wheeler.
The amount of the potential settlement or trial award varies from one case to another, depending on specific case factors. An experienced Arlington 18-Wheeler accident lawyer is best equipped to help you fight for the highest amount possible.
Understanding Settlements and Trial Awards for 18-Wheeler Accidents
The physical, emotional, and financial damage experienced after an accident with a big rig is hard to overestimate. Victims typically need significant compensation to attend to their injuries, stabilize their finances, and restore a sense of justice. By filing a truck accident claim, you exercise your right to seek compensation through a settlement or trial award.
Compensation provided through truck accident settlements or trial verdicts typically covers your economic and non-economic damages. Medical costs, income loss, property damage, and other financial expenses incurred by your accident represent economic damages.
Accidents with big rigs are traumatizing, both physically and emotionally. Non-economic damages provide financial acknowledgment of this trauma and the reduced enjoyment of life you may experience if an 18-wheeler hit you in Texas. Injuries may change how you move through daily life and prevent you from participating in activities or relationships you once enjoyed.
How Much You Get Paid Is Determined on a Case-by-Case Basis
According to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) crash statistics, the most recent full year of data shows Texas experienced 18,233 accidents involving large trucks. These crashes produced 10,744 injuries and 711 fatalities.
If victims in any of these cases pursued compensation, it would be highly unlikely that any two cases produced the exact same settlement or trial award. Each case has its own individual circumstances and unique considerations that determine its worth. The bottom line is that there is no average settlement for semi-truck accidents.
The extent of your injuries is a major consideration. Some common injuries in truck accidents are severe, even catastrophic. A traumatic brain injury or spinal cord damage could leave a victim unable to work or live independently, and in need of continuing care. These injuries demand higher compensation than a broken bone that is more likely to heal without significant complications.
Evidence and Fault Affect How Much Compensation You Receive
Other factors affecting how much you get paid if an 18-Wheeler hits you are the strength of your evidence and the level of negligence demonstrated by the at-fault party or parties, as well as the amount of fault assigned to you.
The Role of Evidence
The best time to consult a lawyer for a truck accident is as soon as you can after the incident. One of your lawyer’s first tasks is to investigate the accident and find evidence that identifies the at-fault party and proves their negligence. Evidence is most available in the time soon after the accident, before physical evidence or camera footage gets lost or witnesses’ memories become clouded.
Convincing evidence can support your compensation demand and the effort to get you the highest amount possible. Our team is strategic in collecting evidence after a truck accident and will leave no source of information untapped.
The Role of Fault
Chapter 33 of the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code explains that victims must be less than 51% to blame for an accident to seek damages. If you meet this standard, but hold a smaller percentage of fault, that same percentage will be deducted from your settlement or trial award. For example, if you hold 20% of the fault, you would collect 80% of the total calculated compensation amount.
Our team will challenge any accusations from the other side on any level against you and present evidence to support their culpability and your lack thereof. Your skilled truck accident lawyer in Arlington will fight aggressively to protect you from unfair compensation reductions and help you get paid if an 18-Wheeler hits you in Texas.
How to Get Compensation for an 18-Wheeler Accident in Texas
One way to get paid if an 18-Wheeler hits you in Texas is through a settlement. Your Arlington big rig accident attorney will value your case with precision and send the opposing side a settlement demand. Most likely, they will respond with a lower offer, and the sides will continue negotiating until they come to an agreed-upon amount.
Sometimes, the other side does not negotiate in good faith. By filing an injury claim with the court soon after your accident, you protect your right to take your fight for payment to court. A fast connection with our team not only provides access to stronger evidence but ensures timely filing.
Trials typically take longer to resolve the settlement negotiations, and our team will work to negotiate justice. However, we will be primed and ready to take your case to court if that is the way to get you justly paid for your losses. You will not have to make this important decision alone. Throughout your case’s progress, your lawyer will offer sound legal direction and advocacy.
File Your Claim on Time
Texas Code Chapter 16 imposes a two-year filing deadline for most personal injury cases, including 18-Wheeler accidents. If you miss this deadline, you risk losing the opportunity to get paid much-needed compensation. Filing on time protects your right to take your case to court should negotiations fail.
If you are afraid your deadline has passed, do not assume you are automatically without recourse. Some case circumstances allow for deadline extensions. We can review your case and determine if an extension applies to yours.
If an 18-Wheeler Hits You, Do Not Settle for Less
The Texas Law Dog is ready to bite back. We know how much you should get paid if an 18-Wheeler hits you in Texas, and we will fight to get you the compensation you deserve.
Insurance companies are not on your side, but we are. Connect with us today to schedule a free case consultation.
