Southlake Truck Accident Settlements
When you have been in a truck accident, you may have incurred significant injuries and tremendous financial pressure. Trucking companies and their insurers often offer quick settlements, and the amounts can seem generous and tempting. However, the types of catastrophic injuries related to 18-wheeler crashes are more expensive than many realize.
Before accepting a settlement offer, you must understand the actual cost of your injuries. People typically want to look at the range of Southlake truck accident settlements. However, that will not give you the information you need to make an informed decision.
Just because someone else was in a semi wreck does not mean their injuries are the same as yours. Even if they are, individual factors such as family relationships, prior earning capabilities, and emotional trauma could massively impact settlement amounts. The best way to get an accurate idea of a potential settlement is to consult a tractor-trailer collision attorney.
Truck Settlement Offers Are Often Larger Than Car Settlements
Many people are surprised by the size of an initial truck accident settlement offer in Southlake. If a person is in a car collision and experiences minor injuries, a fair settlement would include repair or replacement costs for their vehicle, medical expenses, and lost wages. Depending on the extent of the injury and the damage to the car, that offer could be a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands.
In a trucking accident, the damages are typically more extensive. Vehicles are likely to be total losses, injuries are more severe, and recovery times are longer. It is not unusual for initial settlement offers to be six figures. For many, that is a more significant amount than they have ever had at a single time, and it can be tempting to take.
However, the ongoing medical bills for a catastrophic injury can easily reach into the millions. Add in lost wages, costs of care, and loss of earning capacity, and the amount can double or triple. Because of this, our lawyers encourage people not to accept a settlement offer until they get an expert’s opinion.
Factors Impacting Settlement Size
There are a few different factors that significantly affect the size of a settlement. Understanding these is crucial to determining whether an offer is fair.
Fault
Fault is the main factor impacting settlement size in a Southlake semi-truck collision. Texas is a modified comparative negligence state, meaning people can recover for an injury as long as they are 50 percent or less responsible for it. However, the recovery amount is proportionate to the blame. If an individual shares liability for the crash, it will impact their settlement offer.
Medical Expenses
The second critical factor is medical expenses. Generally, a settlement will cover past medical expenses unless something is questionable about them. If the treatments do not seem to match the diagnosis, the insurance company may hesitate to pay for them.
Future medical expenses are more difficult to predict — insurers will generally try to low-ball them. At the same time, a plaintiff’s attorney will fight to ensure that clients have enough funds to cover these costs.
Earning Capacity
Settlements should also include lost wages and earning capacity. The lower someone’s income, the lower the settlement offer. However, this is not always true. For example, many higher-income people will be able to continue their job after a severe injury. In contrast, manual laborers may not be able to work. So, it will depend not only on income but also on the nature of the job and the injury.
Non-Economic Damages
Additionally, non-economic damages can impact settlement amounts. An individual’s pain and suffering, degree of mental anguish, loss of enjoyment, and loss of consortium depend on a combination of their pre-existing psychological and physical health and the degree and type of injury.
A tenacious lawyer could prove individual elements to help support a larger settlement.
Learn More About Truck Collision Settlements in Southlake
While it is not recommended to look at the average amount for truck wreck settlements in the area, an attorney could still provide you with a helpful range. With a consultation, we could get information about your specific case.
Those facts allow our team to predict a fair settlement range, which puts you in a better position to assess settlement offers. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more about Southlake truck accident settlements and what your case may be worth.