How Much Compensation Is Your Truck Accident Settlement Worth?
There has been a concerning increase in the number of truck accidents in recent years, and many of these have resulted in severe injuries and fatalities.
If you manage to survive such a scenario and you’re not at fault for the accident, then you may be entitled to compensation.
How much can you expect to receive?
We can’t say for sure.
There are several ways compensation is calculated for each type of damage.
In addition, the damages you include in your personal injury claim will affect how much you’re going to get.
The severity of your injuries also plays a major role in the total compensation value.
In general, the average settlement ranges from $20,000 to over $100,000.
However, the maximum amount can reach millions of dollars depending on the severity of your injuries.
Contact an experienced truck accident lawyer like our team for more details about these estimates.
Compensation for Medical Bills
The most common damage included in truck accident cases is the victim’s medical expenses.
Truck accidents can cause severe injuries that need medical attention.
A person may need to stay in the hospital for several days, receive various treatments and medications to heal injuries, and consult with specialists for issues like traumatic brain injury.
All these healthcare services will amount to significant costs, especially if the injuries require surgery or extended hospital stays.
Thankfully, it’s easy to calculate compensation for medical bills.
All an insurance company or adjuster has to do is simply add up all the medical-related expenses, including ambulance rides, medical devices, and medication.
The total value will be the amount reimbursed to the victims.
Compensation for Pain and Suffering Damages
Pain and suffering is a non-economic damage that covers mental anguish and emotional pain that a person suffered because of a large, semi-truck, or tractor-trailer accident.
This damage is more difficult to calculate because insurance companies don’t have hard data to use like they would with medical costs.
Trucking companies and their insurer can use either the multiplier method or the per diem method.
Your truck accident lawyer can also calculate and assess non-economic damages like pain and suffering.
Multiplier Method
For the multiplier method, the insurance company and your lawyer will assess the intangible damages you suffered and rate it with a value between 1.5 to 5.
The value is the multiplier used to calculate pain and suffering.
For example, if the total economic damage for the truck accident is $25,000 and you have 3 as a multiplier, then the total compensation you’ll get is: $25,000 + ($25,000*3) = $100,000.
Per Diem Method
For the per diem method, you’re assigned a daily value instead of a multiplier.
The baseline for this value is usually your daily wages, multiplied by the number of workdays you lost because of your injury.
For example, if your daily wage is $250 and you reported a total of 100 days of suffering, the pain and suffering amount totals $25,000.
Compensation for Disability
After a semi-truck accident, your injuries may cause some level of disability.
You could have spinal cord issues that cause movement problems, blindness because of glass shards, or leg injuries that stop you from doing daily activities.
There are four classifications most insurance companies follow when it comes to calculating compensation for disabilities:
- Temporary Partial Disability
- Temporary Total Disability
- Permanent Partial Disability
- Permanent Total Disability
The more severe your disability, the higher compensation you can get.
Of course, those suffering permanent total disability may be entitled to significant amounts.
The calculation methods differ from insurance company to insurance company.
However, the baseline used is usually your daily wage, with a certain percentage given to you as a disability benefit.
Compensation for Ongoing Treatment and Future Medical Expenses
You may not be fully recovered from serious injuries after being discharged from the hospital.
In some cases, people will need additional physical therapy sessions to fully gain control of their broken limbs.
These therapy sessions will not be free, adding to the total cost.
Some injuries will also require future medical services, such as follow-up check-ups with a specialist or additional tests to assess how internal injuries are healing.
These also increase the expenses related to the trucking accident.
Thankfully, ongoing treatment and future medical expenses can be included in your semi-truck accident settlement.
Your personal injury lawyer will work with your doctors and other medical professionals to get an estimate of the additional services you’ll need.
This information will be used during negotiation with the at-fault party, whether it’s the trucking company, the truck driver, etc.
Compensation for Lost Wages
While at the hospital or recovering, you will not be able to report to work, resulting in a loss of income.
The same scenario applies to those who suffer temporary disability.
Thankfully, truck accident settlements can include claims for lost wages.
To calculate compensation for lost wages, simply multiply the number of days missed by the daily income the plaintiff earns.
Things can get more complex if the victim is a mixed-income earner or has variable shift hours.
In these cases, the court may decide to use an average number of hours as a blanket multiplier.
Let your truck accident attorneys know about your sources of income so you can get a fair settlement.
Compensation for Wrongful Death
Unfortunately, fatalities are not unusual in trucking accidents.
If someone you know died because of a commercial truck collision, their spouse or family members can still file a wrongful death lawsuit and get death benefits from the liable party, such as truck drivers and fleet operators.
Several factors could affect how much dependents can get after winning a wrongful death claim.
Thanks to these considerations, the compensation differs from case to case.
In general, here are some of the most common factors.
- Number of dependents left behind
- Age of the deceased victim
- If the spouse is mentally and physically able to support themselves without the truck accident victim
- The state in which the accident occurred
- Punitive damages for the liable party’s negligent behavior that resulted in the truck accident
Filing Truck Accident Settlements To Get Compensation
If you’ve been involved in a truck accident, the first step you can take is to file an insurance claim.
Contact an experienced truck accident attorney for help with your insurance claim.
Most truck accident cases are settled out of court, especially if there is undeniable proof that one party is at fault.
The truck driver’s insurance policy can pay the damages and everybody goes their separate ways.
However, there are times when neither party can arrive at a resolution.
You can escalate this into a commercial truck accident case to be tried in court.
Filing a personal injury lawsuit is not an easy process, so we recommend hiring an attorney who can represent you every step of the way.
Who Is Liable in Your Truck Accident Lawsuit?
It’s not just the truck driver who can be held liable for a semi-truck accident or collisions involving tractor-trailers.
Other parties may be at fault, so you may file a claim for personal injury or property damages against them.
Here are the other entities that may be at fault in a car accident, auto accident, and similar incidents:
- Trucking Company: The company may have pushed a truck driver to work even though they were suffering from fatigue. Hiring drivers without proper qualifications can also make the company liable.
- Fleet Manufacturers and Truck Part Makers: While liability is harder to prove for these parties, they can still be held responsible for supplying faulty parts that resulted in semi-truck accidents and significant injuries to motorists and pedestrians.
- Motorists and Pedestrians: Jaywalkers and distracted drivers can easily cause accidents. While a truck may be involved, the truck driver could be as much a victim as you are because of some other party’s disregard for road rules.
TorHoerman Law: Your Truck Accident Law Firm
TorHoerman Law is your team of truck accident lawyers.
We have successfully worked on personal injury cases and know the ins and outs of truck accident cases.
If you’ve been involved in an accident and would like to file a case or get an estimate of the settlement you could get, our lines are open.
We can also serve as your legal representation should you pursue litigation for your trucking accident case.
Contact TorHoerman Law for a free consultation.
You can also use the chatbot on this page to find out if you qualify for the Trucking Accident Lawsuit instantly.
