5 Things a Truck Accident Lawyer Can Do (That You Probably Can’t)
Legally Reviewed and Edited by: Terry Cochran

If you have been involved in a car accident with a truck, talking with a personal injury attorney is a wise move.
Are you injured? Was the accident your fault? How long will you be unable to work? Are you wrestling with insurance companies? Are you considering filing a lawsuit against the commercial trucking company associated with the big rig that ran you off the road?
There’s a lot going on, and your mind is full of questions. If you’re hesitating to contact a personal injury lawyer for help in finding answers, here are five things a truck accident lawyer can do that you probably can’t — and getting some solid legal support behind you can make a big difference in successful settlement and/or litigation.
1. Get to work immediately
Sometimes the settlement process goes fine, but usually, it doesn’t. If you contact a personal injury lawyer sooner rather than later, you could save yourself some hassles.
Have you been seriously injured? If so, you may not be emotionally or physically capable of making a lot of decisions, particularly in the immediate aftermath of the crash. It’s important to know that for settlement discussions — as well as for possible litigation — it helps to start asking questions, interviewing witnesses, and gathering other evidence as soon as possible following the accident.
Contacting an attorney after the vehicle accident can help you and your family focus on your recovery, while your attorney gets to work securing you the settlement you need and deserve.
Cochran, Kroll & Associates P.C., can meet with you at your convenience, in whatever setting makes the most sense to you, including your home or hospital room. We’ll help you get the answers you need.
2. Determine Fault
Even if you think you were not responsible for the crash, you probably don’t know how to prove it to the insurance company lawyers you’ll be facing during settlement proceedings or in a court of law.
Many factors can contribute to an accident involving a truck. Usually, it involves some combination of the truck’s design and performance characteristics and the car driver’s ignorance of these characteristics — like a truck’s unique acceleration and braking capabilities.
But other factors could also be involved — like weather conditions or reckless driving — or less obvious factors like bad brakes, an inexperienced driver, or too much cargo/weight. Truck drivers are notoriously overworked and are sometimes sleepy.
Do you know how to find out whether or not the driver of the truck has been properly trained? Do you know how to find out if the truck was overloaded or oversized for the road? Would you know how to access maintenance records to find out when the brakes and other truck systems were last checked?
The skilled truck accident lawyers in Michigan at Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C. know the questions to ask and where to find answers. We’re a personal injury law firm that specializes in helping injury victims and their families through each step of the settlement process, and exploring options.
3. Handle Insurance Companies
The goal of insurance companies is to settle for the least amount of money possible. A skilled truck accident attorney knows the insurance lingo and the settlement scenarios that insurance companies use to maneuver you into a “quick-and-easy” settlement. An attorney will help you avoid making big settlement mistakes.
Before signing anything, you need some answers to a few questions. How are you going to pay for your medical and treatment needs in the future? Will you still be able to work at the same job after you recover? How can you access a monetary value to the multiple losses you have endured since your accident?
Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C. works with people who have been injured in an accident with a truck, and have many years of expertise in understanding the injuries, trauma, and the long-term treatments that may accompany such accidents. Depending on your situation, we may recommend tests or specific doctors to see if you wish to pursue litigation.
Senior partner, Eileen Kroll, specializes in medical cases at Cochran, Kroll & Associates P.C., and her training as a registered nurse is invaluable in evaluating your injury and condition for legal purposes.
4. Handle Correspondence, Hearings, and Litigation
You can represent yourself in insurance settlement hearings or court proceedings, but it’s not highly recommended. Few people can negotiate that terrain effectively without good legal advice and counsel at their side.
This process might involve both correspondence and meetings with the attorneys representing the liable parties. Having an attorney handle your legal correspondence — and be with you, advising you, as you take each step in the settlement process — leads to better outcomes.
A personal injury lawyer can also explore all the avenues of liability that extend beyond the driver of the semi-truck that rear-ended you.
Determining fault isn’t the same as determining liability. The trucking industry is huge, and sometimes the entity that owns the truck isn’t the company that operates the truck or maintains the truck. There’s also the possibility that the loading company can be held liable if there was unsecured cargo or the cargo’s weight was not distributed correctly. And if the accident involves faulty brakes, faulty lights, tire blowouts, or transmission failure, the manufacturer of the parts involved may be liable.
Cochran, Kroll & Associates P.C., specializes in helping people receive compensation for their losses, including loss of earning capacity due to an inability to work, medical expenses — both current and future, and other losses. We know where to find answers, and work to safeguard our clients from being victimized by insurance companies and/or the legal system.
5. Provide Peace of Mind
A good personal injury lawyer can take a lot of things off your plate, and be an important aspect of your healing and recovery process.
Cochran, Kroll & Associates P.C., brings enormous compassion, experience, and tenacious energy to our client relationships, and we’re ready to go the extra mile to shield you from any additional harm.
We represent personal injury clients on a contingency basis, meaning our fees will represent a percentage of your eventual compensation when the case is resolved. In Michigan, contingent legal fees in personal injury cases are set by statute (MRPC Rule 1.5) and can be up to one-third of the recovery award.
Maybe all you need is some advice? Feel free to contact us today for some answers. Call us toll-free at 866-MICH-LAW or use our convenient online contact form to schedule a free consultation.
Disclaimer : The information provided is general and not for legal advice. The blogs are not intended to provide legal counsel and no attorney-client relationship is created nor intended.