If you are involved in a crash with a large commercial truck, the trucker’s insurance coverage may be the last concern on your mind. However, when you are injured in a truck crash, having the right kind of insurance can help you recover the damages you are entitled to by law. After an accident with a truck driver, you may be eligible to file an insurance claim against the trucking company’s insurance carrier for compensation. However, claims involving truck accidents can be more complicated than a simple car accident insurance claim.
One of the more challenging types of truck accident claims is that of the hit- and-run driver. A hit-and-run driver is a driver of a vehicle who disappears following the accident. Hit-and-run cases are not limited to cars and may involve large truck crashes. After a truck crash, the injured person may take several potential steps toward legal compensation. If the victim of a hit-and-run accident was not able to see the name of the trucking company or any other identifiable details about the truck, he/she may need to look to their own insurance company. Insurance companies offer an option as part of the car insurance policy known as underinsured and uninsured motorist coverage. If a person is hurt in an accident and the other driver is at fault but doesn’t have enough or any insurance, this additional coverage enables them to file a claim with their own insurance company. Basically, their insurance company takes the place of the other driver’s insurance and supplements damages.
If you are involved in an accident with a truck that does not leave the accident scene, then you will most likely be dealing with the insurer for the trucking company. Trucking companies, like any big business, have their own insurers and they pay top dollar for their policies because of the potentially high damages involved in a trucking accident. To minimize their own insurance costs, they want to minimize the costs paid out to you – and so do their insurers. Insurance representatives from trucking companies often arrive at an accident scene immediately after the accident and offer the victim of a trucking accident a settlement that is usually insufficient to pay for all the expenses.
Almost all truck accidents produce catastrophic injuries. In more than 17 years of experience, attorney Jeffrey S. Hark at Hark & Hark has handled every type of truck accident. Our past work includes accidents that led to wrongful death claims as well as those that resulted in substantial verdicts or settlements for injuries. Even though these accidents involved different types of vehicles, they all produced severe injury or death. In any type of truck crash, it is critical to get to the scene quickly before the vehicles are removed or repaired. Attorney Jeffrey S. Hark works closely with accident scene re-constructionists, detectives and experts who are able to determine the speed of the truck by looking at the gear mechanism. They can also learn whether there was an attempt to brake or avoid the accident.
Regardless of the type of the accident, attorney Jeffrey S. Hark can help you get results. He has litigated truck accident injuries in all New Jersey state courts and in federal courts throughout the south. His reputation as a successful federal litigator has led to referrals from other attorneys; we also receive many referrals from satisfied clients who are happy with the verdict or settlement they received.