Your worst fears have come true. You, or a loved one, has been injured or killed during a collision with a commercial truck. These types of accidents are all too common on our nation’s roads today. Fortunately, the law provides you with the right to recover damages from the responsible party.
Choosing a personal injury attorney is crucial to making sure that your rights are protected and your financial needs are met. But finding a lawyer that specializes in truck accidents can be challenging and most people have no idea where to start.
Specialty
There are several critical distinctions between trucking cases and other automobile accident cases. Ignorance of those differences can result in you forfeiting your rights under the law, which may dramatically reduce the amount of compensation you get for medical bills, lost wages, vehicle loss, funeral expenses and attorney’s fees. In the state of Utah, the amount of liability attributed to you will decide how much compensation you are entitled to. A truck accident attorney in Utah will know which parties can be held liable and where to look for evidence to strengthen your case.
Experience
Hiring a personal injury lawyer with experience in trucking accident cases is a critical first step after you have received any necessary medical attention. An experienced truck accident attorney in Utah is aware that larger trucking companies often use on-board computers, a “black box” that tracks the performance of the truck and its driver, as well as global positioning systems that return data that could be crucial to your case.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a division of the Department of Transportation, governs the safety of interstate trucking. Under the FMCSA’s regulations, trucking companies are allowed to purge certain records, like their vehicle maintenance records and driver’s record of duty status, after just six months. Most accident lawsuits never make it to court within that time frame, so it is important that your attorney request this data immediately so that it may be preserved for your case.
The attorneys at Cutt, Kendell & Olson are experienced personal injury attorneys with years of experience helping victims of catastrophic truck accidents in and near Salt Lake City, Utah. Because it matters who represents you against the large trucking companies, choose the firm that cares about you. To speak to an experienced truck accident attorney in Utah about your case, call us at (801) 901-3470 for a free consultation.