Choosing the Right Truck Accident Lawyer: 10 Questions You Must Ask First

If you’ve been injured in an accident with a commercial truck, one of your first thoughts – after you focus on recovering from your injuries – may be about suing for compensation. Depending on the case, you can typically seek to recover for the pain and suffering you endured, your lost income because of your injuries, any long-term costs that you will have to pay because of the accident, your medical and rehab expenses, and damage done to your own vehicle and property.

Selecting the right attorney is important. You want someone who knows what they are doing and can use their experience and knowledge to get you the compensation you deserve for what you’ve been through.

Here are 10 questions to help you decide how to choose a truck accident lawyer:

1. Have you represented other clients who have been injured in commercial truck accidents? If so, how many clients have you helped with these kinds of cases?

These are important questions when determining how to choose a truck accident lawyer. Commercial truck accident cases can be significantly more complicated than other types of personal injury cases. The more experienced the attorney is with commercial truck cases, the more likely they are to be able to get you the compensation you deserve.

Steve Roberts understands the commercial trucking industry and regularly represents clients who have been injured in commercial truck accidents. His experience helping other clients involved in commercial truck accidents will benefit you.

2. Do you take truck accident cases to trial?

Let’s be clear: the vast majority of personal injury cases, including truck accident cases, settle. They do not go to trial. That said, settlements are often driven by the insurance company’s desire to avoid a jury trial. If the attorney has taken personal injury cases, including truck accident cases, to trial, then that will give them more credibility when negotiating a favorable settlement with the insurance company on your behalf.

Steve Roberts is a trial lawyer who focuses on personal injury law, including commercial truck cases. He is a member of the Colorado Trial Lawyers Association and knows first-hand what is involved when it comes to taking a client’s case to court.

3. What steps do you take to identify all possible defendants – in addition to the driver – in a commercial truck accident case?

This is important in commercial truck accident cases. Unlike in the typical car accident case, where it’s usually the driver of the other car who is responsible for your injuries, when a commercial truck is involved in an accident, there may be a number of parties responsible – more than just the driver. These can include the trucking company that owns the truck; the company responsible for loading the truck that day; the maintenance and repair company that serviced the truck; and, in some cases, the manufacturer of the tractor or trailer.

Steve Roberts can tell you that there are even times when the driver of the commercial truck isn’t the one responsible for the crash. As an experienced commercial truck accident attorney, he knows how to explore whether any of these or other potential defendants may share responsibility for the injuries and damages you suffered in the accident.

4. How familiar are you with federal and state regulations that can affect my truck accident personal injury case?

The trucking industry is highly regulated at both the federal and state levels. Knowing these regulations can be important when it comes to establishing potential liability for your accident, particularly if one or more of the regulations were violated by the driver or trucking company.

Steve Roberts understands how these regulations can impact a commercial truck accident case. When it comes to discovering whether a regulation was violated that could have played a role in your accident, he knows where to look and what information to get. As Steve will tell you, evidence that the driver or trucking company violated the law can be a powerful negotiating tool that can increase a settlement offer. That evidence can be just as compelling if it’s presented to a jury if your case goes to trial.

This is one of the most important things to look for in a truck accident attorney in Colorado. Call 720-515-7058 for a free, no-obligation case review.

5. What steps will you take to investigate my case?

Commercial trucks are almost always the source of a wealth of evidence that can be used to support your truck accident lawsuit. That can include videos from dashcams, GPS coordinates, information recorded on a mandated Electronic Logging Device, and information about the truck’s speed, braking, and other driving details. In addition, the truck’s service records and the driver’s personal driving records can often be helpful when it comes to establishing responsibility. But this information doesn’t just show up on your lawyer’s laptop out of nowhere. It needs to be found and secured. Doing that effectively takes knowledge, experience, and hard work.

Steve Roberts knows all of this, and as part of your free case review, he can explain the steps he will take to investigate your case. Want to ask Steve Roberts these questions yourself? Call 720-515-7058 for a free, no-obligation case review.

6. Do you have a strategy in mind for pursuing my case if I retain your firm? If so, what is it?

The attorney should be able to give you some idea of how they will approach your case – but only after you’ve told them about it and answered their questions. Beware of an attorney who immediately says they know exactly what strategy they’re going to use for your lawsuit. Commercial truck accident cases can be complicated, and developing a good strategy typically requires a lot of information and thought. These are not “one size fits all” kinds of cases.

When you meet with Steve Roberts, he will learn as much as he can about your case. He’ll use that information and his experience representing other clients in similar cases to build an effective strategy for yours.

7. What experience do you have negotiating with trucking insurance companies?

Because most commercial truck accident cases settle, the experience your attorney has negotiating with trucking company insurers is extremely important. Insurers routinely are focused on paying as little as possible to settle a claim. Negotiating them up to a number that reflects what you deserve for your injuries, pain and suffering, and other damages is something that takes experience and effort.

As Steve Roberts will tell you, negotiating with insurance companies is a regular part of his practice. He understands how insurers, including trucking company insurers, think. He uses that experience to help his trucking accident clients get the compensation they deserve.

8. How will I know what is going on with my case?

The number one complaint clients have about their personal injury attorneys is poor communication. This comes up over and over in surveys. And while lawyers can be busy, with many demands on their time, clients deserve to be kept in the loop about what is happening with their cases. Just because the judge set a briefing schedule with weeks or months between filings does not mean the client is aware of it. Find out how your lawyer intends to keep you informed about what is happening with your case – even during periods when not much is going on.

Of course, you want the best truck accident lawyer in Denver. When you work with Steve Roberts, he’s the one answering his phone. He’s committed to keeping his clients informed throughout their case so they don’t have to sit and wonder what’s happening. Steve is regularly praised by his clients for keeping them in the loop throughout the course of their case.

9. Do you personally handle my case, or will it be assigned to someone else in your firm?

Many firms will have you meet with someone senior who appears to have the experience and temperament to handle your case – and then when you retain the firm, they will assign the matter to someone else. That’s usually someone who has less experience and is not necessarily the person you would pick to represent you. Find out who will be doing the actual work on your case, and make sure you’re comfortable with that person.

At Roberts Accident Law, we are a boutique firm that focuses on providing our clients with personalized, high-quality legal representation. When you meet with us, you will know exactly who you will be working with. Our goal is to get you the compensation you deserve for your injuries and damages. We are different from some other firms, where clients may just be another file to move around the office. Your welfare and your claim matter to us.

10. How do you charge for your services, including the costs of the lawsuit?

Almost all truck accident attorneys work on a contingent fee basis, meaning that you don’t have to pay them unless they recover money for you. But the terms of these contingent fee agreements vary from one firm to another. When you’re considering working with an attorney, find out what their terms are. Make sure you understand them before you hire the attorney.

At your free case review, Steve Roberts will explain how the Roberts Accident Law contingency fee works so that you have a detailed understanding of it before you retain him to help you with your case.   Want to ask Steve Roberts these questions yourself? Call 720-515-7058 for a free, no-obligation

If you have been in a commercial truck accident, you deserve the efforts of an attorney who understands what it takes to fight to get you the compensation you deserve for your injuries and damages. Steve Roberts has the kind of experience you need. He understands what you’ve been through and how important your compensation claim is to you and your future.

Ready to hire the right attorney? Call Roberts Accident Law at 720-515-7058 today. No fee unless we win.