Insurance Companies and Truck Accidents

Getting compensation for the injured throughout Alabama

After any wreck, you expect to deal with an insurance company, and that's never easy. But in truck accident cases, dealing with insurance companies can be especially challenging. The stakes are high, and it may seem as though the deck is stacked against you.

Mobile, AL truck accident lawyer Dean Waite knows how to handle the insurance companies and fight for the compensation you deserve. With Dean Waite & Associates, LLC on your side, you can level the playing field and start rebuilding your life.

Dealing with the insurance company is complicated. Here's what you need to know.

Commercial trucks have liability insurance, just like passenger cars. But that doesn't mean dealing with the insurance company for a truck is the same as dealing with someone else's private auto insurance. Here are some key differences:

• The stakes are high - Truck accidents tend to lead to large claims for two, primary reasons:
  • First, commercial trucks usually cause serious injuries - not to mention massive amounts of property damage - when they are involved in wrecks because of their sheer size.
  • Second, the policy limits tend to be much higher. In Alabama, motorists are only required to have $25,000 in liability coverage for bodily injury per person and $50,000 per accident, and many drivers have only the minimum coverage.

Trucking companies tend to have hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in liability coverage, which leads to much larger claims and much more exposure to the insurance company's bottom line - which means the insurance company has every incentive to fight those claims.

• Multiple insurance companies get involved - In tractor-trailer accident cases, it's typical for the cab and the trailer to have separate insurance. The cargo itself may be covered under a separate insurance policy as well. And if your accident involved multiple vehicles, which is common when a truck jackknifes or rolls over and blocks multiple lanes of traffic, each vehicle involved will have separate insurance as well. Accepting a settlement offer from one insurance company could affect the other companies' liability as well, so you definitely need to consult an experienced lawyer beforehand.
• Their client holds much of the evidence - Evidence is the key to building a strong case, and that's as true for the insurance side as it is for the injured person's side. In truck accident cases, that gives the trucking company's insurance carrier an automatic advantage because much of the evidence they need, such as GPS data, is the trucking company's property.
• They have teams of attorneys on their side - Again, truck accident claims are high-stakes cases for the insurance companies. They'll generally put their most experienced attorneys on the case, and those lawyers will have plenty of resources to build a strong defense. Remember, because Alabama is a contributory negligence state, all they have to do is convince a jury that you were even partially responsible for the wreck in order to bar you from recovering.

None of this is to say that you have to take the insurance company's offer - just the opposite, in fact.  Beating the insurance company after a truck accident isn't easy, but with an experienced truck accident attorney on your side, it absolutely can be done. That's why you need to contact our firm right away.

We have a proven track record of taking on the insurance companies and winning tough truck accident cases. If you've been hurt in a truck accident, don't hesitate... Call Dean Waite! Call (866) 434-5840 to schedule your free consultation.