What Is the Average Truck Accident Settlement?
Truck accidents often cause astronomical damage and leave victims with catastrophic, life-altering injuries. Since semi-trucks, 18-wheelers, and other commercial vehicles outsize and outweigh other vehicles on the road, they can cause severe injuries even at low speeds.
When a truck driver, the trucking company, or other parties are negligent, you have the right to seek compensation through a truck accident claim. Most truck accident victims have the same question: What is the average truck accident settlement?
Truck crash settlement amounts vary widely, and much like trying to determine the average workers’ comp settlement, there are numerous factors that can increase or decrease the amount. Hipskind & McAninch, LLC is a team of experienced truck accident attorneys who have expertise in state and federal trucking laws and are dedicated to fighting for compensation on behalf of those injured in truck accidents. In this blog post, we answer the question of “what is the average truck accident settlement?” and detail which factors determine how much compensation you may receive.
Photo of Truck Accident
Understanding Truck Accident Settlements and Why They Vary
Truck accident settlements tend to be much larger than other motor vehicle accident settlements involving passenger cars. Victims are more likely to sustain serious injuries that require urgent medical attention, and that comes with hefty medical bills.
Beyond medical expenses, severe injuries can typically keep someone out of work for quite some time. This results in lost wages, which make ordinary monthly bills pile up. Depending on how serious the injuries are, a truck accident settlement amount can vary drastically, though there are even more factors to delve into that could mean you get more than the average truck settlement or less.
Those with minor to moderate injuries could expect an average truck accident settlement from $10,000 to $200,000. For serious or permanent injuries, the average truck settlement amount could be $250,000 to over $1 million. In catastrophic or fatal accidents, average truck accident settlements tend to range from $1 million to over $10 million.
Average truck accident settlement amounts are not what you should be focused on after a truck accident. Instead, you should speak with a truck accident lawyer who can look at all of your economic damages, like medical expenses and lost wages, and your non-economic damages, like emotional distress or pain and suffering, to help you pursue maximum compensation.
Factors Affecting Truck Accident Settlement Amounts
The amounts for truck accident settlements are influenced heavily by the type and severity of injuries, liability, and policy limits from the commercial carrier’s insurance company. In truth, there is no such thing as an average settlement for a truck accident claim because no two cases are the same. However, looking at truck accident cases similar to yours can give you an idea of what to expect for an average settlement.
Severity of Injuries and Impact on Life
In truck accident settlements, the biggest factor that influences the amount is how serious the injuries are and how they affect your life.
Medical Costs and Future Medical Needs
A truck accident settlement must factor in the total cost of your medical care, which usually includes hospital bills, surgeries, physical therapy, and prescription medication. The more severe the injuries, the more likely you will be to need future medical care, and that will need to be calculated to ensure you get a fair settlement.
Minor Injuries vs Serious Injuries vs Life-Altering Injuries
It stands to reason that the more severe your injuries, the higher your semi-truck accident settlement will be. Those whose injuries are relatively minor, like broken bones that will heal and recover in a short amount of time, will get lower settlements. Those who have serious injuries, like a moderate traumatic brain injury, will get higher settlements. Truck accident victims with life-altering injuries such as spinal cord injuries that lead to paralysis, amputations, or permanent disfigurement will most likely recover compensation that is on the high-end of those average settlements listed.
Non-Economic Damages Associated with Injuries
An injured party in a semi-truck accident has much more than medical costs to contend with. Loss goes far beyond property damage and other tangible financial impacts.
After a truck accident, you may be afraid to get into any type of vehicle, no matter who is driving. Your injuries may prevent you from enjoying life in the way that you did before the crash, and it can have profound impacts on your mental health. Your truck accident lawyer can help calculate a final settlement amount that accurately reflects these intangible losses.
Lost Wages and Lost Earning Capacity
Financial compensation for truck accidents should also cover the time you had to take off work to recover from your injuries. If the injuries sustained have permanent impacts on your job or profession, you may also be awarded loss of future earning potential.
Determination of Liability and Multiple Parties
Beyond injuries in a truck accident, the settlement amount will also hinge upon negligence and liability. Your truck accident attorney will investigate to determine whether there were any violations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) rules. For example, the truck driver could have been fatigued and fell asleep at the wheel. If an investigation reveals that the truck driver violated their hours of service to stay on the road, they would face increased liability and you would have a higher settlement value.
It gets more complex because the truck driver usually isn’t the only one to blame in a truck accident case. The trucking company may have been negligent in its hiring practices by choosing someone who did not have enough training or lacked proper certifications for the job. It may have shirked responsibility for maintaining the fleet of trucks by skipping maintenance and repairs. When a trucking company doesn’t conduct business responsibly, it can be held liable for a truck accident, and the settlement amount is usually higher as a result.
When there’s a commercial truck accident, there may be other liable parties, such as a maintenance contractor who may have been negligent in their inspections and repairs. There are cargo loaders who may not have tied down cargo correctly or failed to properly distribute weight throughout the trailer. Overloaded semi-trucks can jackknife and roll over more easily, causing devastation in their wake.
Beyond that, a truck accident can also be caused by another motorist who cut off the truck, causing the trucker to lose control. Essentially, there are many people and entities that could be at fault. With so many liable parties, some of them corporate, it gets even more complicated. If you were in a truck accident while working, you may even have grounds to negotiate a workers’ comp settlement. However, the comparative fault laws in the state could mean you’re blamed for your role in the accident, a tactic that insurance companies love to use that could drastically reduce your truck accident settlement amount.
Role of Insurance Companies and Policy Limits
Trucking companies have much higher insurance coverage in their policies compared to regular auto insurance carried by everyday drivers. That’s why most truck accident cases pay out higher settlements, though there’s a catch.
Insurers fight claims made for truck accident compensation aggressively. Legal representation is the best way to get maximum compensation in a truck accident lawsuit, especially when the maximum for the insurance coverage is reached. A personal injury lawyer can help you take things further than the insurance coverage limits by holding every at-fault party liable.
Steps to Pursue a Truck Accident Settlement
Pursuing a settlement for a truck accident involves taking the right steps. As the injured party, you are entitled to recover compensation from all liable parties, but following these steps can help provide fair compensation.
Seek Medical Attention Immediately
After a commercial vehicle accident, make sure you get a full medical evaluation. You’ll likely notice that you are hurt after the accident occurs, but many victims feel shock, and as their adrenaline rises, they may not notice key symptoms.
If you’re not bleeding and can move your arms and legs, you might think you’ve gotten lucky in the commercial truck collision. However, truck accidents often cause internal bleeding and traumatic brain injuries, which don’t often show symptoms until hours or even days later. Getting prompt medical care protects your health and provides you with medical records that connect your injuries to the truck crash.
Report to the Police
Right after the accident, it’s important to call the police and let them know you were in an accident with a truck and whether it was carrying non-hazardous cargo or not. Dangerous conditions can arise if gas or other flammable substances get onto the road. If you have suffered catastrophic injuries that keep you from moving, the police will help get you medical attention while documenting the scene with a police report.
Get Evidence
Take photos and videos of the aftermath for evidence, including the DOT number on the side of the truck, but only if you can do so. You should also collect information from the trucker and any other drivers involved, plus any witnesses who saw what happened.
Talk to a Truck Accident Attorney
Semi-truck accident cases almost always leave victims with severe injuries, and some fatal injuries can end a victim’s life, leaving their families grieving and bewildered. A personal injury attorney has the resources to help hire accident reconstruction experts, preserve black box data and driver logs, and get evidence that can strengthen your case. If they can uncover inspection records and find the trucking company was grossly negligent, punitive damages may be awarded.
There are many things an attorney can do on your behalf while you focus on following your doctors’ orders. They can take the witness contact information and get statements made for your case, negotiate with insurers, and find all liable parties for truck accident lawsuits or wrongful death claims.
How Hipskind & McAninch, LLC Can Assist in Your Truck Accident Case
The legal process can be difficult to navigate on your own, especially when you have serious and painful injuries. Hipskind & McAninch, LLC can help you with your truck accident case through our extensive knowledge of the commercial truck industry and its insurance companies.
Large trucking companies often have teams that are dispatched to the scene of the accident to minimize their liability and protect their assets. Our attorneys act even faster to protect your rights.
There are many federal and state regulations involved in trucking, and when an accident happens, it takes deep knowledge of these laws to show who was negligent. Once these parties are identified, your attorney can properly calculate the full extent of your impacts from medical bills and lost wages to permanent disability and loss of enjoyment of life.
Dealing with medical liens and getting all the documentation you need is added stress that can make it harder for you to recover. Let our truck accident attorneys help you maximize your compensation to get a full and fair settlement.
Choose an Experienced Truck Accident Lawyer to Help with Your Truck Accident Settlement
When you have a personal injury lawsuit against a trucking entity, legal representation is something you shouldn’t be without. Insurance companies that cover trucking companies are challenging to fight without full legal knowledge.
They may even offer you a fast settlement, which will be tempting to take. However, that first offer is always going to be low and may barely cover your medical expenses to date. Don’t settle for less than you deserve, and let us hold negligent truckers, companies, cargo loaders, maintenance crews, and truck manufacturers accountable for their negligence.
You don’t need a workers’ compensation lawyer in Belleville for these situations, but you do need a truck accident lawyer from Hipskind & McAninch, LLC, who will advocate for your best interests. Contact our legal team today for a free initial consultation to find out how much your settlement could be and the next steps to take for your truck accident injuries.
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