How Much Is Your Rear-End Truck Accident Worth?

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What to Do After a Rear End Truck Accident

Rear-end truck accidents can be devastating for you and your family, causing you to become injured, lose out on work, and have trouble paying your bills. You may be wondering, “How Much Is My Rear-End Truck Accident Worth?”

Only an experienced truck accident lawyer can tell you how much a possible settlement or trial verdict will be in your rear-end truck accident lawsuit. You need truck wreck experts who will evaluate your case and fight to help you win. The rear-end truck accident lawyers at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys can help you receive the compensation you deserve.

Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys has been the go-to firm for victims of rear end accidents and their families for more than five decades. Our truck accident lawyers are recognized nationwide as leaders in truck accident law. Moreover, our firm puts you first, which is why at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys won't charge a fee unless we win your case. Our truck accident lawyers have won more than $1 billion in settlements and verdicts.

What Kinds of Damage Can Rear-End Truck Accidents Cause to Automobiles?

Trucks and tractor-trailers can weigh up to 80,000 pounds when carrying cargo, making it difficult for these vehicles to stop suddenly — and making rear-end truck collisions all the more common. According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's “Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts 2019,” which is the last year for which data is available, over 5,000 trucks and buses were involved in fatal crashes, representing a 2% increase from the previous year.

Injuries aren't the only thing to occur after rear-end accidents. When you or a loved one are in a rear-end truck accident, you have to worry about both bodily injury and damages to your car. When your automobile is rear ended by a truck, it can result in minor vehicle damage, or it can cause the total destruction of your motor vehicle.

Sometimes, you won't know the extent of the damage until you take your car to a mechanic or body shop. But there are typical types of property damage that can occur to a car after rear-end car accidents, including:

Hidden or unseen damage from the rear-end collision
Damage to the trunk of the car
Alignment issues, including uneven steering
Damage to the frame of the car
Electrical problems

When a personal injury lawyer is handling your truck accident claim, you can seek compensation to cover these expenses from the liable parties.

What Types of Injuries Can Occur in a Rear-End Truck Accident?

Rear-end truck accidents usually happen quickly and suddenly, catching the driver and passengers of the automobile in question off guard. Unexpected rear-end crashes can cause severe injuries that require months of healing.

You may be forced to miss work, suffering lost income in addition to your physical pain. This can make it difficult to pay your medical bills and other expenses.

Rear-end truck collisions can cause all sorts of personal injuries, including:

Whiplash
Neck Injuries
Broken Bones
Back Pain and Injuries
Skull and Brain Injuries
Paralysis
Accidental Death or Dismemberment
Emotional Pain and Suffering

A rear-end collision can also be fatal, mostly to people in other vehicles and especially if they are not wearing a seat belt. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, most people killed in truck accidents occupied other vehicles, not the trucks themselves.

In fact, large trucks are some of the most dangerous vehicles on the highway today and rear-end truck accidents most often lead to severe injuries. This is particularly true if a car is stopped, for example at a red light, and the truck is not traveling at low speeds.

How Much is My Rear-End Truck Accident Worth? Is There an “Average Settlement” Amount?

No one can tell you exactly how much your truck accident claim is worth without first investigating the rear end collision, reviewing evidence, obtaining medical records, and considering future medical costs.

There is no “average settlement.” Instead, each case is different. There are common factors that must be considered in determining how much your claim may be worth.

Some of the factors that affect the settlement value of truck accident claims include:

ambulance fees
the severity of the injuries sustained
cost of current medical bills
cost of future medical bills
property damage to your vehicle
damage to any property in your vehicle at the exact moment of the accident
non-economic damages, like pain and suffering, emotional distress, and the like
how the accident happened, for example, was the driver negligent or reckless

If your loved one was killed in a rear-end collision, your rear-end collision settlement or trial verdict might include compensation for

funeral expenses
medical costs
lost earnings and benefits of the deceased
loss of care and companionship
pain and suffering
loss of security for those dependent on the deceased
in cases involving gross negligence, punitive damages designed to punish the negligent party

What Can I Receive Compensation For as a Victim of a Rear-End Collision?

Injured parties may be able to seek a financial award for:

Current medical expenses, including expenses for hospital stays
Future medical expenses
Lost wages and lost income
Inability to work now and in the future
Damage to your automobile
Pain and suffering damages
Temporary or permanent disability
Disfigurement
Physical therapy
Psychological therapy for emotional trauma
Loss of consortium

When you or a loved one are injured in a rear-end accident involving a truck, your pain is more than physical. At Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys, our truck accident attorneys understand that time lost from work, lost wages, emotional distress, severe pain, and more take a toll on you and your family.

It's difficult to put a dollar amount on your pain and suffering, but we can help put you back on the road to healing after being rear-ended by a truck. We will work to make you whole again.

How to Handle Trucking Insurance Companies

Many insurance companies will try to downplay the extent of your injuries in a rear-end accident. Worse still, you may be up against different insurance companies if there are multiple defendants involved in the rear- end accident. Your opponents will most likely have an attorney who is well-versed in the rear-end accident cases.

One mistake can cost you untold amounts of financial damages — money you need to pay your bills and live your life now that you may not be able to work.

That's why it is important to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer, like the lawyers at our law firm. At Munley, our rear-end collisions lawyers give you valuable services, including:

We start with a free consultation so you understand your legal rights and know what to expect.
Rear-end accident attorneys will guide you through the legal process, help you understand the legal jargon, help you make tough decisions, and act as a guide when there are parts of the law you don't understand.
An essential part of your truck accident case is the investigation. To help you win a settlement, your attorney will dig into the facts, determine what exactly happened, and prove that the other party was the at-fault party.

FAQs About Rear-End Accidents

Q: What are common causes of a rear-end accident?

There are many actions or in-actions that can cause a rear-end truck accident. Here are some of the most common causes:

Distracted truck drivers.

The National Transportation Safety Board notes that almost 90% of rear-end accidents occur due to distracted drivers.

Truck driver fatigue.

The second most common cause of truck accident cases is truck driver fatigue. From 1992 to 2002, the number of large trucks involved in fatal crashes has increased by up to 10% due to driver fatigue and other recklessness. Driver fatigue and drowsiness are conditions that result in reckless behavior such as failure to keep in the proper lane and running off the road.

Tired truckers are of such concern that in April of 2003, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) instituted new hours of service regulations to curb truckers' problems with fatigue. While these laws have helped reduce the number of accidents, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board still blames driver fatigue as a probable factor in 20-40% of truck crashes.

Intoxicated truck drivers.

Over a period of one year, a study of truck driver fatalities was conducted by The National Transportation Safety Board and The National Institute on Drug Abuse in eight states. Comprehensive drug screenings were performed on blood specimens taken from 168 fatally injured drivers. One or more drugs was detected in 67% of these fatally injured drivers and 33% of these drivers had detectable blood concentrations of psychoactive drugs or alcohol.

Driver error.

A truck driver is responsible for the safe operation of their vehicle. If a driver does not operate his vehicle safely, he may be acting negligently and this can lead to rear-end collisions and other kinds of car accidents.

Substandard inspection by trucking companies.

According to FMCSA, there were over 2 million roadside inspections of trucks. Of those inspections, 23.2% of the vehicles were found to have serious violations.

Despite the best efforts, defective and unsafe trucks continue to be a leading cause of catastrophic accidents on the nation's highways, including rear-end collisons and other kinds of car accidents.

Q: How much does it cost to hire at rear-end accident attorney?

The rear-end truck accident lawyers at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys works on a contingency basis because we know when you are suffering damages following a rear-end accident, you have more important things to worry about than hourly legal bills.

What this means is you do not pay legal fees until your case is settled with the insurance company or multiple defendants. Or, there is a verdict in your favor at trial. Once your rear-end accident case is settled or trial is complete, a percentage of the settlement or trial award will be paid to your lawyers.

If for some reason we are unable to get you compensation, then you do not pay a fee.

The benefit of contingency fees for injured parties is that you pay nothing upfront and owe your attorneys nothing unless we win your case.

Q: Can the truck driver be held liable in truck accident cases?

Yes. If the truck driver rear-ended your vehicle and caused the car accident, they can be held liable. There are other parties, including the trucking company, who also may be liable for your financial damages, non-economic damages, pain and suffering damages, and more. Each of these parties likely has a policy with an insurance company who will pay for your damages.

Q: Who can be held responsible for a rear driver truck accident?

When deciding who to hold responsible for your car accident involving a rear-end crash, you and your lawyer will want to look at a variety of different parties and people when determining how the accident happened and who is at fault. Possible liable parties include:

Driver of the truck: This one is obvious, since the driver may have most directly been at fault for causing the accident.
Trucking companies: If the driver of the truck involved in a car accident was employed by a trucking company, the company could be held liable. The trucking company is responsible for keeping track of drivers' information, including background checks, limiting schedules for rest periods, and more safety regulations that are designed to reduce the chances of an accident.
Third-party brokers: Many commercial transportation companies hire a third-party broker to connect them to drivers and trucks to transport their cargo. This means, if you have been in a truck crash with a vehicle hired by one of these brokers, your lawyer will want to know if they did their due diligence in hiring. Your lawyer will also investigate how much control the broker had over the driver's schedule and more.
Truck manufacturers: If the truck crash was caused by a mechanical failure or some other issue with a part in the truck, you could also widen liability to the truck manufacturer. Beyond that, if the employer or independent driver did not routinely get the truck inspected and repaired, they could be held liable for a faulty part as well.

Large truck accidents can be complicated, and if one or more of the above parties can be held liable, you'll want to know. Truck drivers, their employers, and even brokers, all carry their own insurance policies with an insurance company. This means you could be owed compensation for economic damages, non-economic damages and more from several sources.

The best way to ensure you maximize compensation for your truck crash injuries is by hiring a truck accident lawyer at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys.

Hire an Experienced Rear-End Truck Accident Lawyer

For more than 60 years, Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys has been the go-to law firm for injured workers and their families. The rear-end truck accident lawyers at Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys are recognized nationwide as leaders in truck accident law. No law firm is more experienced or more successful in handling truck crash cases.

At Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys, we believe that cost should not stand in the way of justice for the injured. Therefore, we do not collect a fee for our services unless we recover benefits for you. As our client, you will not have to pay anything upfront or out of pocket.