Hot Springs, AR Truck Accident Lawyer
When you assess your damages from a recent accident in Hot Springs and realize you need to recover compensation, our lawyers can help you do so by bringing a claim against a negligent driver.
Victims can recover most, if not all, of the damages they incurred due to a truck accident, such as costs related to their medical bills, lost wages, and property damage. Furthermore, you may claim compensation for your pain and suffering if you incurred non-economic damages because of the truck driver’s negligence. You could be able to get these damages by settling or going to court. During settlement discussions, we can review offers from the defendant and compare them to our estimations of your total damages to assess their fairness. We can also help you proceed with a trial if negotiations stall and you want your day in court in Hot Springs.
You get our experienced Hot Springs, AR truck accident lawyers to assess your case for free by calling (479) 316-0438 now.
Damages You Might Get After a Hot Springs, AR Truck Accident
Certain damages exist to compensate victims, while others serve a different purpose: to punish defendants. When assessing your case’s value, our truck accident lawyers can consider all losses from the accident, including your financial and emotional damages. We can also see if punitive damages could be on the table in your claim.
Economic Damages
Victims incur economic damages when they sustain financial losses because of an accident. For example, property damage to your car would fall under economic damages. As would medical bills from emergency room treatment and any further care you need for your injuries from a truck accident.
Furthermore, victims may recover other financial damages, such as those due to lost income. For example, if a truck accident causes back injuries that prevent you from returning to work, you can get compensation for your lost wages. Make copies of invoices and charges as you get them, and give them to our lawyers.
As we prepare your truck accident lawsuit in Hot Springs, our lawyers can continue to track your damages so that we can request an accurate amount when we file your complaint with the court.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages are intangible losses caused by accidents. For example, injuries can cause physical pain and suffering, in addition to being expensive to treat. Furthermore, facing new physical limitations because of an injury could reduce a victim’s quality of life. Moreover, having to get continuous medical care or long-term treatment could cause additional distress.
Not only that, but traumatic motor vehicle accidents often result in anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder diagnoses for victims in Hot Springs. Generally speaking, Arkansas does not cap non-economic damages for truck accident victims. However, we must still prove that you have suffered non-economic losses, which is why you may consider confiding in a therapist about your experiences during the accident and following it, keeping a journal, or documenting your pain and suffering by other means.
Punitive Damages
Under the right circumstances, victims can get punitive damages for truck accidents. To do this, the defendant must have acted with gross negligence, either knew or should have known that their actions would result in injury, and continued to act recklessly or intentionally injured the victim, according to Ark. Code. § 16-55-206. While Ark. Code. § 16-55-208 limits punitive damages to $250,000 or three times the sum of compensatory damages, up to a limit, there are notable exceptions for defendants who intentionally engage in conduct for the purpose of causing injury.
Often, victims have the best chances of getting punitive damages when negligent trucking companies are responsible for accidents. For example, suppose a trucking company knew a vehicle was unsafe to operate on the road but allowed a driver to take it out anyway. In that case, it might have to pay the victim punitive damages.
How to Negotiate a Fair Truck Accident Settlement in Hot Springs, AR
Having the opportunity to negotiate a fair settlement that fully compensates them is important to many victims in Hot Springs. Our attorneys can guide you through this process and help you determine when it might be time to move forward with a trial.
Settlement negotiations typically start with the negligent party presenting an offer. Often, the first offer is low. Defendants do this in case victims eagerly accept the offer so they do not have to pay them more damages. Defendants might be willing to go higher than their first offers to avoid court, which is why we may respond with counteroffers.
When we do this, we can provide support for counteroffers with evidence. For example, if the first settlement offer did not consider your non-economic damages, we can explain why you deserve such damages and how we might prove that should we go to court.
The longer settlement negotiations go on, the longer you are without compensation for your damages from a truck crash in Hot Springs. If the defendant refuses to give you a fair settlement, we can explain the process of moving forward with a trial and what that might entail. Because you have already filed your claim by this point, you will no longer have to worry about the statute of limitations, no matter how long you negotiated with the defendant before deciding to move forward with a trial.
You are under no obligation to settle your case out of court, even if you have been negotiating a settlement for weeks or months. Once you accept an offer, you may not have another opportunity to recover compensation if you then realize your damages are much greater than you anticipated.
Discuss Your Truck Accident Claim with Our Lawyers in Hot Springs, AR
When you call (479) 316-0438, our truck accident lawyers can provide you with a free case review.