“How Long Will My Truck Accident Case Take in North Carolina?”
When you’re injured in a truck accident, life can be very uncertain. In addition to the treatment and rehabilitation required by your physical injuries, you may be facing expensive medical bills, lost wages, and even emotional trauma. Many of our clients wonder, “How long will my truck accident case take in North Carolina?”
As with so many things in law, the best answer to the question “How long will my truck accident case take?” is… it depends.
In this article, we’ll explain what’s involved in truck accident injury cases, and how long it might take for a truck accident case to be resolved in North Carolina.
IMPORTANT: If you’ve been injured in a truck accident in North Carolina, you deserve justice — and may be entitled to compensation. Please call 1-800-525-7111 for a FREE, no-obligation case review and consultation. There are no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you.
Truck Accident Cases are Complicated
In North Carolina, trucks and tractor-trailers are common on our state’s roadways. Unfortunately, however, truck accidents are relatively common, too, and the consequences can be devastating and even deadly for North Carolinians and visitors to our state.
Because of the catastrophic nature of many truck accident cases, the sheer amount of evidence involved, and the potential cost, it can often take a significant amount of time to settle a claim or lawsuit.
Additionally, the reality is that truck accident cases often result in significant expenses incurred by the insurance company, and their adjusters and lawyers often fight hard to avoid paying a claim — or at least try to pay as little as possible.
Here are just some of the factors involved when considering the question, “How long will it take my truck accident case to settle?”:
Severe Injuries
Because trucks are often large, heavy, and travel at high speeds, injuries caused by North Carolina truck accidents can be especially severe and even life-threatening. Some of the more common injuries we see in truck accidents include:
- Broken bones
- Head injuries (including concussions)
- Traumatic brain injury
- Back injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Neck injuries
- Shoulder injuries
- Cuts, scrapes and contusions
- Paralysis and semi-paralysis
- Burns
- Chest injuries and internal organ damage
- Emotional injury like PTSD
- and more…
The time it takes to reach a settlement in your truck accident case often depends in large part on how long it takes to treat your injuries, and what is required in terms of ongoing treatment and rehabilitation. Typically, a demand package is not sent to the insurance company until after treatment is complete and all medical records and expenses have been obtained.
Calculating damages in a truck accident injury case can be extremely complicated due to the nature and extent of the serious injuries involved. In some cases, your truck accident lawyer may need to obtain a comprehensive life care plan to assist in calculating damages. Factors like potential long-term disability and future wage loss will often need to be considered in calculating damages in a serious truck accident case.
Unfortunately, obtaining medical records and bills can also be extremely time-consuming, and medical providers often delay in providing this information. These delays can lengthen the amount of time it takes to settle a truck accident case, sometimes significantly.
Gathering Evidence
Truck accidents are also unique in terms of the amount of evidence involved. Proving fault in a North Carolina truck accident can be complicated and in many cases, liability is contested. There is a tremendous amount of evidence that an experienced truck accident lawyer will need to sort through in order to help prove liability.
Evidence involved in truck accidents may include, but is not limited to:
- Injuries and resulting medical reports
- The official accident report from law enforcement
- Eyewitness testimony
- Expert testimony (such as from accident reconstructionists or trucking safety experts)
- Physical evidence at the crash scene like skid marks, debris, and other damage
- Photo and video evidence, including dash cam or security camera footage
- The truck’s “black box” data
- GPS location data
- Traffic data
- And much, much more
In one recent wrongful death case, our attorneys even obtained traffic data from Google Maps in order to prove liability in a truck accident.
At Riddle & Brantley, we even have an experienced team of truck accident investigators on staff to assist in investigating truck accidents and proving fault. We also don’t hesitate to bring in outside experts like accident reconstructionists when we believe their analysis and testimony will strengthen our client’s case.
Obstacles to Obtaining Evidence
In some cases, defendants will also seek to delay providing important evidence for consideration in a truck accident case. This might happen, for example, when a trucking company refuses to provide the black box data recorder that contains information concerning the specific conditions and circumstances surrounding the accident.
In some cases, your truck accident attorney may need to go to court in order to seek depositions or obtain important evidence.
These obstacles can even further delay how long it takes to resolve your truck accident case.
Negotiations
Once all the evidence has been examined and a demand package has been submitted to the insurance company, a truck accident claim enters negotiations. At this point, both sides’ attorneys will attempt to work out a settlement.
Negotiations are often challenging and slow, but this is especially the case in major truck accident claims, where compensation may potentially reach hundreds of thousands of dollars or more. Remember, insurance companies are incentivized to pay as little as possible, and adjusters and defense counsel often go to extreme lengths to make this happen.
Litigation
In some cases, a settlement may not be reached out of court, and the victim and truck accident attorney may choose to file a lawsuit. While most truck accident claims are settled out of court, those that do enter litigation can often take years to fully resolve.
In cases in which a lawsuit is filed, the answer to “How long will my truck accident case take?” is… probably much longer than it would if a settlement is reached through negotiation.
Have You Been Injured in a Truck Accident in North Carolina?
If you’ve been injured in a truck accident in North Carolina, you deserve justice and may be entitled to compensation if the accident was caused by someone else’s negligence. You may be wondering, “How long will my truck accident case take in North Carolina?” and we would love to help you however we can.
For a FREE consultation, please call 1-800-525-7111 and let’s review your North Carolina truck accident claim.
There are no upfront costs and you won’t pay any attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you. No win, no fee — it’s as simple as that.
“It was nice to see Riddle & Brantley put me and my needs first.”
–R. Colley, Riddle & Brantley client
Please call 1-800-525-7111 today and let’s review your truck accident claim. We handle cases throughout the entire state of North Carolina, including:
- Raleigh
- Durham
- Charlotte
- Greensboro
- Winston-Salem
- Asheville
- Fayetteville
- Goldsboro
- Greenville
- Jacksonville
- Wilmington
- And others…
Truck accidents can be complicated and take longer than other accident claims to settle or resolve through litigation. So don’t wait — the longer you wait to contact us, the harder it may be to win your case and recover the compensation you need and deserve.
“Riddle & Brantley found me all the available money from the insurance companies.”
–David Howard, Riddle & Brantley client
We believe Justice Counts for victims of truck accidents in North Carolina and we would love to help however we can.
Please call 1-800-525-7111 today and let’s review your claim.