Minneapolis Truck Accident Lawyer
When you get into an accident with a truck, consider hiring our Minneapolis truck accident lawyers as quickly as possible to help you start dealing with the aftermath. Accidents with semi-trucks and other large commercial vehicles can significantly damage your vehicle and possible personal injuries. These problems can cause significant monetary loss and reduce your quality of life.
You have to worry about getting your vehicle fixed so you can go to work and run errands for your family. You may have to deal with debilitating injuries that stop you from working and leave you unable to participate in your usual daily activities. You should also not have to deal with getting the compensation you deserve when your accident was due to someone else’s negligence.
In a truck accident, sorting out faults can be complex. You could collect from insurance companies for the driver, truck company, truck maintenance company, or the company that loaded the truck. There is evidence to gather outside of what might exist in other motor vehicle accidents. Truckers keep logs.
Trucking companies must maintain driver and truck records. Many semi-trucks are outfitted with GPS trackers, dash cams, and black boxes that collect data. You need access to all this information to support your claim that the driver was negligent and caused your accident. Tyroler Leonard Injury Law can do all this and more for you.
Why You Should Choose Tyroler Leonard Injury Law to Handle Your Truck Accident Case
Sorting out a claim after a truck accident can be a long and complicated process. You need a Minneapolis truck accident law firm on your side that has the experience and tenacity to assign blame to all responsible parties and to hang in there when insurance companies try to give you a lowball settlement.
Our attorneys at Tyroler Leonard Injury Law have the experience you need. We have the compassion to treat every aspect of your experience as if it were our own. Over the years, our clients have offered dozens of testimonials to our work, noting not just results but how our team treated them through very trying times.
Knowing that you have a caring, tenacious team on your side can help relieve the burden of this challenging experience on you and your family. The work of our attorneys can help put you at ease and give you a chance to get the results you need and deserve. Review our victories and results in past cases to gain an idea of how hard our team works to ensure you receive help with auto repair, personal injuries, and other expenses.
How Can Our Minneapolis Truck Accident Lawyers Help You?
Our Minneapolis truck accident lawyers at Tyroler Leonard Injury Law do not just say they care about justice for victims of other people’s negligence — they back it up in court and during settlement negotiations.
Isaac Tyroler is an elected member of the Board of Governors of the Minnesota Association of Justice and a sought-after speaker. His partner, Rachel Sperling Leonard, is a member of the Minnesota Association of Justice. Our attorneys are not just committed to outcomes; they are committed to you. Our relationship is not just client/attorney but a partnership.
Our Minneapolis Truck Accident Attorneys Take on Insurance Companies That Don’t Want to Pay
Following a truck accident, you may have to deal with several insurance companies. Truckers, trucking companies, and other businesses that may have been negligent in your accident have their own insurance companies. But these companies all have one thing in common. They do not want to pay.
Our truck accident lawyers are well-versed in the manipulative tactics that insurance companies use. They are businesses that care about their bottom lines, not about making you whole. These are some of the tactics used by insurance companies that our lawyers will help you watch out for:
- Offering a quick settlement under the guise of helping you. This is often a trick to take advantage of your mental state following your truck accident. They want to give you less money than you deserve before you have a full grasp of how much harm you suffered.
- Asking you to make statements on the record. Insurance companies want to record your statements so they can possibly use them against you later. They will try to use your own words to attack your character or your account of the accident.
- Denying and delaying claims in the hopes you give up. Under Minnesota Statute 541.07, you usually have two years to file a personal injury lawsuit. Insurance companies hope you will miss that deadline. When they deny your claim, they hope you will give up. Our truck injury law firm will hit the required deadlines and support your case from start to finish.
Fighting to Prove the Other Party’s Negligence
Minnesota follows a comparative fault standard in personal injury cases, as stated in Minnesota Statute 604.01. Each party in a truck accident is assigned a level of blame. You can still collect if you are partly at fault for your accident. The dollar amount of your damages will depend on how much of the fault belongs to you.
If there is a total of $1 million in damages and you are assigned 30% of the blame, you can collect up to $700,000. You can bet that insurance companies will try to assign you more than 50% of the blame. That way, they can argue that your case should be dismissed as the accident was mostly your fault.
Our personal injury attorneys at Tyroler Leonard Injury Law have a long history of proving negligence on the part of other parties. We are not afraid to tackle complex cases where the blame may be assigned partly to you, partly to the truck driver, and partly to the trucking company. We look forward to these kinds of fights, because these are cases in which the insurance companies assume that they have the upper hand over regular people like you. We work to tilt the playing field in your favor.
Common Reasons for Negligence in Truck Crashes
We will attempt to prove negligence of the truck driver or trucking company when they cause a crash due to:
- Drowsiness
- Driving too long
- Inexperience or lack of training
- Improper loading
- Drug or alcohol use
- Ignoring dangerous weather
- Improper maintenance
- Speeding and other infractions.
At Tyroler Leonard Injury Law, our truck accident attorneys will investigate your case thoroughly to find who was at fault.
How Our Minneapolis Truck Accident Lawyers Decide How to File a Lawsuit for You
We may choose to file a lawsuit against one or more parties associated with the semi-truck that hit you and left you with injuries. How many defendants become part of the lawsuit depends on the circumstances of the case and who we believe showed negligence.
- Truck driver: Some truckers are on the road as owner-operators. If you are in an accident with an independent operator, the driver is liable for driving errors or inadequate maintenance.
- Truck company: Trucking companies sometimes make bad decisions to turn a profit. They hire inexperienced drivers, skip maintenance of their trucks, and set unrealistic deadlines for drivers, resulting in unsafe driving. These are potentially negligent acts.
- Cargo loaders: If your truck accident was caused by unsafe vehicle loading, the company that took on that job may be responsible for your damages.
- Truck maintenance company: If you get into an accident with a truck that wasn’t properly maintained, the repair shop may be liable for all or part of your damages.
Our Minnesota Truck Accident Lawyers Navigate the State’s Trucking Laws for You
At Tyroler Leonard Injury Law, we have detailed knowledge of the federal regulations for truckers set out by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Our Minneapolis truck accident attorneys know all of Minnesota’s trucking laws and regulations that could apply to your case. If the trucker or trucking company cuts corners, we’ll be able to identify this. If they do not meet the standards of care they assume when conducting business, we will hold them accountable.
For example, if you are in an accident with a truck in a work zone, our team will help you investigate and file your claim. We are well-versed in the laws governing work zones, such as Minnesota Statute 169.14 regarding speed limits. We will also investigate whether the driver violated the laws outlined in Minnesota Statute 169.06 by ignoring signals, markings, and authorized flag wavers before hitting you.
FAQs about Truck Accidents
Common Questions Our Minneapolis Truck Accident Lawyers Hear From Clients
Truck accident cases are complicated, and we are willing to answer any questions you might have before and during your case. The following are some common questions people ask our Minneapolis truck accident lawyers.
Do I need to hire Minneapolis truck accident lawyers?
If you are in a truck accident in Minnesota, the trucking company and its insurance agent will conduct their own investigations. You cannot count on their self-serving findings to help your case seeking damages. Our Minneapolis truck accident lawyers will work to find facts that help your claim, rather than relying on the insurance company.
What type of damages will your Minneapolis truck accident attorneys try to collect for me?
Our Minneapolis truck accident attorneys will seek compensatory damages for things like medical bills, lost wages, pain, and suffering. If you have PTSD or suffer a physical disability, you may be able to receive money for these items, too.
How will you make the trucking company cooperate with us?
We likely will send what is called a “preservation letter” to the trucking company and its insurance company. If the company violates this letter and destroys any evidence, such as black box information, we can use it against the company later.
Do I still get no-fault benefits if I’m in an accident with a semi-truck?
Under Minnesota Statute 65B.44, you are entitled to $20,000 for medical expenses and $20,000 for income loss and replacement services. You are still entitled to these benefits if your accident was with a truck.
Can I still collect a settlement if the trucking company fires the driver?
Yes, as the employment status of the driver after the accident does not play a role in your attempt to seek damages. The relationship between the driver and the trucking company at the time of the accident is all that matters.
Being your lawyer is not just about getting you money to pay for the hardships you have after your truck accident. The attorney/client relationship should be a partnership; you should never feel intimidated. Our Minneapolis truck accident lawyers will answer any questions you may have and explain any complicated legal jargon before we take on your case while we are fighting for you.
Call Our Minneapolis Truck Accident Lawyers at Tyroler Leonard Injury Law Today
After a crash with a semi-truck that was not your fault, you may have to deal with several insurance agencies who want you to settle for a lower amount than you should have. It is easy to just give up and say yes. You are busy dealing with the aftermath of your accident and figuring out how to get back to life as usual. But you do not have to take less money than you deserve.
Choose a strong advocate who is not afraid of the insurance companies, who will stick by you for years if necessary, and who will fight to get you every penny of compensation you need and deserve. You are not in this alone. Let the Minneapolis truck accident lawyers at Tyroler Leonard Law Firm serve as your advocate. Call us at 615-259-1113 today for a free consultation.