Truck Accident Lawyer in Queens, NY

Experienced Queens Truck Accident Attorney Fighting For Victims of Trucking Accidents in New York City

Queens is home to many of New York’s busiest truck routes. As many as 250,000 semi-trucks pass through Queens every year. Additionally, several thousand delivery trucks, tow trucks, and work trucks clog local streets and highways. This puts drivers, bicyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians at risk of truck accidents in Queens, New York every day.

vQueens Truck Accident Lawyer | NYC Injury Attorney | Shaevitz & Shaevitz Truck accidents can result in severe injuries and major property damage. Fortunately, most commercial trucks are covered by several layers of insurance. This can ensure you receive the compensation needed to pay for medical bills, lost wages, and vehicle repairs.

Unfortunately, these insurance companies will try every strategy to minimize your payout. Without a Queens truck accident lawyer, you could face tactics that will delay and reduce your insurance check at precisely the time that you need it the most.

Shaevitz & Shaevitz Law Offices can provide you with an experienced Queens truck accident lawyer. Our attorneys have the experience and skill to negotiate or litigate against a trucking business’s insurance company to get fair compensation for your injuries and property losses.

What Does a Truck Accident Lawyer Do?

The job of a truck accident attorney is to represent your interests in obtaining a settlement or damages award after a truck accident. Some of the tasks a truck accident lawyer performs include:

Working with medical providers to evaluate your damages. Your damages might include medical bills, prescription drug costs, rehabilitation and therapy fees, lost wages from time off work, and lost earning capacity due to permanent injuries or chronic disabilities.

Negotiating with insurance companies to try to reach a settlement. Before filing a lawsuit, a truck accident lawyer in Queens will try to negotiate a settlement with the insurance companies involved. Negotiating with insurance companies can be difficult. A lawyer has experience working with insurers and documenting your damages to argue for a fair settlement.

Litigating against those responsible for your accident. If your lawyer is unable to reach a fair settlement, you may need to file a lawsuit. Personal injury lawsuits can push an insurer to improve an offer or lead to a jury award to compensate for your losses.

How Can An Attorney Help When Dealing with Insurance Companies?

One of the most important roles of a truck accident attorney is to represent you in dealing with insurance companies. Insurance companies are not looking out for your best interests. Rather, insurance companies have a financial interest in reducing their payouts and will employ tactics to minimize the size of the check they write to you. These tactics include:

Friendliness: An insurance claim adjuster might call you to discuss the truck accident. During this conversation, insurers might tell you they are just trying to help you and whatever information you provide will push the claim along so you can get your money. However, everything you tell the claim adjuster can be used to twist the facts of the case, reduce your payout, or even shift blame for the accident to you.

Delay: Insurance companies know you are desperate. You are injured and require medical treatment. However, you might be out of work or may have lost your job due to your injuries. Insurance companies take advantage of this desperation and use delay to push you into settling for less than you deserve.

Pressure: Insurance companies sometimes resort to pressure tactics, like calling while you are still recovering from your injuries, setting short deadlines for accepting offers, and sending low-ball offers. Insurance companies rarely pull these tactics with an experienced truck accident lawyer and, when they do, lawyers recognize them for exactly what they are – attempts to avoid paying a fair settlement.

What Insurance Companies Might Be Involved?

Depending on the arrangement the truck driver has with the trucking company, multiple insurance companies could be involved in your accident. Some of the entities that might be insured include:

Truck driver: If the truck driver acts as an independent contractor, the driver will likely have an insurance policy.

Trucking company: The trucking company might simply transport goods for its shipping customers. As the carrier, the trucking company will have an insurance policy to cover accidents that occur while transporting the goods.

Shipper: The shipper might have dedicated trucks to carry its goods. The shipper will insure its fleet against accidents.

Truck manufacturer: Truck manufacturers often insure against damages caused by defective vehicles.

If more than one insurance company is involved in your case, you may need a lawyer to coordinate your case. One of the major benefits of hiring a Queens truck accident lawyer is that they will have a staff of legal assistants and paralegals to maintain your file and keep your case moving along no matter how many insurance companies are involved.

How Are Truck Accident Cases Resolved?

Truck accidents in Queens are surprisingly common. Queens has about 3,300 truck accidents every year or the equivalent of almost 10 truck accidents per day. While not all accidents result in an injury, many of these will result in multiple injuries and injured parties.

Assessing fault is a complicated process. If law enforcement cited the truck driver, that driver is probably at fault. However, other drivers, bicyclists, motorcyclists, and pedestrians can contribute to the accident and be assessed some amount of “comparative fault.” Comparative fault will reduce the amount of damages you can recover according to your percentage of fault. If you’ve been involved in a truck accident in New York City, contact a Queens truck accident lawyer at Shaevitz & Shaevitz for a free consultation.

What Are Some Common Truck Accident Injuries?

Trucks are heavy and cause a lot of damage in an accident. The average passenger vehicle in the U.S. weighs about 4,000 pounds. Under U.S. law, a fully loaded semi-truck can weigh 80,000 pounds. This means that a truck has 20 times more energy than a car moving at the same speed.

The massive transfer of energy during a truck accident can have serious outcomes, including:

Back and neck injuries: No matter which direction a truck strikes you, your body will twist and bend. This twisting and bending can result in fractured vertebrae, ruptured discs, and strained back and neck muscles.

Brain injury: A collision can cause your brain to impact the inside of your skull, resulting in bruising, bleeding, or other traumatic brain injuries (TBI).

Broken bones: Although seat belts save lives, they can cause broken bones as your body strains against the restraints. Moreover, your head, shoulders, arms, and legs can strike the door, dashboard, or console, breaking bones and straining muscles.

Head injuries: Whether your head strikes an airbag, window, or steering wheel, you may have cuts, broken facial bones, and bruises. You could also lose teeth, damage your jaw, and strain facial muscles.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Truck accident injuries are not limited to physical injuries. The psychological effects of truck accidents can linger for years, limiting your quality of life and earning ability.

Death: Over 120 New Yorkers are killed every year in truck accidents.

Truck accidents can result in extensive medical treatment. An experienced truck accident lawyer in Queens can evaluate your case to ensure that the settlement or damages award covers your current and future expenses.

Schedule A Free Consultation With An Experienced Queens Truck Accident Lawyer

When you are injured, hiring an experienced Queens truck accident lawyer can provide many benefits.

Lawyers know how to deal with insurance companies to negotiate full financial recovery.
Personal injury attorneys understand how to evaluate your total damages, including hidden injuries like TBI.
Experienced lawyers can explain all of your options at each stage of the case to maximize your odds of prevailing.

Contact us online or call Shaevitz & Shaevitz Law Offices, a firm with over 65 years of experience in Queens, New York, at 718-291-3400 or 718-LAW-SUIT for a free legal consultation to discuss your case.