If you get hit by a truck while driving along, you can expect the consequences to be much worse than if you are hit by a smaller passenger vehicle. It’s a simple result of the size difference between the truck and your vehicle.
While people can sometimes get away without needing to claim compensation after having a car crash, those hit by trucks (or their families) will likely need to make a considerable claim for compensation. The following things can make those claims even more complex than claiming for the average car crash.
1. Hard to pinpoint who is responsible
If you are hit by a car, you usually claim against the driver of that car. If you get hit by a truck, you might need to claim against several people. This is partly because one insurance policy alone might not cover the full costs, and secondly, because there could be more than one person at fault. Examples of those you might claim against, on top of the driver, include the truck’s owner and those who maintain or load the truck, if they made a mistake.
2. Multiple insurers may be involved
The involvement of multiple insurers, each one representing one of the parties at fault, can help cover the full amount of compensation you need, but it also creates a situation where insurers can try to shift the responsibility from themselves to one of the other insurers, making it challenging for you to pin them down.
3. More than one location to consider
Trucks often work across state lines, which can sometimes make it harder to work out where best to file your claim. If you are seeking to show someone broke regulations, you may also need to examine several sets of rules, such as state and federal ones.
As you can see, these are not the sort of claims to try and take on alone and legal guidance may be indispensable if you hope to get the compensation you deserve.