In previous blogs, we’ve defined what Commercial Trucks are, discussed the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, and also explained Why Truck Accidents Are Different from other car accidents. In this blog, we’ll review why it’s especially important to hire an attorney after having an accident with a commercial truck.
After a motor vehicle accident, the amount of money you’re able to receive, even if the other driver is found to be 100% at fault, may be limited by the amount of insurance that driver held. In other words, even if you argue that you had $500,000 in damages, and a jury agrees with you, but the driver only had insurance for $100,000, then $100,000 is the maximum amount you will receive. You cannot recover money from a person that he or she doesn’t have.

With an accident involving a commercial truck, however, you are up against the insurance of a commercial trucking line, not just one driver’s personal insurance. Commercial trucking companies are legally required to carry much larger insurance policies, meaning that you may have a greater potential for a larger monetary recovery if you’ve been a victim of an accident caused by a commercial truck driver.
However, these larger funds also mean that the commercial trucking company and its insurance attorneys will be even more determined to ensure you don’t win a case or obtain a fair recovery. They stand to lose a lot of money, so they’ll invest in trying to protect it. This means they’ll assign top attorneys and large budgets to try to defeat your case, and/or they’ll offer to pay you only a small amount to limit your recovery.
If you’ve been in an accident with a commercial truck, it’s very important that you hire an experienced attorney to fight your case against the sophisticated and well-funded insurance companies and commercial trucking companies. You should never accept a monetary offer in such a case without first speaking to an experienced truck accident lawyer.
The attorneys at Hodge & Langley Law Firm have experience representing drivers and their families against these companies and their insurance lawyers. If you have suffered from an accident involving a commercial truck, then contact us today for a free initial consultation about your case.