Fight for the Compensation You Deserve After a Truck Crash
Truck accidents often result in severe injuries and property damage. These accidents can lead to serious injuries, expensive medical bills, and lost wages, making life very difficult for the victims and their families. Knowing how to recover damages after a truck accident in New Jersey for your losses is very important. If you’re unsure how to proceed, consulting with our Shrewsbury truck accident attorney is the first step.
Think of damages like getting paid back for things the accident messed up. However, recovering damages after a truck accident can be difficult. It’s crucial to follow the right steps to make sure you get the compensation you need.
Quick Summary:
- Truck accidents can cause severe harm, leading to serious injuries which greatly impact victims and their families. Recovering damages is crucial for alleviating the burden, but the process can be challenging. Damages refer to the money you can get to compensate for what the accident took away from you. This compensation can cover losses like medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
- In New Jersey, truck accident victims can recover various damages to offset financial losses. This includes medical bills, repairs or replacement of damaged property, and lost wages due to missed work. Compensation is also available for pain and suffering, encompassing both physical discomfort and emotional distress. Spouses of injured victims can even seek compensation for loss of consortium, acknowledging the impact the accident has on their relationship.
- Truck accident victims in New Jersey must be aware of legal aspects like the statute of limitations and shared fault laws. The statute of limitations requires filing a personal injury claim within two years of the accident. Shared fault laws, or comparative negligence, mean compensation may be reduced by the victim’s percentage of fault. If the victim is more than 50% at fault, they cannot recover any damages. These laws significantly impact the recovery process and the amount of compensation a victim can receive.
Understanding Damages in a Truck Accident
In a truck accident case, damages refer to the money you can recover to make up for what the accident took away from you. Knowing what damages you can recover helps you understand what to ask for after a truck accident.
Recovering damages after a truck accident can help you get back on your financial track. It can ease the burden of medical bills, lost wages, and other costs. It can also help you get compensation for the pain and suffering you’ve endured.
Recoverable Damages in a Truck Accident in New Jersey
Truck accidents can cause a lot of damage and result in many costs. If you’ve been in a truck accident in New Jersey, it’s necessary to know what types of damages you can recover. Here’s a guide to help you understand:
Medical Expenses
Understanding your rights to medical expense recovery is crucial after a truck accident. It ensures you get the treatment you need without worrying about the costs.
After a truck accident, you might have medical bills for things like:
- Doctor Visits: Any money you spend on visits to the doctor because of the accident.
- Hospital Costs: This includes the cost of staying in the hospital, the surgeries you need, and any treatments you receive there.
- Medicines and Medical Equipment: Money spent on medicines prescribed by your doctor and any medical devices you might need, like crutches or a wheelchair.
- Physical Therapy: If your doctor recommends physical therapy to help you recover, those costs can be included.
- Future Medical Costs: If you need ongoing medical care because of the accident, you can also claim money for future treatments.
These costs can add up quickly. You can recover these expenses if they were needed because of the accident.
Property Damage
If your car or other property was damaged in the accident, you can get compensation to fix or replace it. This can help you get back to your normal routine as quickly as possible. It can also ease the financial burden of the accident. Here’s what property damage covers:
- Vehicle Repairs: The cost to repair your car, truck, or motorcycle that was damaged in the accident.
- Replacement Costs: If your vehicle is totaled or can’t be fixed, you can claim the fair market value of the vehicle before the accident.
- Other Property Damage: Money to repair or replace other things damaged in the accident, like a bicycle, phone, or items in your car.
Lost Wages
If you can’t work because of your injuries, you can recover the money you would have earned. That includes the time you missed right after the accident and any future time you might miss if you can’t return to work right away. Here’s what lost wages cover:
- Missed Work Time: Money for the days or weeks you couldn’t work because of the accident.
- Salary or Hourly Pay: Whether you earn a salary or get paid by the hour, you can claim the wages you would have earned if you hadn’t been injured.
- Overtime and Bonuses: If you usually work overtime or get bonuses, you can claim that money too if you missed out because of the accident.
Pain and Suffering
Truck accidents can leave you with more than just physical injuries. All the stress, worry, and pain can leave a big mark on you. Pain and suffering refers to the physical and emotional distress a person experiences after an accident or injury caused by someone else’s negligence. Pain and suffering damages are meant to compensate you for the following:
- Physical Pain: This includes the actual physical discomfort and pain caused by your injuries.
- Emotional Distress: The emotional stress, anxiety, and mental anguish you experience due to the accident and your injuries.
- Loss of Enjoyment: If your injuries prevent you from doing things you used to enjoy, like hobbies or activities, you can claim for that loss too.
Loss of Consortium
Loss of consortium refers to the harm caused to the relationship between spouses or partners due to one spouse or partner being injured or killed in an accident. It recognizes that the injured person’s loved ones may also suffer from:
- Loss of Companionship: The inability to enjoy each other’s company and do things together as before the accident.
- Loss of Affection: Emotional and physical intimacy may be affected because of the injuries sustained.
- Loss of Household Services: If the injured person can no longer perform household tasks or contribute to the family’s upkeep, this is also considered.
In cases involving loss of consortium, compensation is meant to acknowledge the emotional and practical impacts on the relationship. It’s not just about the injured person’s losses but also about the impact on their spouse or partner’s life.
Punitive Damages
In some cases, you might be able to get punitive damages. These are meant to punish the person or company responsible for the accident if they acted very recklessly or intentionally caused harm. These are less common but can be significant.
Punitive damages can be important because they send a message that dangerous driving won’t be tolerated. They can also serve as a punishment for the truck driver’s actions.
Legal Considerations for Truck Accidents in New Jersey
When you’re involved in a truck accident in New Jersey, there are some important laws you need to know about. These laws can affect how you recover damages and how much compensation you might get.
Statute of Limitations
In New Jersey, there is a time limit for filing a lawsuit after a truck accident. That is called the statute of limitations. For personal injury claims, you usually have two years from the date of the accident to file a claim (N.J. Stat. § 2A:14-2). If you miss this deadline, you might not be able to get any compensation.
Shared Fault Laws
New Jersey follows a rule called comparative negligence. That means that more than one person can be at fault for an accident. If you are partly at fault, your compensation might be reduced by your percentage of fault.
For example, if you are found to be 20% at fault for the accident, your compensation will be reduced by 20% (N.J. Stat. § 2A:15-5.1). However, you cannot recover any damages if you are more than 50% at fault.
How Our Shrewsbury Personal Injury Lawyer Can Help You Recover Damages for Truck Accidents
A truck accident can leave you feeling shaken and unsure of what to do next. These crashes are way more severe than regular car accidents. The whole process of recovering damages can also be complicated. If you’ve been in a truck accident, our Shrewsbury truck accident attorney can help you get the compensation you deserve.
At Kreizer Law, we will investigate the accident to understand what happened and who is at fault. That includes collecting evidence, talking to witnesses, and reviewing police reports. We will ensure the insurance company offers a fair settlement covering all your expenses. We will represent you in court and fight for your rights. Having our personal injury law firm on your side can make a big difference in the outcome of your case.
Don’t wait to get the help you need. Contact us now to schedule a free consultation, and let us help you get the compensation you deserve to heal and move forward. Your rights matter, and we’re here to fight for them.
Whether you’ve been injured in a medical malpractice case, involved in a worker’s compensation case, or been the victim of nursing home abuse, sexual abuse, or wrongful conviction, we’re ready to help you obtain the most favorable outcome for your case.
