I-94, across Milwaukee, is an essential corridor for transporting goods through the larger area. Milwaukee's many businesses need transportation for the goods they sell regularly. That makes trucks a common sight on those roads—one that many Milwaukee area residents take for granted as they go about their days.
Unfortunately, big trucks can also introduce a greater hazard to everyone who shares the road. Big trucks not only have a higher accident potential, but due to their larger size and greater overall difficulty moving them, they may pose a greater risk of injury when an accident does occur. You may deserve compensation if you suffer injuries in a truck accident. Contact Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers today for your free consultation with our Milwaukee truck accident attorneys.
Injured in Milwaukee? Get Nicolet.
Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers: Award-Winning Help for Wisconsin Truck Accident Victims
It does not take long for a truck accident claim to turn complicated. All too often, truck accident claims mean a lengthy investigation process and an insurance company that seems determined to reduce the compensation you can recover for your injuries as much as possible. You need an award-winning Milwaukee personal injury attorney on your side who can help lay out the compensation you deserve and provide the support you need to maximize that compensation. Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers delivers.
Built on Family
Family matters. At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we fully understand the importance of family, including how devastating it can be for the entire family when one member sustains severe injuries in an accident. We founded our firm as a family firm, and it continues to grow. That sense of family gets shared with all our clients as we support them through the difficult claim process and offer them the advice they need to manage settlement offers and more.
Focused on Helping
When you suffer severe injuries in a commercial truck accident, it may feel like everyone has a different agenda and priorities as you try to navigate your claim. The insurance company seems focused on minimizing the compensation it has to pay out as much as possible. The driver that hit you may want to avoid points on their license or decrease the consequences of their negligent decisions on the road by denying liability. At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, on the other hand, we have just one key priority: you. Our Wisconsin truck accident attorneys focus heavily on helping all our clients as we fight to help them get the resolution they need and deserve for the severe injuries they may have sustained in their accident.
Dedicated to Winning
Results matter when it comes to your truck accident case. The compensation you recover as part of your claim can be crucial to helping you rebuild your life after the accident. You need those funds to help cover the cost of your medical treatments, manage your regular bills, and take care of any challenges that may come up as you try to modify your life and your home to account for your new limitations. At the same time, you cannot work due to your injuries.
At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, each of our attorneys shows a solid dedication. We work to establish liability and recover the compensation you deserve for those injuries.
Did you suffer severe injuries in a Milwaukee truck accident? At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we make it easy to get in touch. Visit our Milwaukee office or connect with us virtually today to get the help you need with your claim.
Injured in Milwaukee? Get Nicolet.
Milwaukee Truck Accident Claims: How Much Compensation You Can Recover
Knowing how much compensation you can recover may become critical when dealing with a truck accident claim. However, truck accident cases can become complicated very quickly. Multiple elements may contribute to the compensation you can recover.
Who caused your accident, and what other elements contributed to it?
In most truck accidents, you will hold the truck driver liable for any decisions behind the wheel. However, in a truck accident claim, you may discover that other factors contributed to the accident. For example, trucking companies often share liability with their drivers for damaging policies, poor truck maintenance, or pressuring a driver to get behind the wheel in unsafe conditions.
The party liable for the accident will generally let the insurance company process the claim. The insurance policy terms will typically dictate the compensation you can recover for your injuries.
What injuries did you sustain in your accident?
When you start putting together the losses—including financial losses—you faced as a direct result of your Milwaukee truck accident, you will usually find that your medical bills top the list of expenses. Many people end up with substantial medical bills due to injuries.
The worse your injuries, in general, the greater the cost of your medical bills. You may need more intervention, more expensive treatments, and longer-term medical care to help you recover from those injuries, all of which can add up quickly.
Did you have to miss time at work or otherwise miss out on income because of your accident?
Missing income can substantially burden many people after a severe accident. Unfortunately, truck accident injuries can keep you out of work for weeks or months while you recover.
At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we aim to help you get compensation for those missing wages as you file your truck accident claim. We want to factor in both the immediate wages you lost right after the accident and any long-term wage losses, whether that means lost earning potential because you cannot return to your former position or ongoing lost income because you cannot work an entire shift due to the extent of your injuries and the limitations they cause.
How much suffering did your truck accident injuries cause?
You may expect your injuries to cause considerable physical pain. Many people, however, are surprised by the emotional anguish that may accompany severe injuries. Devastating truck accident injuries may cause you to suffer a significant loss of independence. You may miss out on activities you had planned to enjoy or struggle to keep up with your usual plans.
Often, accident victims find that severe injuries can affect their relationships with friends and loved ones. A comprehensive personal injury claim will include compensation for your suffering and the more clearly defined financial losses that may have gone along with your claim.
Milwaukee Truck Accidents: What You Need to Know
Each year, Wisconsin sees around 70 truck accident fatalities and an estimated 2,046 truck accidents that result in injuries.
Commercial truck accidents can occur because of:
- Poor weather. Milwaukee sees about 45 inches of snow per year. Heavy snowfall can interfere with visibility, while the ice on the road can make it very difficult for any vehicle to navigate safely. Unfortunately, commercial trucks must often stay on the road despite potentially dangerous conditions.
- Driver distraction. Commercial truck drivers can spend a lot of time on the road across the course of an average shift. Truck drivers may spend as much as 11 hours on the road daily. The longer those drivers spend on the street, the more it can increase the risk of devastating distraction, including zoning out.
- Intoxicated driving. While regulations in the trucking industry set strict rules and penalties for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, sometimes a truck driver will choose to operate commercial trucks while intoxicated. This negligent behavior endangers everyone and can cause serious trucking accidents.
- Dangerous roads. The I-94 corridor moves through Milwaukee and sees a heavy amount of traffic each day. Unfortunately, heavy traffic may increase the risk of accidents, especially during rush hour.
You may need to contact a lawyer quickly if you suffer injuries in a commercial trucking accident. While the Wisconsin statute of limitations allows three years after an accident to file a claim, moving forward quickly can make it easier for you to collect evidence about the accident. An experienced truck accident attorney can help you decide on your next steps and support you as you move forward.
Common Truck Accident Injuries in Milwaukee
Wisconsin truck accidents can result in life-changing injuries, many of which can permanently impact many of the victim's daily activities and plans.
- Spinal cord injury
- Brain injury
- Back and neck injury
- Multiple broken bones
- Amputations
- Severe cuts and lacerations
- Burns
Any time you suffer an injury in a truck accident, you may have the right to compensation. A lawyer can help you determine your next steps, including evaluating the compensation you may deserve.
Fighting the Insurance Company After a Milwaukee Truck Accident
Truck accident claims often involve substantial demands for compensation. Motor vehicle accidents can mean severe injuries, high medical bills, and a lot of financial need. A truck accident claim can help compensate for those losses and help you manage your finances despite that weight. However, that does not necessarily mean that the insurance company will simply pay out the compensation you deserve.
Accident victims often fight to recover reasonable compensation for those injuries. The insurance company may try to throw obstacles in your way, preventing you from recovering the compensation you deserve.
That fight might start soon after the initial accident. You may get a settlement offer from the insurance company. Sometimes, on the surface, that offer even looks okay. However, as you continue to recover from the accident and your injuries, you may discover that the offer does not reflect the damages you have to deal with. Nevertheless, the insurance company may pressure you to accept that offer or even imply that you cannot recover additional compensation.
Furthermore, the insurance company may use several tactics to help reduce the compensation included in your settlement. For example, the insurance company might insist that you did not sustain those injuries in the accident, that you did not need the medical treatment you claim, or that you bear liability for the accident.
At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we have experience dealing with even the big names in truck insurance. We can help you fight against those tactics and increase the odds that you will recover reasonable compensation for your injuries.
What to Do After a Milwaukee Truck Accident
If you suffered injuries in a Milwaukee trucking accident, you might feel like everything moves very fast around you, making it challenging to figure out what to do next. You have serious injuries that require medical attention. You reported the accident but have no idea what to do next.
How can you protect your right to compensation?
- Get a copy of the accident report and review it with us to ensure everything is correct. If you notice any problems with it, report them to the police department.
- Talk to our Milwaukee truck accident lawyers as soon as possible. You may need a lawyer to help guide you through the early moments after the accident, when the insurance company may start pressuring you to give a statement or even to accept a settlement offer, just as much as you do later in your claim.
- Keep up with your medical treatments and follow the instructions issued by your care provider. Ignoring your medical needs could worsen your injuries and leave you liable for any challenges you face while recovering.
- Keep your medical bills. Keep a clear record of everything you spend on medical treatment, including co-pays or deductibles.
- Journal about your recovery. A journal helps lay out your emotional state and provides clear documentation of dates and challenges you may have faced on your road to recovery.
At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, we focus heavily on helping our clients win reasonable compensation for the damages they may have had to deal with after a devastating accident. We want to help guide our clients to a successful resolution. Those efforts start soon after the accident when even seemingly minor decisions can have a more significant impact than anticipated.
Milwaukee Truck Accident FAQ
What evidence do lawyers look at after a truck accident in Milwaukee?
Your Milwaukee truck accident lawyer may need to look at a great deal of evidence to help establish liability. All the details can be critical, especially if the trucking company shares liability for the accident.
A lawyer may want to look at:
- The accident report
- Any photos from the accident scene
- The truck driver’s logs
- The truck driver’s driving history
- The trucking company’s policies
- The trucking company’s history
- The truck’s maintenance record
- Load records
- Who loaded the truck and that company’s history
A truck accident claim can involve a lot of paperwork. A Wisconsin truck accident attorney can help sort through all the details, identify critical information, and use it to build a compelling claim regarding your losses.
How do I know if the trucking company shares liability for my accident?
A lawyer can help look over the evidence from a truck accident and determine whether the trucking company shares liability for the incident.
Trucking companies often share liability with their employees when they have a dangerous policy or requirement that may increase the risk of an accident.
- The trucking company pushed a driver to get behind the wheel in unsafe conditions, including hazardous weather, or while the driver suffered from a condition that should have prevented driving, including illness or intoxication.
- The trucking company has dangerous policies that encourage drivers to spend more than the federally mandated number of hours on the road.
- The trucking company failed to complete the needed maintenance on the vehicle.
- A driver did not receive adequate training before getting behind the wheel.
- A driver with a considerable accident history continued to drive for the trucking company despite those known hazards and problems.
If the trucking company does share liability for your accident, it could increase the compensation you can recover. Discuss your rights with Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers to learn more about your next steps.
Why do I need a lawyer for a Milwaukee truck accident claim?
Many of our clients at Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers find that working with us increases the compensation they can ultimately recover for their injuries, even when considering legal fees. A lawyer can offer support and advice at every stage of the claim process that can help many people more successfully navigate their claims and recover reasonable compensation for their injuries.
In a truck accident claim, that can prove particularly important. Most truckers use big-name insurance providers with extensive resources that will fight aggressively to reduce the amount they have to pay out as part of a claim. By working with a lawyer, you can get the support you need on your side, whether that means getting vital advice about how you can best handle the challenges the insurance company throws in your way or getting help with a court appearance.
If the truck driver caused my Milwaukee truck accident, does the truck driver have to pay my medical bills?
After a truck accident, you may pursue compensation for your medical bills through a truck accident claim. However, that does not mean that the truck driver or his insurance company will have to pay your medical bills directly. Instead, you must pay your medical costs. When you receive the compensation from your injury claim, you can use those funds to cover the cost of your treatment.
Will I have to go to court?
Most of the time, personal injury claims for truck accidents in Milwaukee will settle out of court. Taking a case to court means extensive legal expenses for the liable party. Ultimately, those court costs may grow higher than simply paying out the compensation the injured party deserves. However, some truck accident claims end up in court, including cases of disputed liability or cases in which the insurance company aggressively disputes the extent of your injuries. By working with the experienced Wisconsin truck accident lawyers at Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, you can increase the odds that you will navigate that court appearance successfully and recover the compensation you deserve.
What should I do if the insurance company issues a settlement offer, but I do not feel that it offers an accurate assessment of my medical bills and needs?
An early truck accident settlement may feel like a potent relief at first, especially as your medical bills start to appear. On closer examination, however, you may realize that the offer does not reflect the compensation you deserve at all. You may have immense bills with more coming in the future and a settlement offer that covers only a tiny fraction of them.
Avoid accepting any settlement offer before you can look it over and discuss it with your lawyer. You always have the right to consider a settlement offer before you accept it. The insurance company may pressure you to make a fast decision to prevent you from discussing that offer with your lawyer. At Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers, however, we can help you review that offer and consider how it compares to your actual truck accident losses.
If it does not reflect the compensation you deserve, do not accept it. Instead, work with Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers to carefully review your financial and non-financial losses after the truck accident and submit a claim that includes your actual needs. Then, we can continue to fight for you.
Contact a Milwaukee Truck Accident Lawyer Today
Did you suffer injuries in a Milwaukee truck accident? A lawyer can help guide you through the claim process and give you essential information about the compensation you deserve. Contact Nicolet Law Accident & Injury Lawyers today at (414) 260-2220 to discuss your rights following a devastating truck accident.