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Why You Should Hire a Lawyer Following a Truck Accident in Utah


— March 18, 2022

Will your case turn into a lawsuit? Probably not. Trucking companies tend to avoid bad publicity and they won’t want to be dragged into a long legal battle.


If you’re reading this, you or a loved one have probably been injured in a truck accident in Utah and you’re wondering what to do. The first thing you need to do is look up the best truck accident lawyers in Utah as soon as possible. Many people are confused as to why they would need a lawyer if they have insurance. Surely that’s enough, they tell themselves. All those years you’ve been paying your premium dutifully you were led to believe that should anything happen, the insurance company will have your back. We hate to be the ones to break it to you but this is not exactly true. Calling your insurance company is the one thing you should not be doing at this moment, nor should you answer a call from the trucking company’s insurers. You need to talk to an experienced Salt Lake City truck accident lawyer to understand what’s at stake.

Truck accidents are the most deadly types of crashes and it’s the passengers in regular cars that bear the brunt. People are often left with life-changing injuries which require prolonged medical care, multiple surgeries and rehabilitation programs. The costs can be staggering and if there’s one thing you can be sure of it’s that the insurance company won’t be happy to foot the bill.

Man signing paperwork; image via Pexels.com.
Man signing paperwork; image via Pexels.com.

Also, if you want to file a claim you’ll have to prove that the accident was caused by someone’s negligence. The most likely culprit is the truck driver, but it may be that trucking company is also to blame, at least partially for what happened.

If the crash was caused by a reckless, distracted or drunk truck driver, your truck accident attorney will advise you to file a claim against their insurance.You cannot blame the company for the driver’s behavior, but you can certainly hold them accountable if they hired him without making sure he had a valid commercial driver’s license. Also, if they failed to do a background check and it turns out the driver had been charged with drunk driving or other traffic rules violations they can be accused of negligent hiring and they should pay for that. 

A good accident lawyer will also ask for a technical examination of the truck to determine whether there was some sort of malfunction involved. It is the duty of the trucking or leasing company to make sure their vehicles are roadworthy. If the accident was caused by a burst tire, for instance, your attorney will want to know when the truck was last inspected. Failure to replace or fix defective parts is grounds to file a claim against the trucking or the maintenance company. On the other hand, with a defective part you may have a case against the manufacturer.

Will your case turn into a lawsuit? Probably not. Trucking companies tend to avoid bad publicity and they won’t want to be dragged into a long legal battle. The case will probably be settled through negotiations and you’ll be very glad to have a tough lawyer sitting in your corner. 

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