Information and Insight for Injured Iowans

     Truck accidents can cause a lot of unforeseen expenses. With mounting medical costs, car repairs, and insurance costs, a quick settlement offer can sound very appealing. It is important to consider all the future expenses you must pay (including some to your own insurance companies) before accepting a quick settlement.                       

      Insurance company representatives will often try to convince a truck accident victim to quickly settle his or her personal injury claim by throwing out a settlement figure that—at first glace—seems fair. What they often do not mention is that the truck accident victim may not be entitled to keep all of that money.

Often a truck accident victim has had medical bills or lost wages paid by his or her:

·         Health insurance company

·         Auto insurance company (“medical payment coverage”)

·         Short-term disability insurance company

·         Employer’s workers’ compensation company

     Almost all of the insurance policies described above require an accident victim to pay back any amounts received if the accident victim reaches a settlement with the negligent driver or his or her insurance company. This legal obligation, which is known as “subrogation”, can leave an accident victim with little or nothing after a settlement. We protect our clients from the shock of subrogation by always advising our client about how much of any settlement off they will actually be able to put in their pockets. We also work to reduce our client’s subrogation obligations whenever possible before a settlement is reached.

     To learn about other tactics insurance companies use against truck accident victims, go to Iowa Truck Accident Facts to download a free 35-page guide.
     If you have any questions or immediate concerns, do not hesitate to contact us
toll-free:  1-888-546-6529.  We will do our best to answer your questions and there is not fee for an initial consultation.
 

     As Cedar Rapids, Iowa personal injury attorneys who handle truck accident cases, we have seen cases wrecked by small mistakes that could have been easily avoided. We feel it is our duty to help truck accident victims know these mistakes and how to steer clear of them. One such mistake is failing to proof-check the trucker’s log book.

     The National Transportation Safety Board blames driver fatigue as a probable factor in 20-40% of tractor-trailer crashes. Some drivers even refer to log books as “comic books” because they are so easily falsified. That is why it is usually necessary to gather the GPS tracking records, the e-mail logs, the bills of lading and the gas receipts and then take a blank log book and properly fill in all events and times that are supported by independent proof. Such an exercise may uncover and law and regulation violations that explain why the truck wreck occurred.

     For the truth about other mistakes that can impact your truck accident claim, go to Iowa Truck Accident Facts to download a free 35-page guide.

     If you have any questions or immediate concerns, do not hesitate to contact us

toll-free: 1-888-546-6529.  We will do our best to answer your questions and there is no fee for an initial consultation.

     There are many mistakes that can be made after a truck accident, especially regarding a potential claim. These mistakes, while they may seem small or unimportant, can greatly impact the potential settlement or verdict you receive. That is why it is so important for truck accident victims to not assume someone else is handling their claim information.

     Sometimes, it is enough to rely upon law enforcement officers to perform a sufficient scene investigation after a car accident. That is rarely a good idea after a tractor trailer accident causes death or serious injury to a motorist. It is standard practice for trucking companies to send their own lawyers, adjusters and accident reconstruction experts to the scene of a serious truck wreck in the first 24 hours. Therefore, an injury victim or the injury victim’s family can be “out-gunned” if they don’t have their own experts evaluate the crash site as soon as possible.

     For the truth behind other mistakes that can impact your truck accident claim, go to Iowa Truck Accident Facts to download a free 35-page guide.

     If you have any questions or immediate concerns, do not hesitate to contact us

toll-free: 1-888-546-6529.  We will do our best to answer your questions and there is no fee for an initial consultation.

      Mistakes can be made almost immediately after a truck accident; mistakes that can impact your ability to receive compensation through a settlement or verdict. One such mistake is failing to look for wrongdoers beyond the trucker.  Truck accidents victims are entitled to all the damages caused by another party, not just the driver.

     The parties who bear responsibility for a serious trucking accident may extend beyond the person in the truck’s driver’s seat. Because multiple parties may have contributed to a semi or its driver losing control, it is important to investigate the roles of:

·         The entity who hired the truck driver

·         The entity who controlled the trucker’s work

·         The entity who owns the tractor

·         The entity who owns the trailer

·         The entity who is responsible for vehicle maintenance

     For the truth about other mistakes that can impact your truck accident claim, go to Iowa Truck Accident Facts to download a free 35-page guide.

     If you have any questions or immediate concerns, do not hesitate to contact us

Toll-free: 1-888-546-6529.  We will do our best to answer your questions and there is no fee for an initial consultation.

     A truck accident can occur in a matter of seconds, which is what makes it so difficult for drivers to avoid. Thankfully, preventing damage to your truck accident claim can be very easy and fairly quick, and can be very beneficial for your case.

     One way to prevent damage to your claim is by seeking immediate medical attention after a truck accident. If anyone is injured at the accident scene, call 911. If you are offered an ambulance ride to the hospital, take it. In all cases, the safe thing to do is seek immediate medical attention regardless of whether you think you are injured. Symptoms of an injury may not show up immediately after a crash. Some physical problems may not show up until hours or even days after a crash. In our legal system, the victim is always responsible for proving that he or she was injured in a particular accident. As Cedar Rapids, Iowa truck accident attorneys, we know the best way to prove you were injured in a semi accident is to have records from a medical examination that occurred immediately after the crash.

     After a person is discharged from initial medical treatment after an Iowa truck accident, we advise them to download and read our free 35-page guide for truck accident victims by going to Iowa Truck Accident Facts.

     If you have any questions or immediate concerns, do not hesitate to contact us

toll-free: 1-888-546-6529.  We will do our best to answer your questions and there is no fee for an initial consultation.

     After a truck accident, there are bound to be repair and medical bills and can cause a lot of added stress. While it may seem as though the truck driver’s insurance company representative is trying to help you and relieve some of that stress, that is not their job or in the best interest. You should remember that this is a professional who is trained to use a number of tactics to make sure that his or her insurance company pays you as little as possible. One such tactic is telling you their company won’t pay if you don’t act right away.

     Insurance company representatives will often try to pressure you to do things for them right away. They often suggest that you will not receive fair compensation if you don’t act “right now.” This suggestion is bogus. Iowa truck accident victims generally have 2 years from the accident date to seek compensation for their injuries either by settling their claims or by filing a lawsuit. While there are some situations where the law requires you to provide notice within 6 months, you only have to act when the law requires it – not when the insurance company asks.

     To learn about other tactics insurance companies use against truck accident victims, go to Iowa Truck Accident Facts to download a free 35-page guide.
     If you have any questions or immediate concerns, do not hesitate to contact us
toll-free : 1-888-546-6529.  We will do our best to answer your questions and there is no fee for an initial consultation.
 

     There is a lot of confusion following a truck accident. Many drivers aren’t sure what steps to take next, and some truck accident victims assume they are not obligated to do anything if it wasn’t their fault. As Cedar Rapids, Iowa personal injury attorneys, we feel it is our duty to correct this assumption.

     If you are injured in an accident caused by a semi driver’s mistake, you have a personal injury claim. Under Iowa law, a truck accident victim who wants to be compensated for a personal injury must be able to prove:

·         That the trucker was negligent

·         That the trucker’s negligence caused damage to the injury victim

·         The amount of the injury victim’s damages

     If the truck accident victim cannot prove any one of the above three elements in a court of law, he or she is not entitled to compensation. That means the burden of proving everything—from identifying the important witnesses at the accident scene to providing documentation of all injury-related losses—ultimately  falls on you, the accident victim.

     For a more detailed explanation of an Iowa truck accident victim’s legal obligations, go to Iowa Truck Accident Facts to download a free 35-page guide.

     If you have any questions or immediate concerns, do not hesitate to contact us toll-free: 1-888-546-6529.  We will do our best to answer your questions and there is no fee for an initial consultation.

     Just like with doctors in medical cases, specialization matters. Not everyone has the expertise and knowledge to assess truck accident cases. There are many factors contributing to an accident and these can often times be overlooked by the untrained eye. Because of this, most semi accident cases would benefit from hiring a trucking industry expert witness.

     A good trucking industry expert can analyze the truck driver’s log and the trucking company’s records. An expert can identify applicable federal and state regulations and point out violations of trucking industry standards. As Cedar Rapids, Iowa, truck accident attorneys, we believe that failing to hire an industry expert to review a trucker’s records in a serious semi wreck can be a crucial error.

     For the truth about other mistakes that can impact your truck accident claim, go to Iowa Truck Accident Facts to download a free 35-page guide.

     The actions that you take following a truck accident can have lasting effects. As Iowa personal injury attorneys, we understand the importance of acting quickly after a truck accident. While taking photographs and speaking with law enforcement officials is crucial to your truck accident claim, it is just as important to promptly obtain the trucking companies records from both before and after the accident.

     Because there are special laws and regulations governing semi-trucks and the people who drive them, there should be documents showing when the trucker last stopped, slept, or even checked his brake lights. Unfortunately, the trucking company can start destroying driver logs and the supporting documentation after just six months. That is why it is essential that a truck crash victim’s attorney send a retention of evidence letter to the trucking company, the trucker’s insurance company and the truck driver as soon as possible.

     For the truth behind other mistakes that can impact your truck accident claim, go to Iowa Truck Accident Facts to download a free 35-page guide.

As an Iowa Personal Injury Attorney handling personal injury and auto accident claims and as an old farm boy, I am familiar with the dangers of farm tractors, hay racks, wagons and machinery on the roads.   Many car crashes this time of year are intertwined with the harvest season.  Most involve deer moving about with all the commotion in the fields.  Unfortunately, some involve farmers not obeying the rules of the road – they are after all driving virtual tanks and are rarely hurt when a car collides with them on some rural Iowa road.  They are used to driving in the field where the only traffic is the wildlife scattering to get out of the way.   Some folks seem to forget that they are going to be on the roadways when the workday (or night) is done so in the meantime they have a few beers in the tractor cab.  It is against Iowa law to operate any motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol – even a tractor.  I handled a horrible accident case involving just that.  The farmer had lost his license for drinking violations but didn’t think twice about driving a field tractor and grain wagon home that night – pulling out from the field access directly in front of my client so that my client rear ended the unlit machinery.  All Iowa tractors on the roadways are supposed to have a slow moving triangle facing the rear and at night, an amber flashing light.   The slow moving triangle does no good when covered by field dust and the old lights on the implement are only good if they are converted to fit the new tractor – something not every farmer worries about until its dark outside and too late.  Especially if they have had had a few drinks, are tired and are not concerned about the safety of others.

If you have been hurt by a tractor, combine or some other farm machinery that was not obeying the rules of the road, give us a call and we’ll try to answer you questions.  In the meantime, keep in mind that there could be slow moving machinery around every corner this time of year in Iowa.  Take care and be safe.

Visit our website  www.riccololaw.com to learn what questions to ask your potential  attorney. We have downloadable, free guides on motorcycle, trucking and car accident cases or you can always call without charge or obligation and ask us questions: 1-888- 546-6529.