In the blink of an eye, an errantly driven semi-truck can devastate your life. Although a personal injury lawsuit might be a powerful way to find accountability for your accident injuries and recover the compensation that you need, the truth of the matter is that these truck accident lawsuits are often more complicated than many people realize. One reason is because truck companies, who are best positioned to pay your damages, have several defenses that they can rely upon to counter your claim.
Common truck accident defenses
If you want to win your case, you need to know how to counter some of the most common truck accident arguments. Here are some of them:
- Contributory fault: The truck company is probably going to try to claim that you’re to blame for the accident so that they can escape as much liability as possible. Make sure you analyze your driving actions to find weaknesses in your case and to develop ways to minimize them.
- The trucker was operating outside the scope of employment: If the trucker who caused your wreck was running a personal errand when the wreck occurred, the truck company will try to sidestep liability altogether. Scrutinize trucking logs so that you’re prepared to counter this argument.
- Pre-existing injuries: The truck company might try to minimize the damages that it must pay by arguing that your injuries pre-date the accident. Here, just be prepared with your medical records and testimony about your injury.
Build the holistic truck accident personal injury case you need
Keep in mind that these are just some of the truck accident defenses that you might come up against. If you want to protect your interest and maximize your chances of recovering the compensation that you need, be sure to fully analyze your case and prepare to address any defense arguments that you might face.