If you get injured in an accident involving a semi-truck, you need to understand the full value of your injury claim before reaching a settlement with an insurance company. You may not be able to trust the value assigned to your case by an insurer, as it will want to minimize your payout as much as possible. Doing your own research – and, most importantly, consulting with a knowledgeable truck accident attorney – can give you an accurate idea of how much your case is worth.
Average Semi-Truck Accident Settlement
It is impossible to put a number on the “average” settlement for a truck accident case in New Mexico. Each case is entirely unique, with no one-size-fits-all settlement value that is assigned universally. Some clients receive settlements and verdicts in the thousands, while others receive amounts in the millions for serious injuries or deaths in the family. Insurance companies and the courts carefully analyze each case as it comes to determine value.
The factors often used to calculate case value include:
- The severity of the plaintiff’s injuries.
- The length of time it will take the plaintiff to heal.
- The amount of the plaintiff’s medical expenses.
- Any permanent scarring, disfigurement or disability.
- Whether the accident resulted in a loss of life.
- The amount of pain and suffering endured by the plaintiff.
- The plaintiff’s average wages before the accident.
- The plaintiff’s age and overall health.
- The amount of insurance coverage available.
The value of your truck accident case is something that you will need to discuss with an injury lawyer before settling. Unlike an insurance company, a lawyer will want to maximize your payout rather than minimize it. You can trust the estimate that you receive from an attorney to be fair and just based on your individual circumstances.
Who Pays for a Truck Accident Claim in New Mexico?
Truck accident settlements often come from the insurance provider of the trucking company. A trucking company will pay for an accident caused by a negligent truck driver, for example, such as a crash involving speeding or truck driver fatigue. A trucking company could also be held responsible for an accident involving a lack of truck maintenance, poor driver training or retention practices, and other examples of company negligence. In other cases, a third-party driver, a product manufacturer or the government may be held liable for a truck accident.
Damages Available to Truck Accident Victims
Determining the value of your truck accident injury case often starts with making a comprehensive list of your compensable losses connected to the accident. A compensable loss can be economic or noneconomic; tangible or intangible. Your list of compensable losses may include:
- Medical bills – money to cover any necessary procedures, surgeries, hospital stays, medications, medical devices, rehabilitation and therapies.
- Property damage – the full cost of what it takes to repair your damaged vehicle, or the fair pre-crash value of your vehicle if it is totaled
- Lost wages – an amount to replace the wages that you have already lost because of your injury, as well as payment for any future foreseeable lost earnings due to a permanent disability.
- Pain and suffering – compensation for the personal losses that you suffered, such as physical pain, emotional suffering, distress and mental anguish.
- Wrongful death damages – if the truck accident was fatal and killed someone in your family, you may qualify for compensation for funeral and burial expenses, loss of consortium, and grief.
If you need assistance proving all of the losses you suffered in connection to a truck accident in New Mexico, hire an attorney to represent you. An attorney can help you establish fault and improve the strength of your evidence against a truck driver or truck company. A lawyer can also negotiate with an insurance company for you to fight for maximum financial compensation. For a personalized estimate of your case value, contact The Fine Law Firm to request a free consultation with a truck accident lawyer.