Fort Myers truck accident attorneys

If you’ve suffered an injury in a truck accident that wasn’t your fault, speak with a Fort Myers truck accident attorney with Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath as soon as possible. We’ll get to work investigating who’s to blame, then we’ll pursue justice on your behalf.

You can schedule a free consultation with a skilled Fort Myers personal injury lawyer by contacting Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath online or calling (561) 655-1990.

Why choose Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath

When you work with one of our experienced attorneys, you’ll be working with a true expert with a long track record of success. Here is just a brief look at some of the results we’ve achieved for truck accident injury victims:

• $6.275 million in a wrongful death settlement stemming from a truck accident in Palm Beach County
• $1 million for a Palm Beach County accident that resulted in our client suffering a severe hand injury that required surgery
• $750,000 for a client severely hurt in a St. Lucie County accident

Steps to take after being hurt in a truck crash

If you suffer an injury in a truck accident, you must take the steps necessary to avoid additional injury. The following steps will keep you safe and also increase your chances of obtaining full compensation.

1. Move to a safer location

Try to move your vehicle to the shoulder of the highway, or to a nearby parking lot. If it won’t run, then at least get out of the vehicle if you can and get to the safest spot you can find.

2. Call 911 and ask for police and an ambulance

The faster you get medical help, the better the chances you’ll recover from your injury. Call 911 immediately and tell the dispatcher as much as you can about your injury. Ask them to send a police officer to the scene so they can investigate and write an accident report.

3. Tell your side of the story to the responding police officer

The officer will ask you several questions once they arrive. Be honest, of course, but just stick to the facts of how the accident took place. Never say anything the officer could construe as you taking the blame for the wreck. The officer’s report is going to be a key piece of evidence. If you accept even the slightest amount of fault, it’s going to be hard for you to obtain the money you deserve.

4. Notify your insurance company

Your insurance company might do everything it can to deny your claim. Don’t make it easier for them by waiting to notify them about what happened. Get in touch with your insurer as soon as you can.

5. Gather evidence at the scene

Again, your safety is the most important thing. But if you’re convinced it won’t be a danger to take pictures of the accident scene, please do so. Use your phone to get photos of all the vehicles involved, as well as damage to signs or guardrails. Take pictures of any fresh skid marks as well, as they could prove to be powerful evidence in your favor.

6. Visit Urgent Care or your primary care physician

You should accept the ambulance ride that emergency medical personnel will likely offer. If you don’t, you should see your doctor or get to the nearest urgent care facility immediately. There are some injuries that don’t show symptoms right away. If you wait to get medical help, your injury could quickly worsen.

7. Consult with a Fort Myers truck accident attorney

Speaking with a Fort Myers truck accident lawyer should be second only to your safety. The faster you contact an attorney, the earlier your lawyer can investigate the accident. This investigation must start as quickly as possible before critical evidence disappears.

Make sure you meet the deadline to file a claim

Like every other state, Florida has a statute of limitations in personal injury cases. Our state’s statute of limitations is two years. You won’t be able to pursue compensation if you let this deadline expire without taking action.

Again, though, you should speak with a Fort Myers truck accident attorney immediately for the best chance of obtaining maximum compensation.

Possible damages you can claim

If you file a lawsuit, the reason will be to recover your damages. This is the legal term for financial losses resulting from a personal injury accident. Examples include the following:

Economic damages

Your economic damages include the tangible losses you’ve experienced due to the crash. These include the wages you’ve lost because you can’t work and the medical expenses that keep piling up.

Non-economic damages

It’s not hard for a Fort Myers truck accident lawyer to prove economic damages. All they need to do is obtain copies of your medical bills and your pay stubs.

Proving non-economic damages, however, is much more challenging. The reason is that you can’t produce receipts for pain and suffering, or for the mental distress you’re going through. You’ll need a skilled attorney with experience proving non-economic damages.

Punitive damages

Punitive damages are designed to punish egregious negligence. If, for example, the driver of the truck was drunk, the jury might decide to make an example out of them to keep others from making the same mistake. Juries rarely award punitive damages, but a skilled Fort Myers truck accident attorney can make a strong argument on your behalf.

We fight trucking insurance companies to get you the maximum compensation

Commercial truck insurance policies are incredibly expensive, costing $1 million, $2 million, or even more. We guarantee the insurer covering the truck involved in the accident will fight hard to deny you the money you deserve.

But when you hire a Fort Myers truck accident attorney with Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath, we’ll fight just as hard. Our attorneys have the skill to match the legal representation trucking insurance companies use. We won’t be intimidated by this formidable opposition – we never have been, and we never will be.

Parties who may be liable for the crash

Truck accidents are very complex. There are a lot of reasons why, but the biggest is that there are often multiple parties that play a role in causing them. Here are just some of the parties that could share responsibility for your injury:

• The truck driver
• The trucking company
• The company that negligently loaded the truck
• The manufacturer of a part that failed
• And many others

Again, a prompt investigation will be needed to identify all of the liable parties so you can get every dollar to which you may be entitled.

How your truck accident lawyer will prove liability

At Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath, our attorneys have many tools at their disposal when investigating truck accidents.

For example, we can obtain surveillance footage from cameras that might show how the accident occurred. Our lawyers can also request phone records. These records could show the truck driver was texting or talking at the time of the collision.

We can also obtain log books that prove the truck driver was behind the wheel far too long, in violation of federal rules designed to reduce instances of fatigued driving.

Length of time you can expect your claim to settle

The stakes are going to be high in your case. That means it could take months or even years for your case to reach a settlement. Our Fort Myers personal injury attorneys will do everything we can to help you obtain compensation as quickly as possible, but we don’t want to make it seem that this will be an overnight process.

No ethical law firm will ever claim they can quickly get you money without knowing the facts of the case. If you run across any lawyers who make this kind of promise, scratch them off of your list immediately.

Semi-truck “black boxes”: What they are and how they may be used in your case

Most commercial trucks are required to have an electronic data recorder (EDR) on board, commonly referred to as a “black box.” EDR data can be critical to your case because it can show the speed the truck was traveling before the accident, whether or not the driver applied the brakes, and much more key information.

Your Fort Myers truck accident attorney will work to obtain this data to help strengthen your case. It could very well be the difference between success and failure.

Common truck accident injuries

Some of the more common injuries people suffer in truck accidents include the following:

• Amputations
• Severe burns
• Broken bones
• Spinal cord damage
• Traumatic brain injury
• And many others

“Dos” and “don’ts” of dealing with insurance after a crash

The most important thing to do is to avoid speaking with an insurance company adjuster without having an attorney present. The adjuster will try to manipulate you into accepting fault for the accident. If they’re successful, you’ll have very little chance of obtaining compensation.

Cost of hiring a truck accident lawyer

Lytal, Reiter, Smith, Ivey & Fronrath works on a contingency basis. This means we don’t earn any money unless we win a case. If you don’t win, you don’t pay, which means you have nothing to lose by choosing our firm.

Why you should visit a doctor as soon as possible

As stated earlier, the insurance company is going to use any excuse it can to deny your claim. If you don’t seek medical help immediately, you’ll make it much easier for them to do that. The insurer will argue that you aren’t really hurt, or that your injuries aren’t as serious as you say.

Our Fort Myers truck accident attorneys are here to help

Hurt in a semi-truck collision that wasn’t your fault? Call (561) 655-1990 or contact us online to schedule a free evaluation of your case.