Pocahontas Truck Accident Injury Attorneys

Given the size and weight of large trucks, collisions involving commercial vehicles tend to cause serious damage and catastrophic, if not fatal, injuries, most often to the occupants of the other vehicle rather than the truck driver. If you or a loved one has been involved in a truck accident near Pocahontas, or if you are an Iowa truck driver hurt while working out of state, here is what you need to know about proving fault, understanding jurisdiction, and getting your medical bills paid.

Understanding the Complexities of a Pocahontas Truck Accident Case

While you may not need an attorney for a minor car accident, you will almost always require legal help after a serious truck accident. Truck accident cases are quite different from regular car accident cases in several important ways, and they are much more complex.

First, the damages and injuries in truck accidents are usually higher and more serious than in a lot of car accidents. Serious injuries mean the dollar value of your case will be significant, which in turn means the truck company's insurer may be looking for ways to minimize their payout to you. When your damages are extensive, you need to be extra cautious to factor all of your expenses and future medical needs into your claim.

Another factor that makes truck accident cases so complex is the existence of federal regulations that truck carriers and drivers must follow. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration provides specific rules and procedures that commercial drivers have to follow, such as a cap on their driving hours and the frequency of scheduled maintenance checks. Violating a regulation and subsequently causing an accident could apportion fault for the accident on the driver or carrier, but proving the carrier is at fault requires being well-versed in trucking regulations.

Lastly, truck accident claims can quickly become complicated because the truck company or its insurer has attorneys to refute or dispute the claim, or at least diligently try to reduce the settlement amount. It is difficult for an injured person to negotiate with formidable truck company attorneys on their own, which is why it helps to have an established and experienced attorney handle your Pocahontas truck accident case.

Who Can Be Held Liable for a Pocahontas Truck Accident?

Establishing liability is one of the first tasks you and your attorney will address as you begin looking for ways to recover your damages. Which party can be held legally accountable depends on the circumstances of the accident and can include more than just the truck driver. For example, if there was a co-driver in the truck who contributed to the accident, he or his employer may be named as a defendant. Other possible parties that might be at fault for a truck accident include a repair shop or maintenance crew, a truck manufacturer or the manufacturer of one of the truck's parts, a company that loaded the cargo, an inspector who performs annual fleet inspections, or the trucking company itself.

It is also important to understand the concept of vicarious liability. This legal model provides that companies are generally held liable for the actions of their employees when they are performing work-related tasks during the course of their employment. So in a case where the truck driver was at fault, for example because he was texting while driving or did not check his poorly loaded cargo prior to his trip, his employer, the carrier, would be named as defendant and held liable for the damages. Even drivers who are independent contractors are considered statutory employees under federal trucking regulations.

Preserving Key Evidence After a Pocahontas Truck Accident

It takes substantial and significant evidence to prove liability in a truck accident case. As soon as practicable after the accident, speak to an attorney to discuss what evidence you can start gathering. One of the first things your attorney will do is send a letter of spoliation to the truck company, informing the carrier that a case is pending, explaining which evidence the company must preserve, and reminding them of the consequences of illegally destroying evidence.

In many truck accident cases, it is information found in the truck company's own records that ends up proving the company's liability. For example, a driver's logbook might show that he exceeded the allowable amount of driving hours in a 24-hour period, or that he had a disqualifying medical condition yet was allowed to continue driving. Without the preservation of these records, a Pocahontas victim's case may be unsuccessful.

Collecting Evidence to Prove Liability

There are two types of evidence required for a truck accident case: evidence to prove the extent of your injuries and damages, and evidence that proves the other party's liability. Helpful evidence often includes your medical records and evidence of lost wages, a pain diary documenting the effects of the accident on your everyday life, photos and videos of the accident scene, footage from traffic cameras or nearby surveillance, eyewitness contact information, and the truck's electronic control module, sometimes called the black box, which records the truck's speed, throttle position, brake and pedal application, and clutch status. When liability is disputed, an attorney may also enlist an accident reconstructionist to electronically reconstruct the crash and identify fault.

Pocahontas Truck Drivers Hurt Outside of Iowa

Iowa is home to more than 20 trucking companies that hire employees from all over the United States and operate in most states. Depending on the agreement between the employer and truck driver, along with other factors, such as where you were physically located when hired and how often you work from Iowa, this determines whether Iowa has jurisdiction if you are hurt outside of Iowa.

Iowa Code Section 85.71, as amended on July 1, 2017, determines whether your workers' compensation case can be successfully brought in Iowa. Here are the factors to look for in the jurisdiction determination.

The reason subject matter jurisdiction is so important is that your employer can raise this issue at any time, including after your trial is over and your case is on appeal. If the courts determine Iowa does not have jurisdiction, and you have not timely filed a workers' compensation claim in another state that does have jurisdiction, you could be left with no compensation for your work injuries at all. This is not something you want to wait and see on, because even if your employer admits it is an Iowa case in the beginning, they can later take a different position. Time limitations in other states can be as short as one year to file a petition for benefits, so it is important to hire an Iowa workers' compensation attorney experienced with these jurisdiction issues as soon as possible.

Who Should Pay Your Medical Bills After a Pocahontas Truck Accident?

If you have been injured in a truck crash near Pocahontas, do not expect the other driver's insurance company to pay your medical bills as they are incurred. Rarely will that insurance company make payments toward your medical bills, even if their liability is obvious and they have already paid for your property damage. Insurance companies routinely make payments only at the time of a final settlement, when they can obtain a release from you.

Instead, you should look to one of the following means to obtain payment of your medical bills: your own health insurance from your employment benefits package, health insurance you have paid for personally, health insurance obtained by your spouse or parents for your benefit, medical payments insurance coverage from your own auto policy, HealthCare.gov or Medicaid if you are not covered under any plan, or your own personal funds if you are uninsured and able to pay bills as they are incurred.

With medical debt rising, you may not have the funds on hand to pay every provider right away. An attorney's office can often help facilitate assignments, where you authorize the law firm to pay a medical provider directly from any settlement or verdict. These assignments often satisfy the health provider, and many will wait until the time of settlement rather than pursue collection against you in the meantime. Keep in mind that almost all insurance policies have a subrogation provision, meaning they require reimbursement if you obtain money for your medical bills from another party or insurance company, so it is worth understanding your options before you sign any paperwork after a Pocahontas truck accident.