Nevada Truck Accident
Process & Information

How We Can Help

We understand how truck accidents differ from car crashes. That includes knowing federal and state trucking regulations and how the industry works. Better yet, we know how to get evidence. We conduct an independent, in-depth investigation. That’s how we learn what caused the crash and identify who’s liable.

We’ll guide you through the claims process, including:

• Getting your vehicle repaired or replaced
• Getting a rental vehicle
• Making sure you’re receiving the best possible medical care
• Connecting you with medical specialists when necessary
• Helping you handle medical bills
• Helping you collect evidence of financial injuries
• Helping you accumulate evidence of physical and emotional injuries.
• Locating and speaking with eyewitnesses
• Hiring experts
• Sending a demand to the liable party and their insurer
• Communicating with the insurance company on your behalf
• Preparing you to give a statement or answer questions
• Filing a truck accident lawsuit.
• Using the discovery process to get more information
• Negotiating a fair settlement or preparing for trial

Steps To Take Before a Legal Consultation

If you’re ready to learn more about the truck accident claim process, schedule a consultation. There are some ways you can prepare for your first meeting with any law firm.

1. Bring a description of the accident: We want to know what happened and who was involved.
2. Bring a copy of the police accident report: If you don’t have a copy yet, don’t let that stop you from consulting a lawyer.
3. Bring copies of your medical records: We want to know about the injuries you’ve suffered due to the truck wreck.
4. Bring bills and receipts: You’ve probably already paid out-of-pocket for something related to the crash. These start to give us an idea of your damages.

Identifying the Parties Involved

When we take on a truck accident case, we need to know who was involved.

We identify several parties, including:

• The truck driver
• Who hired the trucker as either a full- or part-time employee or independent contractor
• Who owned the commercial vehicle
• Who manufactured the commercial vehicle or a relevant part, like a tire
• Who owned the cargo
• Who loaded the cargo into the truck

Who Is at Fault? Who Is Liable?

Fault and liability can be complicated in commercial vehicle accident cases. Sometimes what happened is obvious. Maybe a distracted truck driver failed to stop in time and rear-ended you. But the cause of a commercial vehicle accident isn’t always apparent. We often have to dig deeper to find out what happened and why. We’re confident our investigation will uncover evidence proving who is at fault and liable.

Negligence

Negligence happens when a party has a duty of care, fails to uphold that duty, and causes someone harm. Every trucker on the road has to act like a reasonably prudent person under the circumstances. When they fail to be careful or break the law and cause a crash, they’re negligent.

Comparative Negligence

More than one person can be at fault for a crash. It’s possible the truck driver, and their insurer will blame you. You can still receive compensation if you were partly at fault. If you’re 50% or less at fault, then you receive a payment that’s reduced by your amount of responsibility.

Strict Liability

Most 18-wheeler accident cases are based on negligence. But in some instances, the cause of the accident was a vehicle or part defect. When we uncover a defect, we’ll hold the manufacturer responsible based on product liability laws. In Nevada, the manufacturer or another party might be strictly liable. That means we don’t have to prove negligence.

Collecting Evidence

During a truck accident case, we’ll gather and review evidence, such as:

• Accident reports
• Photos
• Video footage
• Eyewitness statements
• Business and employment records
• Driving records
• Truck driver logs
• Truck driver inspection reports
• Truck maintenance records
• The truck’s recorded electronic data or “black box”
• Expert opinions

Preserving Evidence

One of our top priorities is protecting evidence. We don’t want any of the other parties to get rid of something that might be important. After identifying who matters to your claim, we send Preservation of Evidence letters. This letter demands the recipients keep and protect anything that might be relevant.

Looking for Regulatory Violations

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulates the trucking industry in America. There are many rules trucking companies, and drivers have to follow. They concern size and weight restrictions, licensing requirements, inspections, maintenance, alcohol and drug testing, Hours of Service rules, and much more.

We review the facts carefully for signs of violations. If we find anything, we’ll notify the authorities. We also may use it as evidence of negligence. It depends on what we discover and how it connects to the crash.

Nevada Trucking Laws

Nevada also has regulations for trucking companies and drivers about licensing, vehicle registration, taxation, size and weight limits, permits, escort guidelines, bridge restrictions, and more. We also investigate any state-level violations.

Calculating Your Damages

We work closely with you, your doctors, and experts to determine how much your physical, emotional, and financial injuries are worth. Calculating your economic damages is straightforward because they’re based on hard figures. Your non-economic damages, including pain and suffering, are harder to value. We typically multiply your economic damages by a multiplier of 1.5 or higher.

Sending the Demand Letter

After we’ve investigated the crash and helped you gather evidence of your damages, we’ll prepare a demand letter. It is a declaration of what happened, who’s to blame, and the injuries you’ve sustained. It also sets out a specific amount of compensation you’ll accept.

Don’t expect a trucking company and their insurer to agree to your demand right away. Once they get the letter, they’ll continue to evaluate your claim and consider their response. We’ll prepare you for any reply, from a complete denial of liability to a counter offer.

Negotiating a Settlement

Most truck accident claims move toward a pretrial settlement. If the other side agrees they’re liable, then it comes down to negotiating an amount. They’ll want to minimize how much your case is worth. But we won’t let them lowball you.

Commercial Vehicle Insurance Coverage

One of the positive factors in truck accident cases is truck drivers and companies have to carry sizable insurance policies. The minimum policy amounts are much higher than for private drivers.

For example, non-hazardous cargo in a truck weighing over 10,001 pounds needs a minimum of $750,000 for liability insurance. Trucks moving hazardous materials need to be insured for at least $5 million. More insurance coverage means it’s more likely you can win max compensation.

Preparing for Trial

We handle each case like it might go to trial, even though that doesn’t happen often. Our goal is to win you a fair truck accident settlement as soon as possible. But sometimes negotiations break down. We prepare for the day when it becomes apparent the other side won’t negotiate in good faith. If that day happens, we take your case to trial and fight for every penny you deserve.

Time Limits

There’s always a time limit for filing a lawsuit, called a statute of limitations. If you’re filing a case based on your bodily injuries or someone else’s wrongful death, you have two years. We make sure you pursue your claim and file a lawsuit long before the deadline.