If you were hurt in a truck accident in Ohio, you may have the right to pursue legal action. If the truck driver or another party caused the accident, you could be entitled to compensation for your medical bills and other damages.
As an accident victim, you are likely curious about the average semi-truck accident settlement in Ohio. You may also wonder what factors affect your potential settlement value and how you can ensure you get the compensation you need to pay your medical bills and living expenses.
Aaron L. Bensinger helps injury victims throughout northwest Ohio. Having an experienced truck accident lawyer on your side will help ensure you get the justice and fair financial compensation you deserve.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us as soon as possible at (419) 455-1410.
Calculating the Value of Commercial Truck Accident Settlements
Every semi-truck accident is different, and every victim suffers a unique set of injuries and other damages. For this reason, we can’t easily establish an average Ohio semi-truck accident settlement value.
When we assist a commercial truck accident victim with their case, we calculate their claim value based on physical, emotional, and financial damages.
Depending on the type and extent of your injuries—and how those injuries might affect your future—you could be entitled to recover compensation for some or all of the following:
- Emergency medical care,
- Hospital visits and treatment,
- Physician and surgeon services,
- Medications and medical devices,
- Rehab and physical therapy,
- Lost income and benefits,
- Pain and suffering, and
- Emotional trauma.
If your injuries affect your ability to work or if you can’t resume your former job duties because of your injuries, you could be eligible for compensation for future lost income and lost earning capacity.
If you suffered permanent injuries, scarring, or disability, you could also pursue compensation for diminished quality of life and other non-economic damages.
Future treatment can also impact your total compensation. If you require long-term rehabilitative care, this care should be included when calculating your total medical expenses. And in recording lost wages, you should account for any lost bonuses or lost overtime.
If you’ve suffered an injury that impacts your ability to do your job, this should also be considered when calculating the total compensation available.
Be careful of online semi-truck accident settlement calculators because they can’t provide an accurate claim value without analyzing all the details of your case. The best way to determine what your case value might be is to consult with an experienced personal injury attorney.
What Factors Can Limit Your Truck Accident Lawsuit Settlement?
Broadly, the extent of your injuries, lost wages, and other damages will impact your settlement amount. More extensive injuries correlate to higher compensation, and that severity can impact lost wages and other damages as well. There are, however, other factors that can increase your truck accident lawsuit settlement.
Insurance Limits
Most vehicle accident settlements are paid by insurance companies, and your ability to recover compensation will be limited by the at-fault party’s insurance limits.
If a driver is uninsured or underinsured, you may struggle to collect compensation even if you can prove the driver is at fault. If you have uninsured/underinsured (UM/UIM) insurance, you can file a claim against your own insurance policy to recover for damages that exceed the at-fault party’s insurance limits.
Additionally, after suffering injury from a semi-truck accident, there may be more than one party from whom you can recover compensation.
In addition to the truck driver, it is possible that you can recover from the:
- Trucking company. A trucking company is responsible for hiring competent drivers. If they have hired a driver who is inexperienced or has a history of accidents, they can be found liable for the behavior of their drivers. Additionally, if the driver is an employee of the trucking company, they may be vicariously responsible for the driver’s actions.
- Loading company. Many people fear driving behind a loaded truck. This fear has a good reason. A truck that has been improperly loaded can have cargo fall off into the roadway. If you were in the car behind falling cargo, you could suffer serious injuries.
- Parts manufacturer. If a faulty truck part contributed to your accident, the truck or parts manufacturer may share responsibility.
Where you receive your potential recovery depends on who is at fault. An attorney can help you identify all potentially at-fault parties.
Comparative Fault
Ohio is a comparative fault state, which means your settlement amount will be limited by your own contributory negligence. This means that if the court finds you 30% liable for the accident, your total recovery is limited to 70%.
In this scenario, if your compensation is $100,000, you are only able to recover $70,000 from the driver of the truck. If you are more than 50% liable for the accident causing your injuries, you cannot recover any compensation.
Legal Representation
Your recovery can also be limited if you do not have legal representation. Without an experienced truck accident attorney, there is a high likelihood that important evidence that can assist in raising your total compensation amount will be missed.
It can also be difficult to effectively negotiate with insurance companies without a lawyer. To help aggregate your full claim amount, contact Bensinger Legal Services.
Noneconomic Damages Caps
In Ohio, there is a cap on pain and suffering damages. The total amount in compensation cannot exceed the greater of $250,000 or three times the economic loss, up to $350,000 per person and $500,000 per accident. An attorney can help you assess the monetary value of pain and suffering.
There is no limit to noneconomic damages if you have suffered a catastrophic loss. A catastrophic loss is classified as a permanent physical deformity or an injury that prevents an individual from caring for themselves.
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages can also increase your total settlement amount. Punitive damages are intended to punish the party responsible for your loss. This contrasts with compensatory damages intended to make you whole after your accident.
Punitive damages are not available in every accident, and these damages are only available when the at-fault party has acted with malice or fraud.
In these limited circumstances, punitive damages are available, but Ohio has placed a cap on recovery amounts. Punitive damages cannot exceed twice the amount of compensatory damages awarded.
The Challenges of Recovering a Semi-Truck Accident Settlement
Unlike most car accident claims, commercial truck accident cases pose a unique set of challenges.
Trucking companies (and their insurance carriers) will go to great lengths to minimize their financial liability after an accident.
The insurance company might request a recorded statement from you, hoping you will say something they can use to reduce your claim’s value or to deny your claim completely. Never provide a statement without consulting an attorney. Otherwise, you could put your legal right to compensation at risk.
The sooner you can put a lawyer to work on your claim, the sooner they can launch an investigation and start gathering evidence. Time is of the essence, as evidence can be lost or destroyed quickly after an 18-wheeler or commercial truck crash.
Having an experienced truck accident attorney on your side will help protect your legal rights. An attorney will also help you fight for the maximum possible compensation.
How Long Does It Take to Get a Truck Accident Settlement?
Because every case is different, the time it takes to resolve your claim will depend on several factors.
The first step in the process is determining who was at fault for your accident. Our investigation will determine whether the truck driver, the trucking company, the shipper, the equipment manufacturer, or other parties caused or contributed to the crash. Once we identify the at-fault party, we will submit a demand to that party’s insurance company.
For most of our truck injury clients, we are able to negotiate a settlement with the insurance company. This is typically the preferable outcome because it gets a check into your hand as quickly as possible. If we can’t negotiate a settlement with the insurance company, we have the option of filing a lawsuit and pursuing your case in court.
Although the Ohio statute of limitations allows two years from the date of an injury accident to file a lawsuit, the sooner you contact an attorney and get started on your case, the sooner you can get a resolution and settlement.
Contact an Ohio Truck Accident Lawyer Today for Help
You don’t have to fight this battle on your own. Contact Aaron L. Bensinger today to learn more about your options for pursuing legal action. Aaron has extensive experience with truck accident cases, and he understands how to get the results you deserve.
A free initial consultation can help you learn more about the potential value of your Ohio truck accident settlement. Please feel free to reach out to us at (419) 455-1410 at your earliest convenience.