What Damages Can I Recover in a Semi Truck Accident Case?

When you are dealing with the aftermath of a serious semi truck accident, understanding your legal rights is important. This includes understanding the damages you are entitled to recover. Knowing what damages are available to you will allow you to make informed decisions—and it will allow you to avoid the costly mistake of settling for less than you deserve.

Truck accident claims are typically far more complex than standard auto accident cases. They often involve severe injuries and multiple parties who may potentially share liability. After a collision with an 18-wheeler, you need a law firm you can trust.

The experienced truck accident lawyers at The Oliver Firm have earned a reputation for excellence in handling these difficult cases. We know the challenges you may be facing and we know how to win. We aren’t intimidated by big trucking companies or their insurance companies and we never back down from a fight.

Damages Available to Truck Accident Victims in Arkansas

So, what damages can you recover after a semi truck accident in Arkansas? If you were seriously injured in the accident, the damages you can recover depend on the financial and non-financial costs of your injuries. Crucially, this includes not only your costs to date, but also the costs you will incur in the future. Arkansas law allows accident victims to recover fair compensation for their current and future losses; and, following a serious truck accident, your future losses can far exceed the losses you have already incurred.

Financial Damages Available to Truck Accident Victims

Financial damages are those that have a direct impact on your bank account. If the truck driver, trucking company, or any other party was responsible for your truck accident, you are entitled to compensation for your:

• Loss of Income – If you are unable to work due to your accident-related injuries, you are entitled to damages for your loss of income. This includes loss of wages, salary, tips, commissions, benefits, and other earnings both now and in the future.
• Medical Expenses – You are entitled to fair compensation for all of the medical expenses you incur as a result of the accident. This includes medical expenses for diagnosis, treatment, surgery, rehabilitation, and therapy.
• Prescriptions and Medical Supplies – You are also entitled to fair compensation for the costs of your prescriptions and any necessary medical supplies. This includes all prescription and medical supplies, from pain medications and anti-inflammatories to crutches, gauze, and bandages.
• Other Out-of-Pocket Costs – Along with your prescription and medical supply costs, you are entitled to fair compensation for any other out-of-pocket costs you incur as well. These costs may include transportation, hiring a nanny or landscaper, and modifying your home or vehicle (among many others).

Non-Financial Damages Available to Truck Accident Victims

Non-financial damages are those that impact your life in other ways. While they may not negatively affect your finances, they can still have profound effects on your day-to-day life. In fact, due to the profoundness of these effects, truck accident victims’ non-financial damages will exceed their financial damages in most cases. Non-financial damages available to truck accident victims in Arkansas include:

• Emotional Trauma – Surviving a serious truck accident can be an extremely traumatic event. If you are coping with emotional trauma, you are entitled to compensation not only for the costs of your psychological or psychiatric therapy, but for the day-to-day effects of your emotional trauma as well.
• Pain and Suffering – Arkansas law also allows truck accident victims to recover fair compensation for their pain and suffering. Whether these effects last for months, years, or the rest of your life, you are entitled to financial compensation for the daily reminders of your crash.
• Loss of Consortium and Companionship – Many victims of serious accidents experience negative effects in their relationships. If your accident negatively affects your relationship with your spouse or partner (including your ability to have sexual relations), your children, or other friends or loved ones, this entitles you to damages as well.
• Loss of Enjoyment of Life – Non-financial damages are also available to help compensate you for your loss of enjoyment of life. Whether you are dealing with anxiety or depression, your injuries prevent you from pursuing your hobbies or passions, or all of the above, these are all losses you may be entitled to recover under Arkansas law.

Wrongful Death Damages After a Fatal Semi Truck Accident

If you have lost a loved one in a fatal truck accident in Arkansas, your legal rights are different. You are still entitled to damages, but the process of recovering these damages will be different—and the specific types of damages you are entitled to recover may be different as well. Filing a wrongful death claim requires a compassionate, comprehensive, and detail-oriented approach; and, here too, it is important to have an experienced legal team on your side.

Contact Us for a Free, No-Obligation Consultation Today

If you need to know more about your legal rights after a serious or fatal truck accident in Arkansas, we encourage you to contact us promptly.

To arrange a FREE, no-obligation case evaluation at our law offices in Rogers, AR, please call 479-202-5200 or get in touch online today. We handle all the costs upfront to represent you and you pay nothing if a settlement is not reached.