What To Expect

 

Trucking accident cases often involve major injuries or death. At the law firm of Chappell, Smith & Arden, our attorneys understand that the people injured in trucking accidents as well as the relatives of those killed in such accidents look to us to handle not only the legal aspects of their cases, but also to give them the guidance, comfort, support and information they need to deal with the difficult consequences they face. What can you expect when you entrust your case to the trucking accident attorneys at Chappell, Smith & Arden?

 

1. What can I expect if I call for a free consultation?

Call us for a free consultation and tell us about your case so we can make an appointment to see you. At your first appointment, you will meet with one or more members of the Chappell, Smith & Arden Law Firm at no cost to you. We will listen to your account of the accident, how it happened and how you were injured.

2. Who will represent me?

We use a team approach to manage our cases. Attorneys, claims consultants, administrative and litigation legal assistants, investigators and other staff members work together to prepare your case for settlement or trial.

3. How will my case be pursued?

Trucking accident cases require special handling with respect to investigation and preservation of evidence. We use trained truck accident investigators to undertake a preliminary accident investigation which will help us understand how your accident happened.

4. Will I be reimbursed for personal injury medical expenses?

With your help, our legal team will collect information about your medical history and your current medical care and treatment. If there is medical payment coverage available to you through your own or someone else’s motor vehicle insurance company, we will handle your medical expense claim without charging you a legal fee.

5. When is a lawsuit filed?

We will ordinarily engage in settlement negotiations with the insurance carrier(s) before we file suit. If settlement negotiations break down, we move to the next step, filing a lawsuit.

6. What’s the course of action?

If the insurance company makes no offer or an unreasonable offer, we will sit down with you and explain your alternatives which may include arbitration, mediation, or trial.

 

 

The Process

Your Initial Meeting

Call us for a free consultation and tell us about your case so we can make an appointment to see you. At your first appointment, you will meet with one or more members of the Chappell, Smith & Arden Law Firm at no cost to you. This meeting may take place in the hospital, at your home, or at our offices in Aiken, Charleston, Columbia, Florence or Rock Hill. We will listen to your account of the accident, how it happened and how you were injured. Our conversation with you is confidential so we encourage you to be open and candid. The more we know about your case the better we can serve you. Your active participation in the prosecution of your case is essential, and it will help bring your case to a successful conclusion.

 

To help us fully understand your case, assemble and bring the following items to the initial meeting:

• paperwork from the accident itself, with dates, names and written records

• copies of any medical bills resulting from the accident

• photographs of your injuries and the accident scene

 

If, after our meeting and discussion, you would like our law firm to handle your trucking accident case, we will ask you to review and sign an agreement which authorizes us to represent you. The agreement will describe our fee structure and explain how we may advance litigation costs on your behalf with the understanding you will reimburse them at the conclusion of the case. We work on a contingency fee basis, which means you do not owe us a legal fee unless you make a recovery in your case.

 

Your Personal Injury Case Team

We use a team approach to manage our cases. Attorneys, administrative and litigation legal assistants, investigators and other staff members work together to prepare your case for settlement or trial.

 

In addition to your trucking accident attorney, you will be assigned a legal assistant who will begin the process of gathering insurance information and medical documents to support your claim. Your attorney will answer your questions about practical things like your doctors’ appointments, medical bills, insurance, and lost wages. Your attorney will also explain your legal alternatives and focus on what should be done to bring your case to a successful conclusion.

 

Your Personal Injury Claim Investigation

Trucking accident cases require special handling with respect to investigation and preservation of evidence. We use trained truck accident investigators to undertake a preliminary accident investigation which will help us understand how your accident happened. Our investigators will interview the law enforcement officers who investigated your accident as well as any crash team members who performed an accident reconstruction. They will also locate and talk to eye witnesses, take scene and vehicle photographs, and obtain copies of official accident reports and photographs taken by police officers or state troopers.

 

Sometimes more information is needed. If so, Chappell, Smith & Arden may engage an expert on your behalf, an accident reconstructionist, a mechanical engineer, or a trucking industry specialist who can study the photographs, visit the accident scene, look at the vehicles, examine the physical evidence and give your us the expert advice and opinions we need to build a successful case.

 

Your Medical Treatment

With your help, our legal team will collect information about your medical history and your current medical care and treatment. Obtaining a complete set of your past and present medical history and records is essential to the prosecution of your case. For this reason, it is important that you provide us with the names of all health care providers who have treated you in the past as well as those who are treating you now. This includes hospitals and other medical institutions. Your trucking accident lawyer will ask you for:

 

• A detailed and complete description of your injuries

• The names of the health care providers who are treating you and the places where you are receiving treatment

• Information regarding prior injuries and medical conditions which may be similar to those you suffered in your accident

• Information about previous accidents, illnesses, or current medical conditions even though they may be unrelated to your case

 

You will provide us written authorization to obtain the following documents from your health care providers:

• Medical records and reports

• Hospital records

• Medical bills

 

We can move your case along more quickly and smoothly if you do the following:

• Keep all appointments with your health care providers as scheduled; inform us when you reschedule appointments.

• Describe to your doctor(s) in detail where you hurt and how your injuries affect your activities of daily living including your ability to work.

• Continue to see your doctor(s) on the schedule he prescribes until he releases you from his care; upon release call your legal assistant immediately.

• Give complete health insurance information to all health care providers and follow up with them on a regular basis to make sure your health insurer is paying your medical bills as required under your insurance contract.

• Keep all doctor’s bills, prescription receipts, and other accident-related payments records and send them to us promptly.

 

If there is medical payments coverage available to you through your own or someone else’s motor vehicle insurance company, we will handle your medical expense claim without charging you a legal fee.

 

Your Settlement Negotiations

After you have reached maximum medical improvement and your doctor(s) has released you, we will ordinarily engage in settlement negotiations with the insurance carrier(s) before we file suit.

 

We provide the following information and documents for inclusion in the submittal package we send the insurance company: all your medical records, bills, and wage loss information. In addition, we may include photographs of your injuries and the accident scene along with medical reports from your physicians outlining your future medical needs and permanent disabilities. If we have retained special experts in your case like economists, life care planners, accident reconstructionists, and engineers, for example, we may also enclose their reports.

 

Once representatives of the insurance company have reviewed the submittal package, they will generally enter into settlement negotiations with our truck accident attorneys. We will keep you informed as this process proceeds, and we will keep you apprised of insurance company settlement offers. If settlement negotiations break down, we move to the next step, filing a lawsuit.

 

Your Lawsuit

If the insurance company makes no offer or an unreasonable offer, we will sit down with you and explain your alternatives which may include arbitration, mediation, or trial.

 

Arbitration is an out-of-court procedure developed to resolve disputes through the use of impartial third parties, called arbitrators. An arbitrator will review the documentary evidence submitted by both parties and may hear live testimony from witnesses before rendering a decision in the case, much as a judge would. Many arbitrators are retired judges. The procedures and rules of evidence used in arbitration are not as formal as those used in court proceedings. This may lead to a faster, less expensive resolution of your case.

 

Mediation is another out-of-court dispute resolution alternative designed to help opposing parties resolve their legal disputes. During mediation, a neutral third party serves as a facilitator who meets with the parties both together and separately to try to work out a settlement agreement acceptable to all parties.

 

Trial by jury may be your best or only way to obtain fair compensation in your case. Your Chappell, Smith & Arden attorney will explain the litigation process and work with you every step of the way to the courtroom.

 

Contact us today for a
FREE consultation.