13 Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Truck Accident Attorney in Tucson, Arizona

Accident statistics reveal that crashes involving large trucks have increased by 33% since 2011. 

If you’ve been involved in a crash involving a truck, you must seek legal help. Truck accident claims are usually a lot more complicated than crashes involving private vehicles. There are often multiple parties involved, and the stakes can be high. 

Truck accidents often have very serious consequences, and can result in extensive damage and life-altering injuries. 

Because of this, you must have a truck accident attorney on your side. 

However, you shouldn’t hire the first truck accident attorney in Tucson that you find. You need to ensure that the attorney you choose is experienced in truck accidents, and equipped with the right knowledge to successfully handle your case, no matter what direction it takes. 

Not sure how to choose a truck accident attorney? The easiest way to identify a capable attorney is to ask the right questions. 

Make sure you get the legal representation you need and keep reading to find out 13 important questions to ask a potential Tucson truck accident attorney.

1. How Long Have You Been Practicing Personal Injury Law?

The first question you should ask a potential truck accident attorney is how long they have been practicing personal injury law. 

If you’ve been in an accident involving a truck, you need an experienced attorney in your corner. One who can prove liability and ensure that you get compensated not just for injuries and property damage, but also for pain, suffering, and potential loss of income. 

An attorney who’s recently completed their bar exam and only has one or two years of experience practicing personal injury law is not the right choice. Instead, look for a truck accident attorney in Tucson who has multiple years of experience and a strong background in personal injury law. 

Furthermore, do not be tempted to hire a general attorney who isn’t specialized in personal injury. For instance, the attorney who helped with your neighbor’s estate planning is not the one to pick for an accident involving a truck. 

2. Do You Specialize in Truck Accident Cases?

Besides specializing in personal injury, the attorney you choose should also specialize specifically in truck accident cases. 

As we mentioned above, truck accident claims can be highly involved, and require specialized knowledge and experience. Your attorney may need to deal with various parties, including:

• The logistics company’s attorneys and insurance carrier
• The truck manufacturer or parts manufacturer
• The state or city government
• The loading company

The reason for this is that the causes behind a truck accident can be multi-faceted.

For instance, the top truck accident cause is mechanical defects. Tire and brake issues are the most common culprit. 

However, there is often more than one factor involved in a truck accident. Truck driver fatigue is another common crash risk. Federal hours-of-service regulations allow truck drivers to drive for a maximum of 11 hours at a time. 

However, surveys show that many truck drivers go over these limits and drive more hours in one stint than what’s federally allowed. 

Let’s say that in the case of the accident you were in, the truck driver was suffering from fatigue at the time. But, they did see your vehicle and began braking. However, the truck brakes weren’t entirely responsive, and they collided with your vehicle. 

In this situation, both the driver and the brake manufacturer (or service company) may be at fault. 

Your attorney needs to be aware of all the potential areas of liability that can come into play during a truck accident. They need to investigate these and be experienced in proving liability across multiple parties. 

If they’re not experienced in this, they may waste months trying to prove liability solely against one party, only to have to start from scratch when further liability comes to light. 

3. How Many Truck Accident Cases Have You Handled Over the Last Year?

Not only do you need a specialized truck accident attorney, but you also need an experienced one. Ideally, the attorney you hire should be dealing with truck accident cases regularly. 

To get an idea of how many truck accident cases they have handled, ask how many they’ve dealt with over the last year. 

If their answer is one or two, we’d look elsewhere for representation. 

4. What Is Your Case Success Rate?

If you’re looking for an attorney after a truck accident, you don’t just want one that’s specialized and experienced, you also want one that gets results. 

It doesn’t matter how experienced a truck accident attorney is, if they’re not winning cases for their clients, they’re not the ones to choose. Therefore, ask your potential Tucson truck accident attorney outright what their success rate is. 

How many of their cases have they won over the last few years, and how many have they lost? If they don’t want to tell you, we’d take this as a warning sign.

A successful attorney that has a high case success rate should be able to confidently give you an answer. 

For example, here at Sweet Lawyers, we have a 98% success rate. We want our clients to know they’re in good hands when they choose us, which is why we publish our success rate on our website. 

5. Can You Share Compensation Specifics From Some Recent Cases?

If you’ve suffered injuries and loss of property or livelihood from a truck accident, you must be justly compensated. Often, adequate compensation isn’t just a matter of justice, it’s the difference between being able to pay the bills and facing financial disaster. 

Ultimately, you want to know whether or not a potential attorney will be able to get you the compensation you deserve and need. 

Therefore, don’t feel shy to ask a potential truck accident attorney about the details and specific compensation amounts from their recent cases. Most likely, the attorney won’t be able to give you every detail from a past case, as that may be a breach of client confidentiality. 

However, they should at least be able to give you some ballpark figures and general case specifics. 

6. Do You Have Courtroom Experience?

If you’re trying to identify the best truck accident attorney for your case, you should also enquire whether they have any courtroom experience. 

Most likely, your case won’t end up in the courtroom. Taking a case to trial is expensive and time-consuming, both for you and the defendants. Because of this, most cases get settled out of court via negotiations. 

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, only 3%-4% of personal injury cases ever go to trial.

However, if the other parties aren’t coming to the table, and refuse to offer a fair settlement amount during negotiations, it might be necessary to take your case to trial. 

In this event, you want to know that the truck accident attorney you’ve chosen has courtroom experience under their belt, is familiar with the trial process, and knows how to handle a judge and jury.

7. What Is Your Fee Structure?

Fee structures are another important area to get clear on. The last thing you want is to hire an attorney without understanding the costs and how they bill for their services. 

Fee structures can vary between attorneys. Some charge retainer fees, others flat rates, upfront consultation fees, or hourly rates.

If you’re worried about the cost of legal representation, we’d recommend you look for a truck accident attorney who works on a contingency fee basis. 

Under a contingency fee structure, the law firm doesn’t charge you upfront. Instead, they deduct a specified percentage from your settlement amount once the case is successfully closed. If they lose the case, you aren’t liable to pay for their services. 

Not only does this make legal representation more accessible, but it also removes the financial risk for plaintiffs in personal injury cases. 

We don’t believe that you should have to pay a crippling retainer fee, or any fees at all for that matter until you’ve got your settlement. Like many other law firms that deal with personal injury cases, we work on a contingency fee basis. 

If we don’t win your case, you don’t have to pay us a dime, simple as that. 

8. How Strong Do You Think My Case Is?

When consulting with a truck accident attorney, you should also ask their opinion on your case. 

Do they think the case will settle? Do they see any potential problems? Do they think there’s a likelihood the case will need to go to trial?

You might also want to ask them what kind of damages you might be eligible to receive, what the case is worth, and how long you can expect it to take. 

Most good attorneys will be more than willing to discuss the ins and outs of your case with you. However, be aware that they cannot give you definite answers about the timeline and settlement amounts, only estimations. 

If an attorney “guarantees” that your case will be wrapped up in a month or two if you take them on, we’d take this as a red flag. 

9. How Often Can I Expect to Hear From You?

Another important point to get clear on is how frequently you can expect to hear from your truck accident attorney. You don’t want to be left waiting anxiously for updates that don’t arrive. 

You should also ask your attorney what’s the best way to get hold of them if you have a question or concern. 

11. What Will Happen to My Case if You’re Incapacitated?

When deciding to hire a truck accident lawyer, find out if they have a team at their back that can take over if something happens to them. 

If the attorney on your case is ill, has a private crisis, or is involved in an accident, you want to know that there is another attorney, equally skilled and experienced, who can seamlessly take over your case. 

This is one of the reasons why it’s better to choose a slightly larger legal firm or partnership that has at least 3-4 full-time attorneys. 

12. What Should I Do if the Insurance Company Contacts Me?

When speaking to an attorney after a truck accident, we’d also recommend that you ask them what action to take if the insurance company contacts you. 

Insurance companies do not want to foot hefty payouts, and many will do their best to swing the claim particulars in a way that allows for the minimum settlement possible. 

Unscrupulous insurance companies aren’t above contacting accident victims and manipulating the conversation for their benefit. The adjuster or legal representative might ask leading questions, or pose questions that infer you are unreliable or untrustworthy. 

A good truck accident attorney will know exactly what you should disclose or keep back when the insurer phones you up. 

13. What Do You Need From Me?

Finally, ask your potential attorney what they need from you.

Because truck accidents can be complicated, it’s best to supply your attorney will all the info and evidence they need as soon as possible. 

For instance, they may need documents to prove your medical history, as well as service records for your vehicle, any photos you took of the accident, the police report number, etc. 

Are You in Need of an Experienced, Capable Truck Accident Attorney in Tucson?

If you’ve been involved in a truck crash, you need expert legal help on your side. Truck accidents can turn into complicated cases, and liability can be tricky to prove. What’s more, the injuries and damage that truck accidents cause can be incredibly serious, and you deserve just compensation for what you have suffered. 

Are you in need of an experienced truck accident attorney to fight for you? The team here at Sweet Lawyers is here to help. 

We specialize in personal injury, car accidents, and truck accidents. Armed with over 40 years of experience, we have recovered millions for our clients. 

As a modern law firm, we are available 24/7. Contact us at any time to schedule a free case evaluation.