Overcoming Obstacles to Iowa Truck Accident Compensation with The Law Office of Matthew A. Lathrop
Most truckers prioritize keeping their brakes in good condition. However, the interstate logistics industry is notorious for its intense competition, which can sometimes encourage trucking companies to neglect maintenance to meet time-sensitive deadlines.
Although the owners and operators of large commercial vehicles can’t afford to overlook safety, brake system failure has long remained a cause of semi-truck accidents. If you’ve been injured in an Iowa 18-wheeler collision caused by bad brakes, the Law Office of Matthew A. Lathrop could help you obtain the evidence you need to secure the compensation you deserve.
Establishing Liability After an Iowa Truck Crash Caused by Brake Failure
The commercial transportation industry is bound by many complicated rules and regulations set at the state and federal levels. Even if a truck driver made a mistake or knew their brakes were bad, they may not be the only party responsible for your accident.
Depending on the circumstances of your accident, potential defendants could include any of the following:
- The semi-truck driver
- The semi-truck driver’s employer or contracting company
- Another motorist
- A brake manufacturer
- A commercial vehicle manufacturer
- A mechanic who serviced the breaks or their employer
Identifying the right defendants is critical to the success of your personal injury lawsuit and could also help you obtain more compensation than if you had only filed a claim against the truck driver.
Your Potential Damages After an 18-Wheeler Accident
If you have been hurt in an Iowa semi-truck crash caused by brake failure, you could be entitled to significant compensation for your injuries. Depending on the circumstances of your collision and the extent of your injuries, you could receive damages for:
- Your existing medical expenses
- Your anticipated and long-term care needs
- Paid co-pays and deductibles
- Physical rehabilitation
- Lost income from work
- Diminished earning potential
- Physical and emotional pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment
- Disfigurement
- Wrongful death
Iowa recently passed laws that cap recovery for pain and suffering at $5 million but do not otherwise limit the compensation you could receive in a successful personal injury lawsuit.
How The Law Office of Matthew A. Lathrop Could Help You Reclaim Your Independence
Even if you have a seemingly open-and-shut case, securing a fair recovery isn’t always easy, especially when taking on a big trucking company or its multibillion-dollar insurance agency. Matt is a family man. He understands what your potential settlement means to you and your family. We will work hard to ensure you are treated fairly, even when you are the underdog taking on the larger insurer or trucking company.
The Law Office of Matthew A. Lathrop could help you secure a fair recovery by taking steps including, but not limited to, the following:
Investigating the Causes of Your Accident
If a semi-truck’s brakes fail, companies will often try to minimize their out-of-pocket liability by blaming the driver as much as possible. However, thoroughly investigating your collision's circumstances could tell a different story.
Collecting and Assessing Evidence
Since the automotive manufacturing and trucking industries are so tightly regulated, companies are often required to keep an assortment of records on hand that could provide evidence of misconduct or be used to establish a longstanding pattern of negligence.
We could subpoena and review:
- An individual driver’s disciplinary records
- A company’s safety record
- Internal maintenance records and accident reports
Consulting Expert Witnesses
If brake failure contributed to your Iowa semi-truck accident, we could consult expert witnesses—professional accident investigators, crash reconstruct experts, or automotive safety engineers—to inspect and analyze a potentially defective brake system and establish whether an inherent design flaw or manufacturing defect contributed to your collision.
Protecting You From Insurance Adjusters
Semi-truck accidents can cost insurance companies massive amounts of money. Unfortunately, even when insurers have a moral and legal obligation to do right by victims, they sometimes resort to deceptive strategies designed to reduce their own liability.
Adjusters will sometimes try to:
- Pressure victims into providing recorded statements, scouring them for any inconsistency that could interpreted as an admission of fault.
- Ask for access to medical records, then claim that a preexisting health condition caused an accident-related injury.
- Refuse to offer a fair settlement or continually delay negotiations.
The Law Office of Matthew A. Lathrop has spent years pushing back against profit-oriented insurance companies. We know what it takes to negotiate a settlement, and we don’t let our adjusters bully our clients into forfeiting their rights or accepting anything less than they deserve.