How Does My Truck Accident Lawsuit Work? A Step-By-Step Guide of Litigation and What to Expect

Fortunately for them, the vast majority of truck accident victims have ZERO experience with litigation and the civil justice system when they first walk in our door.

For these clients, everything is new and foreign. 

When we explain to clients how long the process may last before they ever see a dime, their jaws often hit the floor. In Cook County, it’s often 2+ years from the time a complaint is filed until the date of trial. 

Unfortunately, the gears of justice grind slowly.

To help folks understand the general process of civil litigation, we put together a litigation timeline so that truck crash victims can better understand what to expect throughout the process.

What to Expect During Your Illinois Truck Accident Lawsuit

Step 1: Truck Crash Investigation

Before any truck accident attorney can file a complaint alleging that a trucking company (or any other defendant) was negligent, he must first investigate the incident to determine whether he can successfully prosecute the case. 

At Shannon Law Group, we typically will not take a case unless we’re willing to try that case in front of twelve jurors. Why? 

1. We need to believe in the case and that we can come through for our client. If we don’t, it makes it extremely difficult to provide zealous advocacy for that client. To get to the point, we have to conduct a thorough investigation of the underlying facts. 
2. We recognize the sacrifice that jurors make in resolving lawsuits every day. These jurors are regular people that have families, jobs, and personal lives that become disrupted when they are called to hear cases in our courts. Our case needs to be important enough to justify their time away from their routine.

In a typical truck crash case, our first step in the investigation is obtaining the Illinois Traffic Crash Report.

You may be given a form at the scene known as the Illinois Motorist Report. This form doesn’t contain a narrative of the events of the crash. Instead, it provides each driver with the personal and insurance information of the other drivers involved in the crash. 

The Illinois Traffic Crash Report

The Illinois Traffic Crash Report provides a good explanation of how and why a crash occurred. More importantly, it provides attorneys with key information from which they can begin a more robust investigation.

1. The crash report identifies any known witnesses to the crash. Once we receive a crash report, we immediately dispatch our investigators to interview the known witnesses. These early witness statements can make or break a case.
2. The crash report identifies the location of the crash and where any vehicles have been moved.

For every trucking crash we investigate, we go to the scene as soon as possible.

We look for any cameras that may have captured the crash. In addition, we take photographs of the roadway. If possible, we talk to local neighbors and business owners to see whether they have any information about the crash.

Vehicles Store Information Can Tell the Story of a Truck Accident

We make sure to find the vehicles that were involved in the crash. Sometimes, this is an easy process. If we get a call within hours or days of a truck crash, we can go to the impound lot to take photos of vehicles. 

If we don’t sign up a case until months after a crash, our attorneys have to track down the vehicle (or its parts) across state lines–and oftentimes through multiple owners.

The vehicles involved in the truck accident often provide a treasure trove of information.

Photographs of the vehicles can paint a picture of how a crash occurred. They can help explain to a jury how our client suffered such significant injuries. If the impact crushed door panels and axles, imagine what it could do to our client’s spine. 

Many newer cars and most semi-tractor trailers have onboard computers that provide a TON of information, including:

1. The speed of the vehicle before impact.
2. Whether the vehicle attempted to swerve before impact.
3. How long before impact does the driver apply the brakes.

Some trucking companies now require their vehicles to be equipped with forward-facing and driver-facing dashboard cameras. In these videos, we can see exactly what the driver saw in the moments before the impact. We can also see what the driver was doing during those moments. This information can be a critical source of evidence for any truck accident lawsuit. 

 Step 2: Pleadings and Motion Practice 

Once an extensive investigation has been completed and your case has been determined to have merit, your attorney will file a complaint against the trucking company that injured you. 

Typically, the complaint will be against both the trucking company and the driver individually – though usually both entities are covered by the same insurance policy. A filed complaint then needs to be served upon all defendants (usually the trucking company and the individual driver) by a sheriff. 

Once the complaint is served on the defendants, the defendants have a chance to answer all of your complaint allegations and make any affirmative defenses they may have.

In some cases, the trucking company will file a motion asking the court to dismiss your complaint because of a technical defect. Courts historically are very liberal in allowing plaintiffs to amend their complaints to correct any technical defects. 

Your attorney will handle all of the filings and court appearances during this portion of the case. Depending on several different factors, this portion of the case can take as little as 1-2 months up to nearly a year.

Step 3: Written Discovery 

In the litigation process, the next step is written discovery. During this phase, all parties have the opportunity to ask the other side questions (interrogatories) about them and the circumstances of the case.  One party can ask the other to identify known witnesses, past injuries, and driving history.

In addition, the parties will ask the other side to provide numerous documents related to the case. Defendants typically request police reports, witness statements, as well as medical records from before and after the crash. 

Plaintiffs typically request internal investigation documents, as well as documents related to the trucking company’s vetting and training of the driver involved in the crash.

Your truck accident attorney will need your help to provide the answers and documents requested by the defendants.

Historically, trucking companies never provide all of the documents requested of them right away.  It can often take months and court intervention to spur the trucking company to provide all of the documents related to the crash.

Proving Negligence in a Truck Crash Case

In most cases, a trucking company’s documents (or lack of documents) make the best evidence in proving that the company was negligent. 

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations, which govern the operations of most large trucking companies, require several documents to be kept for the company to retain its operating authority. Operating heavy tractor-trailers and other commercial motor vehicles is a dangerous business, and the federal government recognizes that. 

In exchange, the federal government requires the company to guarantee that it will operate according to the safety rules put in place.

Trucking companies promise to have rules in place that guarantee certain minimum standards for driver quality, driver hours of service, drug and alcohol testing, vehicle condition, accident monitoring, and document production. 

Authorized motor carriers have made a promise to play by the safety rules. When these companies don’t follow the rules, they break their promise.

Unfortunately, we have seen some abysmal trucking companies that either decide they’re above the safety rules–or don’t bother to learn the rules in the first place. Some commercial transportation companies hire drivers without so much as checking their driving history or their criminal record – both of which are required by the regulations. 

Other companies claim to fulfill their driver training obligations, but don’t have any paperwork documenting whether any training was provided to a particular driver. The written discovery process allows your attorney to learn what the defendant trucking company did or did not do that could have prevented your crash from ever occurring.

Step 4: Depositions

A deposition is an oral testimony taken under oath before a trial or arbitration. Depositions are taken from all parties in a lawsuit.

Often, depositions are taken of witnesses who might testify at trial. Even though it often takes place in a conference room or office, it is a very important event in any lawsuit.

You will be asked about information relevant to your truck accident case. For example, you will be asked about your medical, employment, and educational background, as well as about the crash and your injuries. 

Your deposition will probably take between one and three hours. Your attorney will be there with you when you are questioned by the other attorney.

The deposition allows the lawyer on the other side to “discover” all the facts a witness knows about the event. 

The biggest rule in depositions is, to tell the truth. If your case goes to trial, the defense attorney will have the transcript of your deposition testimony. He or she will not hesitate in reading it back to you if there are any inconsistencies in your trial testimony.

Who gets deposed depends on the attorneys involved in the case. We have had cases in which the opposing counsel took the deposition of every medical doctor that treated our client – forty-plus depositions. In other cases, the opposing counsel may only take the deposition of you and one or two of your treating doctors. 

In some cases, your spouse, family members, friends, or co-workers may also be deposed to learn how your injuries affected your life. 

Before your deposition, your attorney will meet with you to prepare. Your attorney may even cross-examine you.

Step 5: Settlement Negotiations

In any truck accident lawsuit, two tracks run through the entire litigation.

On one hand, there’s the litigation track (described above) that runs through the court system. It is generally governed by court rules and deadlines. The litigation track ends with a trial.

On the other hand, there’s the settlement track, which can often be a winding and seemingly aimless path.

The reality in litigation is that insurance companies control the purse strings. At any time throughout the case, the insurance company can decide that they want to stop spending money defending and make a settlement offer to the injured plaintiff. 

Unfortunately, you and your attorneys do not control when an insurance company decides to transition a case from a trial posture to a settlement posture.

You and your attorneys don’t control when an insurance company wants to seek resolution. So, your attorney must prepare every case as if it’s going all the way to trial. 

At Shannon Law Group, our motto is, “We won’t file a case if we’re not willing to try it.” If we agree to file your case, we believe strongly in your case and want to share your story with a jury. 

Step 6: Trial 

Most cases don’t go all the way to trial. But what is a trial anyway?

A trial is your and your attorneys’ opportunity to present evidence to a jury. Your lawyer will explain how and why your truck crash occurred and explain how your injuries have affected your life since the crash. 

Your trial represents the last step before a jury of twelve citizens decides how much money your case is worth.

Trials tend to involve a level of uncertainty for plaintiffs and insurance companies.

For plaintiffs, the insurance company must believe throughout the litigation that you and your lawyers are willing to try the case before a jury. Why? 

Because insurance companies don’t like when other people (juries) tell them how much money they have to pay. Insurance is all about risk assessment and risk limitation. They don’t like the uncertainties involved in a trial.

For these reasons, the closer a good case gets to trial, the better the compensation that the insurance company offers to an injured client.

You will be asked to testify at your trial. To understand how your injuries have affected your life, a jury needs to hear it from “the horse’s mouth.” 

If your case goes to trial, you should expect to be in attendance every day of the trial (absent extenuating circumstances). A jury will be asked to take days, sometimes weeks away from their jobs and families. 

It’s a huge sacrifice for someone to sit on a jury in a serious injury case. The jury needs to understand that your serious injury case is worth their time. 

Your attorney may request your spouse, other members of your family, and/or friends to testify at trial. Oftentimes, the most compelling testimony regarding how an injury affects a person doesn’t come from the injured plaintiff, but rather from someone close to them.

Ultimately, you should not be nervous about going to trial. It’s an opportunity.

If you’re at trial, likely, the trucking company and its insurance company don’t understand the gravity of your losses resulting from your crash. A trial is your one chance to show them.

Step 7: Resolution

Every case we have is resolved either by jury verdict or settlement. Even if a case has resulted in a jury verdict and judgment against the trucking company, the case may still end up being resolved via settlement. 

Why?

After a verdict for an injured victim, trucking companies will often appeal the result. They will allege that some problem prevented them from receiving a fair trial. Appeals can take several years to resolve.

A trucking insurance company may decide to settle a case post-verdict to avoid incurring additional attorney’s fees.

Once a case is resolved by jury verdict or settlement, your lawyers have additional work to do to ensure that the most amount of money possible ends up in your pocket. The most important thing your lawyers have to do, once a case against a trucking company has been settled, is to resolve any outstanding liens. 

Most often, these lien claims are made by healthcare providers and health insurers that may have paid some of your medical bills.

Questions? Contact Our Truck Accident Law Firm Today

The above timeline provides an outline of what a typical trucking case looks like. As with everything else in life, a trucking case’s timeline can vary based on your attorneys, your health, opposing attorneys, treating medical personnel, and the judge assigned to move your case along. 

At our firm, we strive to push your case to trial as quickly as we can, and we will not hesitate in using the court to help us do so.

If you ever have questions about what’s going on in your case or what you can expect coming down the pipeline, feel free to give us a call at (312) 578-9501.