This weekend, I will be in Atlanta, Georgia, speaking at a seminar for the Association of Interstate Trucking Lawyers of America (AITLA) called, “How to Win Big in the Tough Trucking Case.” My topic is “Maximizing Personal Injury Damages in Trucking Cases.”
As a member of the AITLA board of governors and president of the American Association for Justice Interstate Truck Litigation Group, I’ve seen a problem that many lawyers have in truck accident cases: They spend all of their time proving liability or trying to find all of the insurance, while neglecting to properly document the personal injury damages case.
Proving liability and finding insurance are critical in handling a truck accident case, but a truck accident lawyer must also properly document the personal injury damages case to maximize the pain and suffering damages for his or her client.
It helps to think of the truck accident case as a stool. One leg of the stool is liability. The second leg is finding all of the insurance. The third leg, which is often ignored, is to properly document all of the injuries and damages the client has suffered. Without all three legs, the stool — and the truck accident case — will not stand.
On a related note, in properly documenting all of the injuries and personal injury damages from a truck accident case, attorneys are performing a vital service for their seriously injured clients. We live in a difficult world of managed care, where many people who are injured in semi-truck accidents often do not receive necessary medical tests and referrals to specialists. So by ensuring that accident victims are treated for all of their injuries, lawyers are helping their clients obtain the medical treatment they need to make the best recovery possible.
Association of Interstate Trucking Lawyers of America Seminar Details
Here are the topics that will be covered during the truck accident lawyers seminar.
October 24:
* What the Defense Doesn’t Want You to Know
* Discovery: Unearthing the Heart of the Case
* Overcoming the Independent Contractor Defense
* GDPS Compliance
* The Effective Use of Subpoenas to Obtain, Use and Present Critical Documents in Every Interstate Trucking Case
* The Hazardous Materials Interstate Trucking Case
* Foundation Brakes, ABS and Traction Control
* Effectively Using the Commercial Drivers License Manual in Deposition and Trial
* Anatomy of a Truck Catastrophe
October 25:
* Conservatively Presenting Full-Value Economic and Medical Damages
* Traumatic Brain Injuries in Interstate Trucking Cases
* Application of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for Trucking Collisions
* North American Free Trade Agreement
* Accident Reconstruction in Trucking Cases from the Attorney’s Perspective — Preservation to Cross-Examination
* Using the Defendant’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulation Violations to Increase the Probability of Victory in the Interstate Trucking Case
* Use of State-of-the-Art Technology in Investigating Trucking Accidents
* Out-of-Service Vehicles and Commonly Found Mechanical Defects That Should Show Up During the Standard Driver’s Pre-Trip Inspection
* The Road to AITLA Board Certification
* Motor Carrier Liability Insurance
* Protecting Your Client
Oct. 26
* Maximizing Results for Your Client in Trucking Cases through Pre-Litigation Steps and Strategies
* Financing of Litigation and Law Firms
* Drugs, Alcohol and Trucks: Understanding the Law and the Rules of Evidence
* Statutory Employer Rule for Motor Carriers
– This post was written by Steve Gursten, managing partner of Michigan Auto Law. Visit Steve Gursten’s LinkedIn profile.
Michigan Auto Law exclusively handles car accident, truck accident and motorcycle accident cases throughout the entire state of Michigan. We have offices in Farmington Hills, Detroit, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Sterling Heights.
Related information:
Lawyer Guide: Pursuing Auto Accident Injury Claims in Michigan
Why Winning Michigan Auto Accident Cases Has Become So Challenging
