Why You Need a Hammond, IN Truck Accident Lawyer for a Fatal or Injury-Causing Crash

January 13, 2026

Trucks are involved in some of the most devastating collisions in Hammond and other major cities throughout Indiana, where they took the lives of 119 motorists and injured 1,610 others in 2023 alone, though the victims or their families could be compensated if somebody else is at fault. Moreover, the amount they obtain can be significantly larger if they secure the kind of skilled legal assistance available at Hensley Legal Group, PC, a dedicated Indiana personal injury law firm whose experienced attorneys have been fighting on behalf of the wrongfully injured since 1998. Read on to discover why you need a Hammond, IN truck accident lawyer for a fatal or injury-causing crash.

The Challenges of Pursuing a Truck Accident Case on Your Own

While you’re certainly entitled to pursue a case on your own, you should know that truck accidents present some of the greatest challenges in personal injury litigation thanks to the inherent complexity of the trucking industry. Many parties could play a role in even a single shipment by truck and might therefore be liable if somebody gets killed or injured, with typical defendants in truck-related claims including the:

Truck’s driver
Truck’s owner (if separate from the driver)
Company deploying the truck (if separate from the owner)
Cargo loader
Mechanic
Manufacturer, distributor, and retailer of a defective truck or component
Government agency with authority over a road in disrepair

Very often, multiple defendants will share varying degrees of legal and financial liability simultaneously for the same Hammond, IN truck accident, and you must go after each of them within the time allotted by law, known as the Statute of Limitations. Though the Statute is usually two years for motor vehicle accidents in Indiana, it could be much shorter in cases against the government, and you could be forever barred from full fiscal recovery if you don’t take action against everyone who bears responsibility before the Statute elapses.

And assuming you do manage to track down everyone who harmed you in a timely manner, a commercial truck could have upwards of $5 million in applicable insurance coverage or more depending upon what’s being hauled. That’s five million reasons for the insurance carriers to oppose you at every turn and do whatever it takes to find an excuse to resolve your claim for a fraction of its real value or simply deny it outright, which could leave you with little recourse if you’re already teetering on the brink of ruin.

Deal Yourself a Winning Hand with a Hammond, IN Truck Accident Attorney

But if the deck can frequently be stacked against you in the event of a trucking injury or death, you can deal yourself a winning hand with help from a knowledgeable Hammond, IN truck accident attorney.

This may be your first truck accident, but it definitely won’t be the first for a veteran lawyer, who will be far better equipped to identify the defendants and contend with their insurance companies, a big part of why 85 percent of the funds those companies pay out go to claimants with attorneys.

Once retained, your lawyer will launch a comprehensive investigation to unearth the root causes of the accident in question and the individuals and entities who contributed to it, then establish valid claims against them all and possibly file a lawsuit as well if the situation warrants it.

Your attorney will also move swiftly to amass the evidentiary materials necessary to build a rock-solid case, such as:

Police reports
Citations and dispositions
Crash site photos
Dash cam, streetlight, and surveillance videos
Black box data
Eyewitness statements
Phone records
Hours of Service (HOS) and maintenance logs
Forensic analysis and accident reconstruction

When faced with compelling proof of your damages and the insured’s negligence, a sensible insurer may choose to make a generous offer rather than risk a worse outcome at trial, though a battle-tested Hammond, IN truck accident lawyer will be indispensable if a trial can’t be avoided.

Whereas plaintiffs who represent themselves in the courtroom lose about 96 percent of their cases, plaintiffs who are represented by attorneys are statistically favored to prevail and could potentially be awarded verdicts that could get them back to normal.

Get in Touch with Our Hammond, IN Truck Accident Lawyers

Hensley Legal Group has been advocating tirelessly on behalf of hardworking Hoosiers just like you since the firm opened its doors more than a quarter century ago. If you’ve been badly hurt or lost a loved one because of a trucker’s recklessness on the Frank Borman Expressway or in some other location in the Hammond area, get in touch with our Hammond, IN truck accident lawyers to explore your legal options.

You can schedule a free case review with an accomplished Hammond, IN truck accident attorney by calling us at (317) 472-3333, chatting with us online, or filling out our contact form today.