Unlike the typical passenger vehicle, a truck, commonly known as the "big rig" or 18-wheeler, can weigh up to 80,000 pounds and stretch about 70 feet. Because of this tremendous difference in weight and size, the aftermath of a truck accident is likely to be severe and catastrophic injuries or even death.
What you do immediately following a truck accident will affect the strength of your compensation claim, including the amount you could receive for your losses and injuries. You must retain the services of an attorney to help you comprehend what to do after you sustain severe injuries in a truck accident to protect your rights and increase your chances of achieving adequate compensation.
Helpful Actions to Take After Sustaining Severe Injuries in a Truck Accident
Every personal injury case is different, but the damages and injuries you are likely to suffer following a truck accident as a driver or passenger of a typical car depend on factors such as:
- The truck's speed
- The truck's weight
- The type of cargo the truck was ferrying
- Safety features of your car
- The area of the accident incident
The aftermath of a truck accident can be frightening and confusing, but there are a few crucial steps you can take to protect and preserve your legal rights of seeking your deserved compensation. Apart from your current and future health worries, the financial losses you are likely to incur following a truck accident are tremendous.
Below we discuss top-notch tips to guide you on what to do after you sustain severe injuries in a truck accident:
Stay at the Scene
Following a vehicle accident, every driver involved must remain at the accident scene according to the law. When you drive away following a truck accident, you may affect your chances of achieving adequate compensation, and you might also face hit and run charges. You have a legal duty to provide the following information after a truck accident:
- Your name
- Your driving license registration details
- Your car registration number
Call 911 and Preserve Evidence
Because of the severe injuries and damages to your car, you must call 911 for emergency assistance. Once the police officers arrive, they will access the accident to determine any possible factors that could have led to the accident. When you call 911, you should provide the responding officer with as much information about the accident as you can, for example:
- Your location
- Whether the accident is dangerous, for example, when there is leaking oil
- The severity of your injuries
The police will document the accident scene and create a comprehensive report about the accident, which includes crucial information to help you seek compensation for your losses and damages, for example:
- Names of the parties involved
- Types of vehicles involved
- The registration numbers of the vehicle involved
- The current road conditions
Ensure you obtain a copy of the officer's accident scene report to help you strengthen your compensation claim. However, since you cannot rely on the officer's report only to build your compensation claim, you should also collect your evidence while at the accident scene.
Use your phone to preserve more evidence of the truck accident scene by recording videos or capturing pictures of your injuries and vehicles involved, including any logo or sign that might help you identify the trucking company.
When preserving your evidence on the accident scene, you should also consider speaking with a few eyewitnesses to hear their account about what could have possibly led to the accident. Ask one or two eyewitnesses to provide you with their contact details because their testimony in court can help you strengthen your case against the at-fault party.
Seek Medical Help
Often a truck accident will make you suffer severe injuries like burns, scarring, bone fractures, head injuries, lacerations, and even internal injuries. Some injuries following a truck accident, like internal injuries, might not show symptoms immediately, and they can be fatal. However, a reliable doctor will diagnose that health issue, using the right medical equipment for the best treatment.
Seeking medical evaluation right away following a truck accident helps you document your injuries and medical expenses, which will strengthen your compensation claim later. Ensure you keep your medical journal, which includes costs of all your medical expenses, including the money you will incur for Over the Counter (OTC) drugs and therapy sessions to prove the value of your claim.
Report the Truck Accident Incident to Your Insurer
You have a legal obligation to inform your auto insurer about every accident regardless of how minor it is. Even if you are certain that you aren't the at-fault party in the accident incident, you should file a report with your auto insurer as soon as you can following a truck accident because it is part of your insurance policy conditions.
You give your auto insurer the best opportunity to protect your interest in the vehicle damages when you report your truck accident case right away. However, when speaking with an insurance agent, you don't have to disclose every piece of information about the accident. Any information you choose to disclose to the insurance agent might compromise your chances of achieving adequate compensation for your vehicle damages.
Do Speak or Give Any Statements to the Trucking Company Insurer
If the truck driver or the trucking company sends an insurance adjuster to the accident scene, you should be careful about the information you choose to discuss with him/her. Anything you choose to discuss with the insurance adjuster can affect the strength of your compensation claim.
The truck driver or the trucking company insurers will use the information you choose to discuss with the adjuster to deny your compensation claim or reduce the amount you could receive in a settlement.
The insurance adjusters will act friendly and polite, but you have no legal obligation to speak to them. If possible, you should refuse to talk to them and insist on talking to an attorney. Further, the insurance adjuster may also ask you to give a recorded or written statement, but you don't have to do so without your attorney's legal advice.
Do Not Post on Social Media
Because of the nature and the severity of a truck accident, any collision incident is newsworthy. Therefore, you should expect to see articles, pictures, and videos of the accident scene on social media. However, it is wise to resist the urge to comment on any, even if people's opinions contradict the facts of the accident.
As a general rule, following a vehicle accident, you should avoid posting or sharing pictures and videos of the accident scene or your physical condition on social media. Anything you decide to post, share or comment on social media about the accident can be used as evidence against you in court to deny or reduce the possible compensation amount you may receive for your injuries and losses.
It is advisable to avoid using social media platforms until you discuss your truck's accident case with a defense attorney.
Keep a File of All Your Losses and Follow-up Your Treatment
Keep a receipt of your vehicle repair and maintenance costs, including the cost you will incur on hiring a vehicle to ease your movement before your car is back on the road. For fast recovery following a truck accident and proving to the court the extent of your injuries, you should follow up with your doctor's medical treatment advice.
When you go for a while without medical care or fail to follow your doctor's instructions, it can make it seem like your injuries were intentional or were not as severe as you claim, which will weaken your compensation claim.
Contact a Skilled and Well-Informed Personal Injury Attorney
The strength of your compensation claim will depend on the skills of the personal injury attorney you will have by your side during the claim process. The attorney you will decide to hire will investigate your truck's accident case and help you avoid making any possible mistake that can affect the value of your compensation claim.
A reliable and experienced attorney will know how to approach your specific truck accident case, depending on the facts available, to help you achieve adequate compensation for your losses and injuries. You will rely on your attorney through every claim process because of the complex legal rules and federal regulations that govern trucking companies and truck drivers' operations.
To find a reliable personal injury attorney who will dig deep into the truck's accident case to find valuable evidence that will work out in your favor, you consider the following factors:
a. The Attorney's Availability and Schedule
Don't assume the attorney you decide to hire will be free and flexible to dedicate quality time to your specific truck's accident case. If your prospective attorney has a tight work schedule, he/she may take your case, but you cannot expect him/her to dedicate adequate time to your specific case.
Look for an available attorney with a flexible work schedule to be certain of quality time and outstanding services for your case to achieve adequate compensation for injuries and losses arising from the truck accident.
b. The Attorney's Experience
Look for a credible attorney within your area of residence, considering his/her experience in truck accident cases. You will require an expert with significant experience in this legal field because truck accident cases differ from other typical car accident cases in several ways under the law.
An experienced attorney will understand how to calculate your current and possible future losses you may incur due to the impact of this accident to fight for sufficient compensation for your losses and injuries.
c. The Attorney's Reputation
An attorney with a credible reputation with his/her past client can give you the confidence to trust his/her services during your compensation claim process following a truck accident. Use the internet with your laptop or phone to check your prospective attorney's past client reviews and comments about his/her services to know what to expect when you hire him/her.
Recommendations from your family and friends can also help you find a reputable and reliable attorney for legal advice and representation during your compensation claim process after a truck accident.
Determine the At-Fault Party in the Truck Accident Incident
To collect adequate compensation for any losses following a truck accident, you must identify as many possible defendants as possible, which is not limited to the truck driver. The legal concept of negligence in personal injury cases does not only apply to the truck driver.
Negligence liability in a truck accident case can extend to other potential entities and people who were indirectly involved in the accident incident. Your attorney will help you identify all possible liable parties who should pay you damages/compensation for your losses arising from the truck accident. Below are possible liable or at-fault parties in a truck accident incident under the law:
a. The Truck Driver
Often it is the negligence of the truck driver that causes most accidents on the road. Most truck accidents occur when a truck driver fails to observe his/her reasonable duty of care or when he/she violates a traffic law designed to prevent these types of accidents. The court will consider the truck driver negligent in the truck accident case if any of the following is true:
- He/she was distracted while driving, for example, by playing with the car radio or texting
- He/she was speeding
- He/she was driving under the influence of alcohol or other illegal drugs
- He/she was changing lanes improperly
Also, it is not uncommon for truck drivers to cause an accident when they are under pressure by their employers to meet unrealistic deadlines. Because of this, truck drivers spend a lot of time driving long distances without rest which affects their concentration and ability to focus on the road like a cautious driver.
Under certain circumstances, you might also be able to hold the trucking company liable for the truck driver's mistake if he/she were operating within the scope of his/her employment during the accident incident according to vicarious liability legal theory.
b. The Trucking Company
The employer of the truck driver or the trucking company can also be accountable or liable for your losses and injuries arising from the accident. Sometimes, trucking companies recklessly or intentionally violate federal transportation rules and guidelines with intentions to increase their profit margins.
If any of these violations significantly contributed to the accident, the trucking company should be liable for all your losses and injuries. That would be possible if the cause of the truck accident were:
- Overloading trailers
- Unmaintained trucks
- Allowing their truck to carry unbalanced cargo
- Negligent hiring a trained and professional trucking driver
c. Other Parties
Apart from the truck driver and the trucking company, there a few other parties who could be liable for your injuries and losses resulting from the truck accident, for example:
- The truck manufacturer or parts manufacturer under strict product liability law if a defective part was contributing factor on the accident incident
- The state or the county government for unsafe or poor road conditions
As you can see, a truck accident case is complex than it may seem because there are more than two potential liable parties. Once you identify the party that is possibly liable for your injuries and losses in the truck accident incident, you should begin preparing your compensation claim ahead of time.
Decide How to Seek Your Compensation From the At-Fault/Liable Party
Typically, there are two ways you can choose to settle your compensation claim against the at-fault party following a truck accident. You may choose to settle your compensation claim through any of the following ways:
A Settlement Negotiation
Before you consider filing a lawsuit that is time-consuming and might attract some costs, you should consider negotiating with the at-fault party for a favorable and fair settlement of your damages arising from the truck accident. If you choose to resolve your compensation claim through settlement negotiation, you must give up your rights to seek compensation.
A Lawsuit
You have up to two years from the date of the truck accident occurrence to file your compensation claim against the at-fault party for your losses. Your attorney can file your injury lawsuit on your behalf while recovering and provide pieces of evidence to prove you deserve adequate compensation for your losses and injuries.
If everything goes well after the settlement or lawsuit, you might be eligible to receive compensation for the following types of losses:
- Pain and suffering
- Lost wages
- Medical expenses
- Lost earning capacity/capability
- Mental anguish and stress associated with your injuries
Find a Truck Accident Attorney Near Me
Skilled and profound attorneys at Los Angeles Personal Injury Attorney are dedicated to assisting innocent victims of truck accidents like you to achieve sufficient compensation for their losses and injuries. We invite you to call us at 424-231-2013 for legal assistance and representation on what to do after you sustain severe injuries in a truck accident.
