What to Do After an Accident With a Semi Truck

Navigating the aftermath of an accident with a commercial truck can be an overwhelming experience. However, the steps you take at the accident scene and days after the crash can affect your ability to recover compensation for your damages. Your actions are critical to protecting your potential truck accident claim. Our truck accident lawyers highlight what to do after an accident with a semi-truck below.

 

Step 1: Check for Injuries and Call 9-1-1 to Report the Accident

Your first concern should be the safety and health of yourself and everyone involved in the accident. Before checking on passengers and other involved parties, check yourself for any visible injuries. Then, if you can, check on others.

Call 9-1-1 to report the accident and request emergency medical assistance if needed. Police will ensure that medical responders come to the accident scene. Additionally, police officers may come to the site, investigate the crash, and create a police report.

A police report is official legal documentation of the accident. It may include information about involved parties, witnesses, a summary of what happened, and other details of the crash.

 

Step 2: Gather and Exchange Important Information

You should exchange information with the semi-truck driver and any other involved parties. You should gather the following information:

  • Truck driver’s name
  • Contact information
  • Driver’s license number
  • Insurance company and policy number
  • Name and contact information of the driver’s employer
  • Commercial truck’s license plate number
  • Any other identifying information about the truck

Additionally, if there were any witnesses to the accident, request their names and contact information. Their statements may be essential for your claim.

 

Step 3: Document the Accident

Use your phone to take photographs and videos of the accident scene. By taking pictures, you are preserving evidence of the crash. This evidence may be critical to proving liability and protecting your potential truck accident claim.

Our semi-truck accident lawyers recommend taking photos of the following things:

  • Any visible injuries
  • Interior and exterior damage to your vehicle
  • Commercial truck
  • Nearby road signs or landmarks
  • Road conditions
  • Weather conditions

 

Step 4: Get Medical Attention

After you leave the accident scene, you should get a complete medical evaluation as soon as possible. Even if you feel fine, a medical evaluation is critical for a couple of reasons. First, you want to ensure that you get medical treatment if you have internal injuries or injuries that are not showing immediate symptoms.

Second, you want medical documentation. Medical documentation is critical for proving that your injuries resulted from the semi-truck accident.

 

Step 5: Consult With a Commercial Truck Accident Attorney

Commercial truck accident cases can be complex. Semi-truck accidents typically result in catastrophic injuries or death, so damages are generally significant. Additionally, many parties are typically responsible for ensuring a truck is safe and may be liable for your damages.

A semi-truck accident attorney can help you understand your legal rights and protect your claim from the beginning. Your attorney can help you preserve critical evidence, talk and negotiate with insurance companies, and fight for your right to compensation.

 

Schedule a Free Case Review With Our Semi Truck Accident Lawyers

Have you or a loved one suffered damages in a commercial truck accident? You may be entitled to compensation for your damages, such as medical bills and lost wages. Contact our semi-truck accident lawyers to discuss your legal options during a free, no-obligation consultation.

At Karns & Karns Personal Injury and Accident Attorneys, we fight for California, Nevada, and Texas accident victims to help them secure the compensation they need and deserve. Call us at (888) 779-1180 or contact us online to discuss your situation today.

 

Related Blogs:

Before Hiring a Truck Accident Attorney, Ask These 4 Important Questions

truck injury lawyers

Truck drivers provide a very important service in society. They impact the lives of every citizen and impact daily life and needs, most especially if they are not able to do their job. Operating a truck requires specific skills set and more so commitment and dedication. And these are the sacrifices 3.5 million truck drivers in the US make.

And it is just right to have a truck accident injury lawyer by your side when the unfortunate truck accident happens. You need a lawyer for a truck accident that will work with you and build a case that will increase the probability of getting the maximum possible claims and compensation that you deserve.

With so many truck injury lawyers that you could hire, there are 4 important questions that you need to ask. This is to guide you on who to hire, who to trust and who will represent you in this challenging period of your life.

What Are The Experiences That You Had In Representing Truck Wreck Cases?

Just like there is a unique skills set that truck drivers have, you should also look for a lawyer for truck accident lawyers who have specific skills set in handling truck wreck cases. The more cases that they have handled and the more wins that they have, the better chances for you to get what you want. This shows that they have the experience, knowledge and resources to handle your case. And this spells a big difference in your choice for a lawyer for a truck accident.

How Long Does My Case Take To Be Resolved?

Any cases may take months to be resolved. There may be a number of tweaks that will happen as your truck injury lawyer looks and investigates the details of the accident. These include all evidence, documents (medical bills, diagnosis, recommended medical intervention), opinions of experts and specialists and even policy details of insurance companies.

No law office could you provide or guarantee you a date or number of months for your case to be resolved. But truck injury lawyers may provide you a realistic insight on what will happen from the time you hired them; from what things to be done to what challenges that may arise. You will also know how each of these challenges impact the timeline in resolving your case.

Setting expectations of both parties is a crucial part in your process of hiring a truck accident attorney. Don’t hire anyone unless this is done.

Will My Lawyer Always Be Available When I Need To Talk With Them?

Remember that you are a prospective client and as any client, the provider of service will promise you the moon and the stars, they will say yes to all the questions you want to be answered by a yes.

However, as a client, you would like to be assured that your lawyer will always be available when you need them. This means they will be able to answer you directly or get back to you once they are available.

A responsive attorney gives you the peace of mind that they are working on your case the best that they can. When you call them for updates or details of the proceedings they will be able to provide all information with full transparency.

So you need to be wary of this. You need to check on previous clients of the same case and see what they say about the experience that they had with the law firm. Take advantage of the internet and browse for testimonials and feedback. With this you will be able to gauge the communication style and responsiveness of your lawyer for truck accidents.

How Much Will It Cost Me To Avail The Services?

Majority of truck accident injury lawyers will not collect any fees unless they win your case. This is good news as there are a number of expenses that you are shouldering while you are in the process of fighting for your claims and compensation.

As in any relationship, transparency is a must and this is one way trust could be built. So, ask the questions “what’s in it for them” considering they will be providing time and resources for the firm to work on your case.

Ask what the fee structure looks like. What are the other expenses that may be part of the final bill? What are court fees? How about the expert fees? How will this affect the net claims or compensation that you may have after settlement or winning the case in court.

The answers should be specific. There will be red flags if you feel that the answers are vague and that they are trying to deviate to discuss these fees. In such a case, you should start looking for another representation.

Call Karns & Karns Personal Injury and Accicent Attorneys Today And Be Empowered

Take action, pick up the phone and be informed. Get all the answers and ask all the questions to start working on your case. Time is of the essence and your choice and decision will spell the big difference on the success or failure of your case.

What to Say to Your Insurance Company After a Car or Semi-Truck Accident

After being involved in a car accident, you might experience a whirlwind of emotions and it can be quite terrifying. Even if you are lucky enough to not be seriously hurt, the stress, worry and anxiety after a car accident feels awful, and could lead you to act or speak in a way that might compromise your best interests when it comes to your case.

In fact, your insurance company or that of the other driver might be waiting for you to say the wrong thing. For example, apologizing at the scene might feel natural to you if the other driver has been hurt or their car is wrecked. But while you might be saying sorry just to be nice, insurance companies might take this as an admission of fault and hold you liable for the accident, even if you weren’t at fault.

 

What to Say to the Insurance Company After an Accident

You will likely get a call from the claim adjuster from your insurance company around a few days after the accident, in which they will want to get more information on the details of what happened. It’s important to bear in mind that insurance companies are looking out for themselves rather than you. Because of this, you need to be prepared for them to be looking out for any reasons to reduce your payout as much as they can. The best way to avoid giving them anything to use to do this is to say nothing at all and hire an experience personal injury attorney.  If you find that you must provide a statement keep your conversation as short and to the point as possible. Some tips to keep in mind include:

Give General Information

When speaking to your insurance company, you are only obligated to provide general or basic details about the accident. This includes personal information about yourself such as your name, the type of car you were driving when the accident happened, the other cars involved, the names of other people involved in the accident, where the accident happened, when it happened, and information on the other driver’s insurance company.

 

Don’t Provide a Recorded Statement

You are not under any legal obligation to provide a recorded statement to your insurance company. It is important to avoid recording a final verbal statement, without consulting a good car accident or personal injury lawyer beforehand, who can help you do this in a way that is in the best interests of your case.

 

Don’t Be Too Specific

Even if you have got medical attention after being involved in the accident and are aware of the extent of your injuries, it is important to avoid giving a detailed description of them or providing a final statement regarding your injuries to the insurance company. This is because after a car crash, injuries may appear later down the line, especially if you have internal injuries that are not always obvious. Along with this, there is also the risk of your current injuries escalating into something more serious.

 

What You Should Never Say After a Car Accident

Whether you are talking to the insurance company, the other driver involved, or witnesses at the scene, it’s important to choose your words carefully after a car accident. The vocabulary that you use could lead to problems with your case after a car accident, even if you said them innocently or meaning well. Some things that you should always avoid saying after a car accident include:

Sorry

Even if you are simply the type of person who apologizes a lot and you feel bad for the other driver involved, apologizing to them is always a bad idea. Even if you think that you might be at fault for the accident, don’t say sorry to the other driver. This is because any witnesses to the interaction might see this as an admission of guilt or taking responsibility for the accident.

 

That You Don’t Have an Attorney

If you are contacted by your insurance company before you have had the chance to get in touch with us here at Karns & Karns Personal Injury & Accident Attorneys, the last thing you should do is admit to them that you don’t have a lawyer yet. If your insurance company knows that you do not have any legal representation, they might try to reduce your compensation. For example, they may offer a quick settlement, which will typically be significantly lower than the amount you could have received.

 

Let’s Handle It Ourselves

You should always tell your insurance company about any car accidents that you are involved in. It’s not uncommon if you have a minor crash that only causes a little bit of damage to your car, and has not led to any serious injuries, to consider simply not telling your insurance company about it, getting the cars fixed and getting on with your life. However, it’s important to resist the urge to avoid reporting a car accident, especially if it was only a fender bender. The truth is that you may be due compensation for any crash, and not reporting a car accident to your insurance company will only make it harder to receive the payout you are owed.

If you’ve been involved in a car crash, then it’s important to carefully choose the words you use at the scene and when talking to your insurance company. Get in touch with our experienced lawyers today if you need advice on what to say. Call us at 877-557-4221.