What To Do After A Truck Accident
One of the most dangerous types of accidents involves trucks. These automobiles are massive compared to other vehicles, making the potential for life-threatening injuries much higher.
A truck accident can be a scary, confusing, and painful experience. It can be difficult in the minutes, hours, and days after an accident to know what to do or who to talk to, especially if you are facing severe injuries or damages.
The experienced and knowledgeable Nashville personal injury lawyers at Mitch Grissim & Associates understand how traumatic this type of accident can be and are here to help.
Call the office or contact us today if you or a loved one has been involved in a truck accident in the Nashville area to schedule a free case evaluation with an experienced attorney.
Knowing what to do after a truck accident can ensure safety for yourself, your passengers, and your financial future. These are the steps you need to take after a truck crash.
Check for Injuries
Since truck accidents are so dangerous, it is important to check on the safety of everyone in your car. Is anyone in a dire position that they need to be removed from immediately? Even if there are no obvious injuries, there could be internal issues that will need medical treatment once emergency services arrive.
Knowing the condition of everyone in the car will be important once you contact emergency services.
Attempt to get to Safety
Although the damage after a truck accident could make this impossible, trying to get yourself, your vehicle, and your passengers to a safe area off the road could save your life. Turn on your hazard lights and see if you can pull over to prevent further car crashes from occurring at the scene.
Again, this step may not be possible due to the damage caused by the truck crash and if that is the case, skip to step three.
Contact Emergency Responders
The next step after a truck accident is to contact emergency responders about the crash. Provide as much detail as you can about the location of the collision and remain on the accident scene until they arrive.
Truck accident victims may need to seek medical treatment immediately, and alerting emergency services about the collision as quickly as possible could make the difference in saving a life.
Cooperate with Police Officers
Once police officers arrive, give them your contact information and help them with whatever they need to fill out an accident report. An accident report can be critical evidence in a later truck accident lawsuit, as it may include witness statements that strengthen your case.
When the police arrive, they will conduct an accident investigation where they speak with other parties, take a recorded or written statement from you and any truck drivers in the collision, and document the scene themselves.
Whatever you do, do not admit fault when speaking with either the police, the other driver, or any other drivers that may have witnessed the event. Doing so could prevent you from recovering fair compensation when you file your claim.
Exchange Information with the Truck Driver
At this point, you will need to get information from the truck driver as well as share your insurance company details. This includes the driver’s insurance company, the truck driver’s license number, the truck driver’s employer, and contact information for all of the various parties.
Truck companies will likely do what it takes to protect their driver from liability and avoid making a large payout, so having this information is important in truck accident cases.
Your insurance adjuster will need this information to start evaluating an insurance claim that you intend to make after the truck accident.
Document the Scene
You should also take this time to document the scene of the accident. Take photos and videos of the accident, including the vehicle involved, the intersection, mile marker, exit ramps, or another identifier of location, the time of day, weather conditions, and anything else that may be relevant to a later case.
You should also document the extent of your injuries, and gather the contact information of any witnesses to the accident before you leave the scene. Every piece of information is important for negotiating with the insurance company or trucking company of the driver at fault.
Collect evidence because it will assist an experienced truck accident lawyer with your case, and the more empirical data you have from the accident scene, the more compelling your evidence will be. Be proactive by documenting everything from license plate numbers to the names of the parties involved.
Seek Medical Attention Immediately
This step happens after leaving the scene of a truck accident as well as during. Seeking medical treatment as soon as possible is key to finding any hidden or minor injuries that you may have suffered that are harder to spot.
A Quick Diagnosis is Crucial
This is important for two reasons: first, it allows a medical professional to properly diagnose and begin treatment for your injuries. There are some types of serious injuries, like internal bleeding, which do not present symptoms right away but do require that you seek medical attention.
Contemporaneous Documentation
Second, seeking immediate medical attention creates contemporaneous medical documentation about the extent of your injuries right after they occurred. One of the most common methods of diminishing a personal injury case is for insurers to claim that the victim was not as hurt as they say. Contemporaneous medical documentation can eliminate these claims by insurers and help preserve the full and fair value of a case for an injury victim.
Assessing Damages
Injuries also play a large role in the level of damages you can pursue for your truck accident claim. High medical bills, lost wages as a result of the injury, physical therapy, and other medical expenses are all examples of financial losses that you can incur due to truck accidents.
With the help of a personal injury attorney who handles truck accidents, you have the right to pursue personal injury claims to recover any losses that resulted from the collision, no matter if they are minor or catastrophic injuries.
Call Your Insurance Company
Informing your insurance carrier about the truck accident is another step that you should remember.
They will ask questions about the truck accident case to get a clearer picture of how the accident happened, the types of vehicles involved, the trucking companies that own the commercial vehicle, and other subjects that are relevant to this investigation.
In the event of a regular car accident, insurance companies will play a large role in the negotiations, and the same is true of a trucking accident. You may need your vehicle appraised after the incident, and insurance can help you organize that.
Talk to a Truck Accident Lawyer
Finally, you must speak with a knowledgeable and experienced truck accident attorney about your case. An attorney knows what your case is worth and will not let you settle for less.
We Can Handle the Details
From the moment you hire a truck accident lawyer from our law firm, all badgering calls from the insurers stop, and they must direct everything to your attorney. A lawyer can negotiate with the insurance companies, and if they refuse to settle for a fair amount, an attorney can take your case to trial.
A personal injury lawyer at our law firm will offer a free consultation to discuss your case and answer any questions you may have. They can share their legal opinion to guide you through the decision-making process. If you choose to become a client, our licensed attorney will then provide legal advice throughout the claims process.
Your Needs Come First
There is no limit to the value that an experienced lawyer brings to the table as you navigate the legalities of a truck accident claim. Our team believes in the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship, which means you can trust us to keep your interests as a top priority.
Contact Our Office
Peace of mind is hard to find after a traumatic event, especially if you are severely injured and hurting financially. That is why we offer a free case evaluation before agreeing to work together. We want you to feel secure in your decision and confident that our team will defend your rights under Tennessee law.
Do not attempt to go through this process alone. You deserve the best chance at recovering damages to reduce the financial impact that the accident has had on your life. For optimal success, legal representation can help you win the highest possible settlement for your claim.
Call Today to Defend Your Rights
If you or a family member has been injured in a Nashville truck accident, the skilled personal injury lawyers at Mitch Grissim & Associates are here to help. Call the office or contact us today to schedule a free consultation.
