What To Do After You Were Injured In a Truck Accident
If you recently got into a truck accident, the next steps you take are crucial. Getting into an accident with a tractor trailer, big rig, or semi-truck is a unique circumstance. It is far different than getting into an accident with other drivers on the road. Truck accidents can cause the injured party to sustain much more serious damage than they might from a regular car accident. While getting into a car accident can be stressful and scary, getting into an accident with a truck can increase these worries tenfold. For more information on what to do after you were involved in an accident with a truck, read on!
Board Certified Truck Accident Law Attorney Robert “Bob” Byrne
What Critical Steps Should I Take After the Accident?
There are a few critical steps you should take after you were involved in a truck accident. These steps are:
- Assess Yourself For Injuries. The most important thing you can do after being involved in an accident is to determine whether you sustained any injuries. Are you bleeding? Do you have any broken bones? Check also those who are with you or around you. If your injuries are serious enough or if others around you are injured, call 9-1-1 as soon as you can to receive medical treatment. Even if you are unsure of the injuries you sustained immediately, many types of brain trauma, spine trauma, or other injuries do not present immediately or are not immediately apparent. Because of the severity of truck crashes, you can expect that others probably called emergency responders even before you did. You should seek medical treatment when you are finished at the scene.
- Get To Safety. It is imperative that you get yourself out of harm’s way as soon as possible. Truck crashes tend to cause far more damage that car accidents, so there is a good chance that your vehicle is not drivable. If your vehicle is drivable, you may need to move it out of the way of danger. Only move passengers who are un-injured unless you are medically trained to do so. You do not want to risk causing additional harm to them by worsening injuries that they have.
- Contact the Proper Authority. When you have looked at your injuries and moved your vehicle into a safe area, call the police and emergency vehicles if needed. Be prepared to give them a statement of the moments leading up to the accident, and provide them with the facts. This is not the time to hypothesize about what the other driver was doing. Again, in a truck crash scenario, it is very likely the case that police will be at the scene from another caller.
- Exchange Information With Others Involved In the Accident. It is important to get the names, numbers, and insurance information of any other driver who was involved in the truck accident. Because trucks require different insurance information, the cargo, the tractor, and the trailer might all have separate insurance information. If you are able, take a photo of the driver’s side door of the commercial truck that caused the crash. That vehicle should have considerable identifying information, including the name of the motor carrier, the DOT number for the motor carrier, and other helpful and important information.
What Causes Truck Accidents?
There are many causes of truck accidents. In many cases, it is due to driver error. Some of these are:
- Driving recklessly, especially in light of surrounding traffic and weather;
- Driving an excessive speed, especially considering the traffic conditions, the road conditions, or the weather;
- Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
- Driving distracted, such as by using a phone for texting, calling, scrolling social media, or watching videos;
- Driving while fatigued, particularly when the driver has exceeded the permissible hours of service for a driver;
- Driving while ill, particularly when the illness impacts the ability to drive or react to emerging conditions.
In addition to driver-related causes of crashes, many crashes can be due to problems with the trucks themselves, including:
- Driving a tractor trailer or other commercial vehicle that his malfunctioning or defective brakes;
- Driving a commercial truck that has steering problems that prevent the truck drive from responding to obstacles;
- Not having a vehicle with working lights or windshield wipers, either of which can impact visibility and prevent the driver from properly observing the road, other motorists, and hazards ahead;
- Driving a truck that is not equipped with collision avoidance technology or collision mitigation technology, in which case there may be a product liability claim against the truck manufacturer;
- Having a collision avoidance or collision mitigation technology system that malfunctions and is defective and fails to avoid an otherwise preventable collision from occurring, in which case there may be a products liability claim against both the collision avoidance technology company and the truck manufacturer that installed it;
- Driving a truck with bald or damaged tires that impair traction or otherwise cause the truck to lose control and cause an accident.
What Kind of Compensation Is There With Truck Accident Claims?
Although it depends on the injuries you sustained after the accident, it is possible to receive compensation for a variety of categories of harms and losses that you suffer as a result of a tractor trailer crash. You may be entitled to economic damages for your out-of-pocket expenses, like medical expenses, lost wages, and property damage. You may also be entitled to noneconomic damages for things like pain and suffering (both past and future), inconvenience (past and future), mental anguish (past and future), and disfigurement with associated embarrassment.
Can a Lawyer Help Me File a Claim?
For a legal consultation with a personal injury lawyer, call 434-817-3100
When seeking compensation for a personal injury after a truck accident, a truck accident lawyer Harrisonburg, VA trusts at MartinWren, PC will be incredibly valuable to your case. If you have any further questions regarding personal injuries from truck accidents, speak with one of our attorneys today.
Robert “Bob” Byrne from MartinWren, P.C. is a Board Certified Truck Accident Law attorney, as certified by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Let Bob and his team help you if you have been injured in a truck accident case.
Call 434-817-3100 or complete a Case Evaluation form
