If you are wondering what to do after a truck accident, you should first contact 9-1-1, seek medical evaluation for your injuries, contact your insurance company, gather evidence related to your truck accident, and consider visiting with a trucking accident attorney following your truck accident.
Contact 9-1-1
If you suffered any kind of injuries or property damage to your vehicle following a trucking accident, you should first contact 9-1-1. This will allow a complete and independent police report to occur, which will often include traffic citations. These traffic citations against a negligent party can help prove liability and responsibility for the accident in order to help a victim receive compensation for their injuries and losses. Always request a copy of the police report from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) after the police officer completes the investigation.
Seek Medical Evaluation for Your Injuries
If you suffered any kind of injuries resulting from a truck accident, you should seek immediate medical evaluation. In many cases, if you call the police department to the scene of a truck accident, they will also contact emergency ambulance services. These medical professionals can help you make a determination if you need to visit an emergency room. Even if you do not visit an emergency room immediately, you should always visit your own healthcare provider as soon as possible following a truck accident. Many injuries do not show symptoms until hours or days following the accident due to adrenaline and stress. Some of these injuries may even develop into medically life-threatening issues or challenges if they do not receive immediate treatment. Additionally, if you have already sought out medical evaluation and care, but have recurring symptoms that worsen, or new symptoms that develop, you should re-visit your health care provider as soon as possible.
Contact Your Insurance Company
You should contact your insurance company following your truck accident. While it remains important to alert the insurance company of your involvement in a truck accident, it also remains critical to realize that the insurance company agent or representative may take this time to attempt to manipulate the conversation in order to attempt to lower any settlement offers. If you make the decision to visit with an insurance representative make sure to remember the following tips:
- Never allow an insurance representative to record your conversation, as any part of your conversation could result in a lowered settlement offer.
- Never allow an insurance representative access to your full medical history, as something from your past could be an opportunity for an insurance company to indicate that your current injuries are not from the accident, but as the result of a pre-existing condition.
- In some cases, an insurance company representative will attempt to visit with you regarding your accident while you are still in the hospital or on certain medications and attempt to manipulate the conversation so that you possibly inaccurately admit liability or responsibility for the accident.
- Conversations that you have with your insurance company can include “small talk” in which an insurance agent can ask seemingly innocent questions such as “How are you?” If you answer “Fine” to such questions, it can be often used to indicate that your injuries were not as serious as you claim.
Gather Documents
You should take the time to consider all of the types of compensation that you may have the legal right to receive as a result of your truck accident. Some of the types of information and documentation that you should gather include the following:
- Employer Information. Request that your employer provide you information regarding any wages that you lost as a result of missing work due to your injuries from a truck accident. Additionally, you may have also lost vacation and sick leave that you took while healing from the injuries resulting from your accident. Visiting with your employer may also help you understand how you have lost possible employee benefits or pension contributions, missed bonuses, or lost promotional potential due to your absence at work.
- Medical Information. You may have the legal right to your doctor bills, diagnostic testing, hospitalizations, surgeries, medical therapy, physical therapy, mental health therapy, and more.
- Property Damage. Keep all records of any repairs to your vehicle or the cost to replace your vehicle.
Consider Visiting with a Trucking Accident Lawyer Regarding Your Case
You likely have many more questions regarding what to do after a truck accident. According to California’s statute of limitations laws, a victim only has two years from the date of the accident in order to file a claim. A trucking accident lawyer at Pintas & Mullins Law Firm at (800) 223-5115 can help you answer all of your questions, negotiate with insurance companies on your behalf, help you determine how much compensation you may have a right to under the law, and ensure your legal rights remain protected.