Truck drivers provide an invaluable service for consumers by transporting goods across states and even across the country. Sharing the road with these massive vehicles can feel intimidating, and car drivers need to be aware of their surroundings in the event of an accident.
A semi-truck accident can have serious repercussions for everyone involved simply due to the sheer mass of these vehicles. These instances can leave you with severe, lifelong injuries and can even be fatal.
Knowing what to do after a semi-truck accident can help you protect your rights as a driver and ensure that you recover from your injuries. Compass Law Group, LLP has the knowledge and expertise to help you out. We’ll go over the typical causes of a truck accident, potential injuries, and what you need to do afterward to keep yourself and others safe.
Common Causes of Truck Accidents
If you find yourself in an accident with a truck, many people will jump to place blame on a certain party. However, not all truck accidents are the fault of a driver. These accidents can have a variety of causes, some of them being external factors out of either driver’s control. Some of the most common causes of truck accidents include:
- Fatigue: Many truck drivers are pressured by their company to drive through the night and work long days to get their cargo where it needs to be. While there are laws in place that require truck drivers to rest for a certain amount of time, the long workdays can still leave them tired. Fatigue can impact a driver’s reaction time and reflexes, increasing the risk of a collision.
- Distracted Driving: Driving a car or truck requires complete focus and attention on the road in front of you. Using a cell phone, changing the music, or communicating through the truck’s radio system can take their attention away from the road, leading to a potential accident.
- Intoxication: Driving a truck under the influence of alcohol or other substances leads to poor reflexes and reckless driving behaviors that put everyone on the road in danger. Having a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) over 0.04% as a commercial driver is grounds for legal charges.
- Reckless Driving: Reckless driving behaviors put everyone on the road at risk. Things such as speeding, swerving, and tailgating other drivers increase the risk of getting into an accident.
- Poor Vehicle Maintenance: Routine truck maintenance ensures everything is working properly and there are no hidden issues. Skipping maintenance services can put truck drivers at risk of a malfunction or breakdown while on the road, leading to a potentially serious accident.
- Weather Conditions: Strong winds, heavy rainfall, snow, and other weather patterns can make roads slippery and decrease a driver’s field of vision. For semi-truck drivers, strong winds can hit the side of the truck and push it around like a kite, making the drive more treacherous and potentially leading to an accident.
- Poor Road Maintenance: Potholes, cracks, and damaged road conditions can lead to a semi-truck accident. Improper road maintenance can also lead to poor road signage or markings.
What to Do After a Truck Accident
Getting into a motor vehicle accident involving a truck can feel overwhelming and scary. Knowing what to do can help you prepare in case it happens to you so you know exactly what to do.
In the event of an accident involving a semi-truck, here are some steps you need to follow immediately afterward to keep yourself and others safe:
Take Immediate Action
First things first, take a deep breath and remain calm. Panicking won’t help the situation, so take a moment to collect yourself. From there, make sure you’re safe and not in any immediate danger. Call 911 to report the accident, and they’ll send the police and emergency medical services to your location.
Collect Evidence
Once you know you’re safe, start gathering whatever evidence you can related to the accident. This can include getting the other driver’s contact information, talking to eyewitnesses, and taking photos of the scene. Take pictures of your vehicle, any injuries, the surrounding area, and any skid marks on the road from tire marks.
Work with Insurance and Local Authorities
Once the police arrive, cooperate with them to file a police report. This report will also go to your insurance provider when you file your claim. Be careful with what you say to the officer, as you don’t want to accidentally admit fault or say something that could be used against you. Remain neutral, don’t try to pin blame, and stick to a factual recount of the accident from your perspective.
Seek Medical Attention
Regardless of the severity of your injuries, you need to seek medical attention as soon as possible. Minor symptoms can indicate more serious problems that are hidden, so a thorough medical examination will make sure you’ve got a clean bill of health. Plus, these medical records can be used as evidence when you file your personal injury claim.
Legal Steps After an Accident
Once the dust has settled and you’re not in any immediate danger, the next step is to start navigating the legal system. If you want to file a legal claim and receive financial compensation for the damages caused by the accident, you need to know how to build a strong legal case and what needs to happen.
The first hurdle to cross is determining who’s liable for the accident. The party found at fault for the incident will be responsible for the damages, so you want to make sure you pin down the right one.
The potentially liable parties for a truck accident can include the truck driver, the trucking company, the truck maintenance company, the cargo loaders, or even the manufacturers who made the truck parts. Determining fault depends on the circumstances surrounding the accident.
Another factor to keep in mind is the statute of limitations for the accident. In California, truck accident victims have 2 years from the date of the accident to file their personal injury claim. If you wait longer than that, the court will not take your claim, and you won’t be able to earn any financial compensation for the damages.
Navigating the legal system on your own can feel like walking through a maze with no direction of where to go. A truck accident lawyer such as Compass Law Group, LLP can help point you in the right direction and make sure your case is solid and ready to go. They will help you collect evidence from the accident, handle negotiations with insurers, and fight to make sure you get the maximum compensation you deserve.
Compass Law Group, LLP works off a contingency fee structure, meaning you as the client don’t pay for our legal services unless we win your case. When we win, the legal fees will be covered by the compensation you earn.
Types of Injuries Commonly Sustained in Truck Accidents
Since semi-trucks are industrial-grade steel vehicles traveling at high speeds, the repercussions of a collision can be catastrophic. Truck accident injuries can range in severity, and they can impact your life both physically and mentally. Common injuries victims experience after a truck accident include:
- Physical Injuries: The force of impact from a truck collision can lead to significant physical injuries that leave you in a drastic amount of pain. Truck accident victims can experience traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, fractured or broken bones, and lacerations and burns.
- Emotional and Mental Repercussions: Living through a traumatic event such as a semi-truck accident can take a toll on your mental health, leading to the development of PTSD, depression, and anxiety.
- Long-Term Effects: Both physical and mental injuries from an accident can last for months or even years. You could experience chronic pain, short-term disability, long-term disability, and a loss of income from being unable to work.
Investigating a Truck Accident Claim
When you file a truck accident claim, part of the process involves a complete investigation of the incident to get as many details as possible. The more details, the stronger the claim and the more compensation you can potentially receive.
The first thing that needs to be looked into is the laws and regulations set up by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). This government organization enforces strict rules on truck drivers to keep them and others on the road safe. One of these regulations includes an Hours of Service restriction that limits how long a driver is allowed to safely work at a time. This is in place to prevent driver fatigue while behind the wheel.
Another piece of the puzzle for a proper investigation involves collecting evidence from the truck driver. This can include driver logs, drug test results, and vehicle maintenance records. They may also collect data from the truck’s black box, which is essentially a record of everything the truck was doing leading up to the accident.
Collecting this evidence from the truck can take some time, especially if the trucking company is resistant to cooperating with the investigation. You may also need to acquire a subpoena to summon the trucking company to court.
Steps to Take for Financial Recovery
Financial compensation after a serious truck accident is meant to help you financially recover from the incident. When medical bills and other expenses pile up, this money is meant to ease the burden. To calculate your compensation amount, you’ll need to take into account any damages sustained from the accident, including:
- Medical Bills
- Long-Term Medical Care
- Lost Wages and Future Earnings
- Property Damage
- Pain and Suffering
Once you have this estimated amount, insurance companies are going to fight you at every turn. At the end of the day, they’re a business, and they don’t want to lose money. They will try to lowball you or scare you into settling for a smaller compensation.
This is where strong legal representation comes into the picture. A truck accident lawyer will know every tactic in the book from insurance companies, and they know the tricks to negotiate the right settlement amount for you.
Preventing Truck Accidents
While this whole article feels rather doom and gloom, it’s not all helpless. You can practice simple driving behaviors that will keep you safe and reduce the risk of getting into an accident with a truck. These practices apply to both car drivers and trucking companies—this way everyone on the road makes it home safe.
- For Drivers: Drive carefully around semi-trucks and be aware of your surroundings. Avoid driving in a truck’s blind spot, don’t tailgate them, and give yourself ample space to react in the event something happens.
- For Trucking Companies: Semi-truck drivers need proper, extensive training on safe truck operations. In addition, trucks need regular maintenance services to keep everything running smoothly and prevent breakdowns while on the road.
Contact Compass Law Group to Secure Justice After a Truck Accident
After living through a terrifying truck accident, you need all the help you can get to make sure you get justice. Having a legal team in your corner will help you navigate the legal system and make sure your rights are protected.
When you need expert legal counsel, look no further than Compass Law Group, LLP. Our team of experienced truck accident attorneys will fight for your rights so you get the maximum compensation you deserve. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation and see what legal options you have.
