How To Get Fully Compensated After A Serious Truck Injury

 Road accidents are a terrible thing to witness whether you are involved in one or they happen on the road you are on. While accidents between cars can also be extremely dangerous, those that involve heavy traffic are especially violent. Whether that is a lorry, a commercial vehicle, or a semi, these are vehicles that can easily crush smaller vehicles and motorcycles. Usually, semis and other large trucks weigh 10 or even 20 times what a normal passenger car does. When you add on the weight of the onboard cargo that figure rises a lot more and can easily weigh several tons. Combine that with the fact that this fully loaded truck is moving at highway speeds, an accident can never be a fender bender with these large vehicles.

For drivers, this means that they not only need to be very wary of these large vehicles but they also need to know how to handle a situation if it ever comes up. Here is what to do if you have a truck accident and how you can get compensated.
 

Even accidents that happen between large vehicles can be quite dangerous. Not only do they impact the involved vehicles but they can also spell havoc for other traffic that they are sharing the road with. In particular, semis that are moving with heavy loads on the trailer is extremely dangerous. As the driver cabin and the trailer are connected by a pivoting joint, the two parts of the truck can go in completely different directions in an accident. When you add to this the fact that many semis are carrying very heavy loads such as cars or mining equipment if this load rolls off the trailer in the case of an accident it can easily crush and destroy cars nearby. Similarly, semis that are carrying large amounts of fuel or gas is also moving bombs waiting to explode. A blast from such a container can have a huge impact and will set a fire off that is not going to be easy to put out.

You would expect that truck drivers are aware of these risks, and even while many are, they are still quite reckless. In fact, commercial vehicle accidents are some of the most prevalent and common types of road accidents on our roads today. Nearly every second accident is one that involves a commercial vehicle.

For drivers, this means that they not only need to be very wary of these large vehicles but they also need to know how to handle a situation if it ever comes up. Here is what you can do to get compensated for a truck accident.

1.  Get Medical Attention

The first thing you need to do is get medical attention. Not only is this important for your recovery but this is also going to play an important role when it comes to tackling the matter in court. Even if you feel fine, get a specialist to evaluate your condition. There are several injuries that don’t show up right away but they can have serious implications if they are left untreated. You might not feel the impact till a few days after the accident but getting treatment early on will help resolve the issue before it arises. A general physician will not be the best choice considering someone who is familiar with emergency medicine.

2.  Report The Accident

Wherever the accident occurs you need to report it to the local police station before you take it up with anyone else. The accident report will serve as the first piece of evidence in the court case and is essential to giving the accident some authenticity. Just relying on the common injuries after trucking accidents to prove that you have been in an accident is not a good way to approach it at all. Together with an accident report you should also bring in all your medical transcriptions and use that as supporting evidence. This is why consulting with a professional caregiver is important as they can provide you with transcripts and other documentation that will have value in a trial. Simply having some medicines scribbled on a piece of paper by your local physician or a doctor friend will not do you any good and will have no legal value.

3.  Hire A Professional

Claim cases, particularly those that are claims for road accidents require an expert. These are unlike any other kind of case and just as you have people who specialize in divorce, agreements, and criminal cases, you also have specialist injury claim lawyers who specialize in accident claims. Also, you want someone who is familiar with the laws of the state in which the case is taking place. It is very likely that you might have had an accident in one state but the actual case is going to be heard in another state. State laws do vary for injury claims and accidents so you need someone who knows what the laws and regulations are in that particular state.

4.  Take It Up With Insurance

Getting the case sorted out with the other party that you had the accident with is only half the job. The other significant portion of the case is settling the matter with insurance. Just because you are getting compensated by the other party in the accident doesn’t mean you need to forego your rights to insurance claims. Your lawyer can also help you out in this department and you want to get started on this as soon as possible. Solving the case with insurance can also take some time so you want to start this process as soon as possible and get it over with.

Injury claim cases can take a while to reach a conclusion. Especially when there are multiple vehicles involved or you are working out the case with a commercial vehicle, it can take a while. Commercial vehicle owners, such as logistic companies, transport companies, and even privately owned commercial vehicles have a lot of other documentation and red tape that needs to be taken care of. 

Even if you have everything sorted on your end, it might take some time for the defendant to get their things in order. In any case, you want to make sure you don’t cave into an out-of-court settlement. If it is a large company that owns the truck, chances are they will try this strategy. This is all just to get off the hook with less than what your damages are actually worth. The only way to get proper compensation for the damages and the discomfort that you have had to bear is to get the case to a conclusion in court. It may take some time but it will be well worth it.