Home Law 5 Tips for Protecting Your Legal Rights After a Truck Accident

5 Tips for Protecting Your Legal Rights After a Truck Accident

by Nina Smith

Every traffic accident is undeniably stressful, and some people need some time before they are able to go over it. Some of these people need to visit a psychiatrist to minimize all the negative impacts of one persons’ mind. However, it needs to be said that truck accidents tend to be way more stressful than a plain car accident.

The reason being that we are talking about large vehicles capable of inflicting way more damage than a car. Not only that, most of the time they are wearing a lot of weight, which only adds to the potential damage. Plus, we can see that these trucks are mostly owned by huge companies who have capable legal teams behind them, who will do anything to prevent any potential financial damage that usually follows these accidents.

For you to understand just how big of a deal this is, take a look at just how many of these lawyers there are. In case you would like to take a look at one of the most prominent ones, be sure to take a look at The Embry Law Firm. What doesn’t this mean for people who are the other driver involved in this kind of accident?

Well, chances are that you will lose if you don’t have an experienced accident attorney to watch your back. Besides that, some things need to be done in order to establish your position even better. We would like to provide you with a couple of these.

1. Report the Crash

Source: seattletrucklaw.com

Any person who’s been involved in any kind of vehicle accident must remain at the scene. Naturally, making sure that the person is safe, and remove the vehicle from the road. Of course, in some cases, this wouldn’t be possible. But, when it is, it is an absolute must. After that, make sure that all other participants in the traffic can see that there is something that happened on the road.

That way, they will be protected from all the negativities that can happen on the road. Naturally, we are mean about further accidents. If there are injured people or someone has died, you should call 911. If not, contact the local police patrol. When the patrol arrives, you will need to report exactly what happened. In the end, ask for a copy of the report. Certainly, you will need a piece of evidence in a potential trial.

2. Medical Treatment

In case you’ve been involved in any traffic accident, it is an absolute must to look for medical attention. It doesn’t really matter if you have experienced some injuries or not. That way, you will obtain a valuable piece of information that will provide you with good evidence at the court. In case you are not able to get medical treatment at the sight, you should visit a doctor as soon as you can.

Certainly, this is important since most people will not feel any pain due to the fact that the adrenaline rush will prevent them from feeling any kind of pain. At the same time, your doctor will see if you are in need of receiving some more complex medical treatment. In case you haven’t done that, chances are that you will not have enough arguments at the potential trial. Therefore, you should consider this part as an absolute must.

3. Exchange Information with Others

Source: marksandharrison.com

One of the most important ways of protecting your legal rights after you’ve been in a truck accident is exchanging information with other parties involved in the accident. The reason being is that coming across them can be pretty hard after you’ve gone home. Even in case you have the contact of the company the other party was driving for, finding them can be a pretty hard task sometimes.

So, having some sort of contact will mean that you will have it much easier to seek some kind of compensation from them. Now, we would like to talk about the most important pieces of information you need to ask for.

  • Party’s personal information, along with email address and phone number
  • Party’s policy information and insurance company
  • Vehicle’s license number
  • Company’s name and contact information

4. Look for Witnesses

Naturally, you should look for any potential witnesses, who can testify in court. Thankfully, you will be able to collect a statement on your own, and waiting for the police is not crucial in this part. That way, you will be able to make a strong case in case you will need to appear before some jury. Not only that, you can ask them to appear in court and testify. Comparing these from the accident report is something that will provide the police and the court with a much better insight into the whole situation.

5. Don’t Sign Anything Suspicious

Source: pipellalaw.com

At the scene of the accident, there’s a chance that someone will ask you to sign something. It needs to be said that you should avoid signing anything that’s not issued by the police department. Chances are that the trucking companies will try to make you sign something to help them avoid all the potential damage. Surely, you will be approached by someone from the legal team.

So, make sure that you haven’t signed anything that sounds suspicious. At the same time, you shouldn’t participate in any kind of negotiations that are not official. When we say this, we mean about those presented by the court. As you might know, anything you say or do can be used against you in front of the court. Therefore, you should be smart about the moves you will make in this process.

The Bottom Line

In case you believe that you are entitled to some kind of compensation for any kind of damage you’ve suffered because of an accident, you will surely need to make a contact with an attorney who will be able to ensure that you will get the most out of the trial. We’ve mentioned that there are a lot of different attorneys who are specialized in this area. So, don’t hesitate to make contact with them.