Being involved in a truck accident can create life-threatening injuries. Knowing what to do after you are in a truck accident, including right after and over the coming weeks, is critical to protecting your right to compensation. At Rand Spear – The Accident Lawyer, our Philadelphia truck accident lawyer works closely with you to ensure you know exactly what to expect in your case.
Knowing What to Do Right After a Truck Accident
It is critical to take action as soon as an accident occurs to get yourself to safety and get care for anyone who needs it. Consider the following steps you should have taken at the time of the truck accident, and in doing so, could protect the value of your case. After a truck accident:
- Move yourself, if it is safe to do so, out of the way of further harm.
- Call 911 and wait for instructions on what to do next to get care.
- If you are able to, check on the other drivers and involved people to determine if they need help.
- Get medical care. Go to the hospital, get checked out, and make sure to document your injuries thoroughly.
- Provide the police with a comprehensive report that outlines everything you remember from before, during, and after the accident.
- If possible, collect all of the names, contact information, and statements from anyone who saw what occurred.
- Ask the at-fault party’s insurance company about your accident. Do not file a claim, but let them know what occurred.
Once you do these things, focus on your recovery and healing. At the same time, it is worthwhile to contact a truck accident attorney who has a no-fee guarantee. Doing so early on ensures you have the right to the full protection of your rights to seek a claim.
What to Do After Your Immediate Care Needs Are Met
In the coming days and weeks, you will need to take various steps to protect your right to file a claim and maximize that claim under the law. Taking these steps helps to minimize the risk that your case falls through the cracks or an insurance company tries to reduce the fair compensation you are owed. Working with your truck accident attorney the whole time, consider these additional steps:
- Stay off social media: Avoid talking about your accident, posting photos of your injuries or accident, or commenting on how well you are doing. Keep your injury to yourself so that no information can be used against you later.
- Start a log to record all of your losses: Document your pain, financial losses, any medical changes from day to day, and other impacts the accident is having on your life.
- Seek out all medical care requested and required: It is always wise to seek out the medical care you need that is recommended to you, as well as follow-up care after it. Seek out the specialists recommended to you. Doing this shows your ability and willingness to recover.
- Seek mental health care if you need it: Mental health care can be just as vital as physical care, and you should document the impact emotional trauma is having on your life.
- Continue to provide your attorney with insight: Keep your truck accident attorney up to date on your medical care and progress.
These are steps you can take to build and strengthen your truck accident case. By working with a truck accident attorney, you also gain the confidence to know what other steps you can take to protect your right to compensation. Make sure you set up a consultation with your attorney to handle the details.
The Loss of Life After a Truck Accident
In situations where your family member died as a result of the negligence of another person, work with an experienced wrongful death attorney ready to fight for your loved one’s justice and financial compensation for the losses incurred by your family. There is nothing that makes this easier, but experienced legal support can make a big difference and can help make you whole after a fatal crash.
Calculate Your Losses with Your Truck Accident Attorney
Your lawyer is an advocate for your full recovery of any losses you have suffered, but it is up to you to communicate with them about what you are facing. The more detailed you can be about how this incident is impacting your life, the better. Some of the types of compensation your attorney will help you to recover include:
- Medical bills from the emergency care you received
- Rehabilitation and physical therapy costs
- Medication costs
- Ongoing medical complication costs
- In-home care needs
- Lost wages and benefits
- Property damage to your vehicle
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of quality of life
- Loss of consortium
- Loss of earning capacity
This list of losses is only an initial estimate of what you may be owed. It is critical that you take every step you can to minimize leaving anything on the table, and to do that, it is best to work directly with a truck accident attorney. Rand Spear is ready to fight for you and our client testimonials show that.
Punitive Damages May Be Owed to You
In some situations, truck accidents result in serious losses and implications due to evidence of reckless behavior. If you believe the truck driver was intoxicated, compliance rules were not met, or the driver acted in an intentional manner that caused your injury, you may be able to prove that to the court. That could mean you are also awarded punitive damages for your losses, which is a form of punishment for the driver.
Set Up a Free Consultation with a Truck Accident Attorney Now
Rand Spear – The Accident Lawyer represents clients in Pennsylvania and New Jersey facing serious losses from accidents with trucks. Let our truck accident lawyers fight for your full recovery of any damages you have, no matter what information you provide or what step you are at in filing a claim. Contact us now for a free consultation.
Call or text (215) 985-2424 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
