Truck Accident Survivors: Legal Support for Recovery

Whenever any type of auto accident occurs, your first priority should be the health and safety of everyone on the scene. Call 911 right away. Be sure that anyone who needs medical attention gets it as soon as possible. If it is safe to move, get out of the way of oncoming traffic.

Many traffic accidents and injuries result in secondary collisions from drivers who are “rubbernecking” to see the accident scene or who simply aren’t paying attention to the obstructions in the roadway. This is why it is important to pull your vehicle over to the side of the road. If your vehicle is not driveable, you should get out and find a safe place to wait on the side of the road, well out of the way of traffic.

Help others get out of the way as well. If you are not sure whether you can safely move someone, ask the 911 operator. They will give you advice on how best to keep everyone safe.

Once any immediate medical needs are taken care of, the officers who respond to the scene will begin collecting evidence. They will ask each involved driver (or motorcycle rider, bicyclist, or pedestrian) to tell them what happened leading up to the accident. These statements will help the officer prepare an official report of the accident. This is important because the police report is usually a critical piece of evidence that the insurance companies rely on to make decisions about who was at fault for causing the accident.

The police will also facilitate the exchange of insurance information. This, too, is important because the other driver’s insurance policy is usually the primary source of compensation for accident victims. You should also get information about the driver’s employer.

It is important to know what to do after an accident, but it is equally important to know what not to do. You should not discuss what happened with other drivers or parties who were involved in the accident. Ask if anyone needs medical care, and coordinate the exchange of insurance information (if the officers have not already done this), but do not talk about what happened. You must also be very careful not to admit fault. Even simple statements like “I didn’t see you!” can be used against you later. Be very careful about what you say on the scene of a car accident.

You should also not worry about gathering evidence if it is not safe to do so. If your medical condition allows, and you will not be in the path of traffic, feel free to get photos or video footage of the accident scene. Pictures of the damage to the vehicles can be helpful, as can a video of the entire accident scene. But your health and safety is the priority. So, if you need to go to the hospital or if the vehicles are in the way of traffic, do not worry about gathering this type of evidence.

A negligent driver who is at fault for an accident must compensate for all your losses—including property damage. Once the insurance company accepts liability, they will arrange for repairs to your vehicle. You can also seek compensation for a rental car or the loss of use of your vehicle if you choose not to rent a vehicle.

While this process goes smoothly in many cases, it is not always easy to get the insurance company to accept liability and pay for your damages. This is where an attorney can help you.

If the insurance company is taking too long to accept liability, your attorney can help prove that their client was at fault for the accident. (This must happen to process your Atlanta truck accident claim, as well.) If the insurance company has accepted liability but is not getting back to you about scheduling repairs or getting you a rental car, your attorney can work to avoid further delays.

Insurance companies have a legal obligation to process claims in a timely and reasonable manner. When they know that you have a lawyer who is holding them accountable for following these rules, they are more likely to get things done.

The short answer is as little as possible! Any information you give the insurance company could work against you later. If you say something as simple as “I’m feeling fine,” the insurance company might dispute your medical bills. If you say, “I could see the truck speeding toward me,” the insurance company might try to claim that you were at fault for failing to get out of the way to prevent the accident.

Do not allow them to turn your own words against you. Once the insurance company learns that you have a lawyer, they are no longer allowed to contact you about the accident. All communication must go through your attorney’s office. This protects you from saying anything that could hurt your claim.

Your attorney can open the claim for you. But if you choose to open the claim yourself, be alert that many insurance companies will ask to take a recorded statement about how the accident happened. You do not have to do this. In fact, you should decline to do this and tell the insurance company that you want to speak with your attorney first.

Insurance companies often use these recorded statements to attack liability, your injuries, your property damage, or even your credibility as a witness. Insurers use these statements to help their own cause—not to help you get the compensation you deserve under the law.

You should follow all recommendations from your medical providers. If you do not, the insurance company could claim that you made your own injuries worse by ending your treatment too early. Of course, the insurance company may also try to claim that you spent too long getting treatment—especially if you are receiving physical therapy, chiropractic services, or other treatment that relies on subjective indicators of pain and discomfort.

Your injury lawyer will handle the insurance company. Your job is to work with your providers to get the treatment you need. Work together to create a discharge plan. Once your providers sign off on the end of treatment, you will have documentation that you followed their instructions. This is also important for your health—if you end treatment against medical advice, you could make your own injuries worse and endure unnecessary pain and suffering.

Your attorney and legal team will work to get documentation of the time you missed from work and the cost of your medical bills. In many cases, this happens before your attorney negotiates a settlement of your claim, so you know the exact value of these tangible losses. But long-term injuries can result in future losses.

If, for example, you have permanent disabilities, you might only return to part-time work. The defendant is responsible for compensating you for the difference in your full-time wages before the accident and your part-time wages after the accident. You are also entitled to compensation for the projected future medical expenses you will incur throughout your life as a result of these permanent injuries. Your attorney will hire expert witnesses to project and prove the exact value of these future financial losses.