Have you ever been involved in a truck accident? If so, then you know that it can be a very difficult and frightening experience. Even if the truck accident was not your fault, it is important to know what to do following an incident like this. This blog post will discuss some of the things you should do after being involved in a truck accident so that you are prepared for whatever may happen next.
Stay Calm
One of the primary things that you need to remember when you get involved in a truck accident is to stay calm. If you are a passenger in a car, stay in your seat and do not move. On the other hand, if you are the driver of the truck, get out of the vehicle if it is safe to do so. Call 911 or other emergency services as soon as possible, particularly if you deem that several people got injured in this road mishap.
Also, seek legal counsel if necessary. Just make sure to get in touch with reputable and seasoned lawyers who have experience in handling cases such as yours. According to these legal experts, they will be able to help you get more information and ensure that you get the right compensation you deserve. Apart from a claim, they will also be able to help you if your case needs to be taken to court.
Preserve the Scene
Do not try to move any vehicles that have been involved in an accident. It will be necessary to preserve the truck accident scene so that you can gather evidence for your case. This is particularly important when there are no witnesses in this truck incident or if they were not able to see how it happened exactly.
If you need any truck repairs after a truck accident, make sure to take photos of all visible damage before taking it to a mechanic. This will ensure that you get the truck repairs done effectively so that it can function properly once again without any problem.
Do Not Discuss Fault or Violations
Even if the truck accident was your fault, do not talk about who did what wrong and why with anyone else but your legal representative. Keep all truck accident conversations with truck drivers, trucking companies, and insurance agencies to the lawyer. This will help you avoid making any statements that are self-incriminating or can be used against you in court if your case goes there eventually.
You Should Not Give a Recorded Statement After an Accident
When the police arrive at the scene of a truck accident, they may ask you to give a truck accident recorded statement. This is your right and it should be respected if you do not want truck accidents to negatively affect your truck insurance premiums or truck driver job status.
If you are asked by police officers, tell them that you will need some time before giving this truck accident statement so that all the necessary truck accident details can be gathered. This truck incident recorded statement should not take more than a couple of hours after truck accidents happen since any longer truck driver job status will likely suffer badly as well.
Do Not Discuss Truck Accidents with Insurance Companies
If you are asked by insurance companies to give them truck accident statements, do the same thing again and tell them that you would like to wait until the truck accident investigation is over before giving truck accidents statements. This truck incident recorded statement will only be used in your insurance claim, so there is no reason why it should take longer than necessary when their goal at the end of the day is for truck companies to compensate truck drivers fairly.
When You are Injured, do not Discuss Truck Accidents with Anyone
You can only discuss truck accident details or truck driver job status with your truck insurance claim adjuster. Do not talk about it to friends, family members, trucking companies, truck drivers who witnessed the incident either directly or through media reports. You must avoid talking about this truck accident too, especially when truck accident insurance claims are not settled yet.
The best thing you can do is to stay calm and follow the advice given by law enforcement personnel on-site. If possible, take pictures of the accident scene as well as any injuries sustained before trying to move people or anything else involved in the crash. It may be helpful for those who have been injured in a car accident to keep copies of all paperwork associated with their injury such as medical bills, lost wages due to time off work, and property damage estimates so that they are prepared for long term consequences like these. All these are geared towards ensuring that you will be able to get back on your feet in no time after the road mishap.