What to Do After a Truck Accident

Metier Law Firm
Wed, 01 Jul 2020 00:00:03 +0000
Truck Accidents, auto accident law firm, best accident attorneys, truck accident attorney, truck accident law firm, trucking accidents

You’re driving to the grocery store, waiting for the stop light to turn green when you’re suddenly shoved back into your seat while your car is thrown forward. Your foot instinctively crushes the brake pedal trying to stop your car from being smashed by the cross traffic, but all you can hear are the tires screeching, crunching metal and shattering glass.

The next thing you hear are the muffled, distant voices, a mechanical whirring and a weird sound that can only be metal being torn apart. Your mind tries to make sense of what your ears are capturing while a thought echoes its way from your subconscious until your consciousness can understand it – the crash is still happening, and you’re still inside the car.

Your eyes blast open from the adrenaline surging through your veins. A neck brace prevents you from moving your head, and you realize several first responders are holding you steady as they peel apart the thin sheet metal of your car to pull you out. Your heart starts to slow down as you realize you’re safe. Your eyes take inventory of the destruction around you, pain begins to radiate from your entire body and a single thought crosses your mind “I’m alive.”

In addition to broken bones, perhaps you suffered some internal and spinal cord injuries. The next few days or weeks in the hospital will be filled with doctors, exams, scans and surgeries. The next few months and years will involve physical therapy, specialists, maybe more surgeries and a very long road to get back to normalcy.

Then it hits you — how are you supposed to pay the medical bills, pay your normal bills, and get your life back on track while being unable to work? It all starts with being proactive after the accident and talking with a truck accident lawyer to handle your case.

Here are the five things you must do after suffering injuries in a truck accident:

Don’t sign anything without talking with your attorney

Large corporations, especially trucking companies, are notorious for having rapid response teams of investigators and attorneys that will sometimes get on the scene of a truck crash before first responders. Their job is to protect their employers’ interests and have been known to coerce injured people and their families into signing away their rights by promising to “take care of everything.”

Don’t fall for this tactic. Most personal injury attorneys offer free consultations and will give you some free advice – just like most truck accident attorneys. But if you talk with a truck accident attorney, they will be familiar with the documents you’re being asked to sign, the company involved and may even know the attorney or law firm representing the company. Seek the advice of an experienced truck accident attorney before signing anything.

Seek Medical Attention Immediately

Don’t take any chances after a truck crash. You may be involved in a truck crash and feel fine afterwards. You may think that you’re one of the lucky few to walk way from a crash with only minor cuts and bruises and as much as we’d like that to be the case for everybody, the physics involved with truck crashes are not in your favor. Even in a slow speed truck crash within city limits, the impact force can be greater than the force from a passenger vehicle traveling over 200mph.

You can use your health insurance to pay for your medical exam and best case scenario: you’re fine and can file a claim with the truck driver’s insurance to reimburse you for any out of pocket expenses. Worse case scenario: the doctors find an injury and will begin to treat you. The longer you wait to seek medical treatment, the more the insurance and defense will argue that any injuries found in your initial medical exam could have been caused by another even after the truck accident.

Hire A Truck Accident Lawyer

Many accident victims make the mistake of trying to settle their truck accident case on their own. While there are plenty of Facebook attorneys and lawyers in the comments under almost every article, most of them probably haven’t taken the bar exam. Here’s the thing: A truck accident is significantly more complex than a regular car accident. Besides the Federal laws and rules and the individual state laws that each driver needs to follow, there can be multiple liable parties and causes that only an experienced investigator would discover. If that’s not enough to dissuade you, even experienced car accident attorneys will ask truck crash lawyers to co-counsel due to the complexity of these cases and the life-altering injuries that are almost always involved.

Here at Metier Law Firm, our attorneys understand that trucking companies and their insurance carriers do everything possible to ensure you get the minimal compensation for your injuries. When you hire a dependable truck accident lawyer, you’re teaming with someone who isn’t afraid to go toe to toe with these big insurance companies and will work tirelessly to help you get the best possible outcome.

Move Forward With All Medical Recommendations

“How can I afford to pay for all of my treatment when I’m not even working?” That’s a common concern that we hear often at Metier Law. Rather than attend all doctor appointments and take the necessary steps toward recovery, clients sometimes focus on what they believe they can afford instead of getting the treatment they need. There are options you can use to pay for medical treatments that most providers will accept in these cases.

As detrimental as that may be to their overall health, imagine how it looks for you to miss a handful of medical visits after the accident. The defense team on the other side may assume you’re really not that hurt and then use your lack of appointment attendance against you. Do yourself a favor and keep up with all follow-up doctor visits. One final piece of advice here is to keep records of all appointments and payments for evidence purposes down the road.

Schedule A Consultation With Our Truck Accident Lawyer

When it comes to navigating the murky waters of trucking accidents, Metier Law Firm has you covered. Not only do our attorneys understand injury law inside and out, but we treat every client like family.

Take the first step toward getting maximum compensation. Contact a truck accident lawyer in Colorado, Nebraska, or Wyoming.