What to Do After a Truck Accident in Tucson, Arizona

Did you know that several significant factors contribute to a truck accident? For example, many believe that it’s the driver being under the influence of drugs or alcohol when it’s due to carrying unauthorized heavyweight and mechanical defects.

Please continue reading below if you or someone you love recently sustained injuries from a truck accident. We will cover what you need to do after getting involved in a truck accident and who you can speak with for more information about your legal options in the matter. 

Remain Calm and Call 911

After you get into a truck accident, you must try to remain as calm as you possibly can. Your adrenaline may rush, making you want to get up quickly and panic, but it is best to take a few deep breaths and move to safety if possible. 

Even if your accident seems “minor,” you should still call 911 so they can come and make a police report for you. A police report is an excellent piece of evidence to have, especially when you go to file your auto claim with the other insurance company. 

Seek medical attention

When you call 911, the operator will send out an ambulance to check on you and the other drivers involved in the accident. If multiple vehicles are involved in the truck accident, make sure you let the operator know so they can send the appropriate number of medical responders to the scene. 

Even if you don’t think you’re hurt, please allow a medical professional to check you out. Your adrenaline may be rushing and you probably don’t feel any pain at the moment, but it may develop later on. If you can, seek treatment from your physician to ensure there are no hidden injuries or underlying conditions that were missed when you were checked at the scene.

Gather Evidence at the Scene of the Accident

While at the scene of the accident, it is important to gather information about the truck driver and any other drivers involved in the accident. Make sure you take the truck driver’s name, phone number, and driver’s license information down. 

Evidence to gather at the scene of the accident:

• Year, make, and model of the truck
• Name of employer
• Insurance information for the truck
• Photos of the damages done
• Location of the accident
• License plate information

Although it is important to try to gather this information at the scene of the accident, don’t approach the other driver if they are belligerent. For your safety and the safety of others, just call the police and have them come take statements so they can create the police report. The police department will provide you with the police report number so you can access the truck driver’s information when the police report is ready. 

Exchange Information With Other Drivers

In a large majority of truck accidents, there is more than one other vehicle involved. If your incident involved other drivers in addition to the truck driver, try to exchange information with them as well. As mentioned earlier, if the other driver does not want to cooperate with you or they seem angry, leave it to the police to gather that information on your behalf. 

Check for Witness Information

Did you notice anyone nearby who saw what happened in the accident? If so, they could be helpful for your auto accident case by serving as a witness. You won’t have to take a statement from the witness, instead, you can leave that up to the police.

Depending on the situation of your accident, the police may not be able to get to those witness statements and the witness may leave the scene. If possible, it is best to reach out to the witness and ask them for their contact information.

All you need is their name, email address, and phone number to keep in touch with them. You can then give this information to your lawyer or the police so they can complete their investigation.

Obtain the Truck Drivers Proof of Employment

Trucking companies are liable for the actions of the drivers they employ to work for them. If you can prove that the truck driver was employed by a certain trucking company, you may be able to receive compensation from that employer for your damages and injuries.

The trucking company may try to claim that the driver was independent and working on a contract basis, but they could be lying. So long as you can find proof that the truck driver was employed under the company and not working on a contractual basis, you can seek compensation from them. If you are having a hard time finding this information, you can always reach out to a reputable attorney to help you.

Avoid Posting About the Situation on Social Media

One of the biggest mistakes car accident victims do after their incident is posting about the situation on social media. You may think you’re just informing people about what happened and about your injuries, but posting on social media can cause you legal issues later when you file your personal injury claim. If you want to share your experience with your family members, do so offline and not on a public forum where anyone can get a hold of your information and your side of events.

Anything you post online can and will appear in court. Even if you delete it, someone may have a screenshot of your post or, the other driver’s attorney may call a witness to testify about what they say online. 

Create an Auto Claim

Once you are well enough to do so, you can create an auto insurance claim with the truck driver’s insurance company. Although you don’t need to hire an attorney to handle creating the claim for you, you may want to consider the idea of retaining counsel.

When you hire a lawyer to speak with the truck driver’s insurance company, they will handle the entire claims process on your behalf. This means that they will handle providing evidence to the right parties involved and they will present the best case possible so you can earn the compensation you deserve. 

Who Is Liable for My Truck Accident?

What most people don’t know is that there are several different parties involved in a truck accident. For example, the truck driver is responsible and so is the trucking company that owns the truck. 

Additional parties that could be held liable for your injuries:

• Manufacturer of the truck
• The loading company that loaded the truck
• Repair company that may have made faulty repairs

Each of these parties involved has their own set of attorneys they will call to defend them and protect their interests. Instead of going up against them on your own, you may want to consider speaking with an attorney to learn more about your legal options.

What Are the Benefits of Hiring a Truck Accident Lawyer

As mentioned earlier, you don’t have to hire an attorney to handle the claims process for you, but it does make it a lot easier. Because there are so many different potential liable parties involved in your accident, it can easily become overwhelming or exhausting to try to track down the right party to file your claim.

Even more so, these different insurance companies may try to point the blame at the other involved insurance companies so they won’t have to pay anything out of their own pockets. When you hire an attorney to handle your claim, they will make sure they hold all relevant parties responsible for their part in the accident. 

Focus On Your Recovery

Truck accidents can leave victims with severe injuries. Depending on the severity of the truck accident, there could be deaths involved in the loss.

If you’ve suffered severe injuries as a result of the accident, the last thing you want to do is chase around evidence and return missed calls to an insurance company. Instead, you most likely want to rest and try to make sense of the next steps to take for your life and your family. 

When you work with a truck accident lawyer, they will help you get back on your feet, and they can recommend physicians for you to seek treatment. Attorneys who’ve dealt with cases similar to yours know all about the different types of injuries involved in truck accidents. To help their clients, they work with doctors of all types to get them the top-quality healthcare they need. 

Provides Truck Regulation Knowledge

Truck accident attorneys have extensive local and federal truck regulation knowledge. For example, they know how much weight a truck driver can haul and how many hours a driver can stay behind the wheel before they have to retire for the day.

Unfortunately, to meet quota, trucking companies sometimes overload their trucks and overwork their drivers. When a truck has too much weight in the back of the trailer, it makes it incredibly hard for them to safely come to a stop.

If traffic builds up or there is an emergency, truck drivers need about 600 feet of space before they can come to a complete stop. That is not enough time for other drivers to move out of the way, especially if there are other vehicles stopped and in the way. 

If you were hit by a truck driver who was not able to stop in time due to an overweight cargo load, your attorney can use that information against the trucking company. 

Distracted Driving

Another reason why truck drivers cause severe accidents is due to distracted driving. They could be either distracted by their phone or under the influence of drugs or alcohol before they get behind the wheel. As mentioned earlier, some drivers drive longer than they should, leaving them extremely fatigued while on the road.

When the human body is exhausted due to being awake for a long period, the symptoms are similar to someone having a blood alcohol content of 0.10%. The government defines legal intoxication at the 0.08% level.

Driving under these circumstances is not only dangerous, but it is illegal. When you partner with a truck accident attorney, they can get the information about the driver’s hours log.

If the driver was on the road longer than they are allowed to be, they are in violation. Your attorney will take care of building a case against the negligence of the driver and the trucking company so you can receive the compensation you deserve. 

Knows What Damages To Claim

There are several different damages you can claim in a truck accident. For example, you can claim medical expenses, lost wages, and pain and suffering. To ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve, it is best to have an attorney look over your case. They will see what damages you’re eligible for and create the best case possible.

Hire a Truck Accident Lawyer

A truck accident can leave a devastating impact on someone’s life. It can leave them with severe injuries or it can cause a death of a loved one. After the truck accident happens, you want to make sure you remain calm and try to gather as much information as possible.

You also can reach out to an attorney to learn more about your legal options in a truck accident. If you recently sustained injuries in a truck accident, contact us for a free, no-obligation case review to learn more about how we can help you and your situation.