Time can stretch out unbearably in the minutes, hours, and days following a semi-truck accident. The only people who know what that feels like are other survivors and the teams that have helped them recover. What are you meant to do in those strange days, though, if you want to get your and your loved ones’ lives back on track?
If you’ve been involved in a semi-truck accident, you can take concrete steps to ensure that your recovery is as straightforward as possible. Moreover, you don’t have to take these steps alone. Your friends, family, and semi-truck accident attorney can all help you tick the boxes of recovery until you’re back on your feet again.
Step 1: Reach Out to First Responders
If you’re still at the scene of an accident, you need to get in touch with first responders as soon as possible. First responders can help you get away from hazardous materials, treat accident-related injuries, and identify any of the other parties involved in your accident.
If you have a loved one on the scene who needs immediate medical attention, do your best not to move them. You should only attempt to give that person medical care if you are trained to perform CPR. Otherwise, ask the people around you for help.
If you’re unable to find your phone or if your phone was damaged in your accident, ask a bystander to call 911 on your behalf. The sooner police officers and other first responders get to the scene, the safer you and your passengers can be.
Step 2: Call an Attorney
You should only consider secondary recovery steps after you’ve been seen by first responders. If you’re in good enough condition to make calls or otherwise supervise passengers as they get medical care, you can proceed to the next step of your recovery.
That step should see you reach out to an attorney. You can do this at the scene of your accident and have an attorney join you. Indiana truck accident lawyers can alternatively join you at a hospital, in the comfort of your home, or at a local office.
You are not obligated to bring an attorney in at this stage of your recovery. However, working with an attorney from the day your accident takes place makes it easier to investigate the negligence that led to your accident. Our attorneys also:
- Prevent police officers from misrepresenting your losses
- Gather evidence available at the scene of the accident
- Connect with bystanders and secure their contact information
- Communicate with a liable on your behalf, both to exchange insurance information and to prepare for future action
- Prevent a liable party from misrepresenting the negligence that led to your accident
During a free case consultation, you can discuss an attorney’s role in your semi-truck accident recovery.
How to Investigate Your Accident
You also have the opportunity, if you are able, to take pictures of the scene of your accident while waiting for an attorney to arrive. If an accident damages your phone, ask a bystander to take pictures and send those pictures to you. You can additionally record bystanders’ statements regarding a liable party’s negligence on a note-taking app for later use.
Step 3: Contact Your Insurance Provider
Most insurance providers in Indiana expect you to report a truck accident within 24 hours of the initial collision. That said, many insurance providers are so eager to act because they want an insurance claim adjuster to underestimate the total value of your case.
You don’t have to report an accident to your insurance provider alone. Our attorneys can step in, communicate with adjusters on your behalf, and fight to ensure that an insurance provider protects you to the fullest possible extent.
Step 4: Determine Your Right to a Civil Claim
You may have the right to a civil lawsuit if there’s enough evidence at the scene of your accident to prove another party’s negligence. If you can submit proof of a violated duty of care to your local civil court, an attending judge may award you damages equivalent to the total value of your losses.
Those damages may even exceed the total value of your losses, depending on the nature of another party’s alleged negligence. You can determine your right to this kind of support alongside an attorney as you seek out the medical attention and insurance support you need to recover.
How to Discuss Settlements With Truck Agencies and Related Corporations
If it appears that the truck driver responsible for your accident constitutes an employee in the eyes of a relevant trucking company, that company can bear the fault for your losses. That company may, in turn, try to offer you a settlement to avoid time in court. You have the right to accept these settlement offers, but you are not obligated to take them without consideration.
You can work with an Indiana semi-truck accident attorney to calculate the total possible value of your accident losses. An attorney can then compare those calculations against a corporation’s offer. We can negotiate for more coverage if a settlement appears insufficient.
Our Attorneys Make It Easier to Navigate Your Semi-Truck Accident Recovery
Recovering from a semi-truck accident can feel like an exercise in patience. You have to take several steps to secure the financial support you need to contend with your medical bills, property damage, and related losses. Completing these steps on your own can be a challenge, but it’s not a challenge you have to face on your own.
Whether you’re recovering from a recent semi-truck accident or still recovering from the aftermath of an older one, let Vaughan & Vaughan know. Our attorneys can step in, help you through the post-accident process, and give you the opportunities you need to restore your previous quality of life. Contact us online or by phone to schedule your case consultation today.
