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Were you seriously injured in a commercial vehicle crash and have questions about these 3 truck accident tips? Read this article and call our Texas lawyers.
After a Truck Accident
One of the first things that needs to be done after a truck accident is to make sure the local government agency is notified. For example, the local police, DPS, or sheriff’s office, depending on where the accident happened. It’s also important that you seek immediate medical help. This includes not only going to the hospital but your own medical provider. Typically, when you’re going to a hospital, they’re going to look at only life and death situations. At the end when they release you, they’re going to tell you to follow up with your doctor. Please don’t ignore that. It’s important that you follow up with your own doctor because there may be injuries that you have that were untreated at the hospital that may need further examination.
It’s also important that you hire an experienced lawyer in handling trucking accidents. There are specific federal and state regulations that may apply to a trucking company. A lawyer who doesn’t handle truck accidents isn’t going to be aware of the various laws. When hiring an experienced trucking lawyer, you can make sure that you are properly protected. This means that any investigation that needs to be done is not only done, but it’s done timely. There may need to be a download done of the 18-wheeler that hit you, which means getting the information off their computer system to see what speed they were traveling at.
There may need to be an expert that gets hired to look at the area where the accident happened. There may be surveillance video around the area from different stores that need to be obtained. All of this is crucial to a case. If you have any questions, we are here to help.
Truck Accident Injury Claims
I had a young man come in the other day who was involved in a serious commercial truck accident. One of the questions he asked during the initial interview was how was this different than an automobile accident. My answer to him was very simple: they’re as different as night and day. That’s why it’s important to hire a lawyer who’s experienced in handling commercial truck accidents.
One of the ways that they’re different is that there are specific regulations that are going to apply to the trucking company, to the equipment that the truck driver is using, and to the truck driver. The potential for serious injury is also much greater in a trucking accident. The investigation is also going to be completely different because, in a commercial trucking case, you’re going to need to examine the vehicle to figure out what speed they were traveling at, whether the brakes were applied, and if the truck was properly maintained. An experienced lawyer can make sure that an investigation is done right away.
There are also letters that need to be sent to the owner of the commercial truck to make sure that evidence doesn’t get destroyed. Lastly, there needs to be notice sent and investigation done with respect to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. If you have any questions or concerns, we are here to help you.
Truck Accident Claim Value
There are several factors that must be looked at when determining the value of a truck accident claim. First of all, what are the extent of the injuries that you suffered? For example, did you have a neck injury? Did you have a back injury? Did you hit your head and as a result had a concussion or traumatic brain injury? That’s one factor you look at. Another factor that you must look at is how and why did the accident happen. This is really important because to determine the value, we need to figure out exactly how the accident happened. To do that, we need to look at the safety regulations that apply to the trucking industry. There are very specific regulations from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that apply to truck drivers and to trucking companies. Once the lawyer gets an opportunity to look at that, we can see what regulations were violated and how often they have been violated. For example, if a truck driver was talking on the phone, which is against the Federal Motor Carrier Regulations, the value of the case is going to be tremendous.
Did the trucking company check out the equipment properly and were they doing daily inspections? All of these are factors that get looked at to determine the value of the case.
Another important factor in determining the value of a case is the amount of insurance carried by the other side. In order to do this, you must get an experienced truck accident lawyer who has done a lot of trucking litigation to help answer that question for you. If you have any questions whatsoever, we are here to help.
Were you or a loved one seriously injured in a commercial vehicle crash and have questions about these 3 truck accident tips?
Contact our experienced Texas truck accident attorneys at the Law Firm of Ricardo A. Garcia today for a free consultation and case evaluation.
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