Everyone faces different challenges as a result of truck accidents. These collisions are far more dangerous than most, so your first step is to get medical attention. You can tell a doctor what happened to you during the accident and alert them to all abnormal symptoms you’re experiencing. They should provide diagnoses and treatment plans for all of your symptoms, and you should insist that they do.
You should also find a truck accident lawyer with a history of securing large financial recoveries for clients like you. Also, consider the lawyer and firm’s reputation among former clients, and the firm’s proximity to you.
For many, the overwhelming instinct after a truck accident is to rest. You have been through a traumatic event, and you should certainly make rest and recovery a priority. First, though, you should:
While emergency medical services are often life-saving after traffic collisions, they are not always enough to ensure your safety and document your injuries. A truck accident lawyer will help with your case, but they will also ensure you receive the medical and mental health treatment you need.
Not to belabor the point, but you should know the risks you run if you wait to seek medical attention or hire a lawyer. Delaying in either of these undertakings can:
Any of these outcomes can prevent you from receiving the money you deserve. This can cause severe financial hardship, lost quality of life, and difficult choices between getting the care you need or saving money—choices no truck accident survivor should have to make.
Read more: Time Limits for Filing a Truck Accident Claim
Attorneys understand the time-sensitive nature of truck accident claims and lawsuits. As soon as you sign your firm, your attorney will start:
Your lawyer’s strategy will revolve around who owes you money for accident-related losses. Some commonly liable parties include:
Attorneys understand how to establish liability in quick order. Once your attorney knows who is obligated to pay for your damages, they will determine how to seek fair compensation from those parties.
Read more: How Long Do You Have to File a Claim for a Truck Accident?
Proving fault for your accident proves who should cover your damages. Your lawyer may rely on witness testimony, photographs of vehicle damage and the accident scene, video of the collision, expert testimony, reconstructions of the accident, and other resources to prove fault.
Truck accident lawyers often deal with disabling injuries, lasting trauma, wrongful deaths, and other long-term challenges. Therefore, your lawyer’s settlement demands will account for:
Your lawyer will also calculate pain and suffering, which can be a substantial portion of their settlement demands.
Read more: What Evidence Will Help My Truck Accident Case?
Liable insurance companies may present a settlement offer to your lawyer. These companies can also deny your claim or take other actions to spare them from financial responsibility.
Your lawyer will:
Statistics indicate that most truck accident victims eventually accept a settlement. However, this does not indicate that every truck accident victim receives a fair settlement. Fight to ensure you receive the compensation you deserve by letting a lawyer negotiate for you.
Most truck accident attorneys intend to avoid a lawsuit. If they can secure fair compensation from liable insurance companies, they will.
However, insurance companies may leave you and your lawyer no choice but to sue. If you do not receive the settlement offer you deserve, your attorney should be willing and ready to sue on your behalf. A trucking company is among the most likely defendants in a truck accident lawsuit.
Many truck accident victims decide to sue, but their lawyer is able to secure a fair settlement offer before trial starts. This can be the path your case takes, but it’s also possible that no fair settlement offer materializes.
If going to trial proves to be the best decision for you, trust that an attorney will present your personal injury case and demand fair compensation in the courtroom.
Read more: When to Hire a Truck Accident Attorney
Some accident victims mistakenly assume that the insurance claims process always ends up in a fair and just manner. To understand why some truck accident victims do not receive the money they deserve from insurance providers, you must recognize that:
An insurance company may use several bad-faith tactics to avoid financial responsibility for your losses. These tactics include:
One particularly common and insidious tactic is offering a lowball settlement. Insurance companies know that accident victims are often not of sound mind and are also under immense financial pressure. Therefore, they may quickly offer a lowball settlement and convince the accident victim to accept.
Once you accept an insurance company’s offer, that’s generally the extent of your financial recovery from a truck accident. This is why it’s important that you hire a lawyer to fight for a full and fair recovery and advise you before you sign anything.
Your lawyer will help you decide whether to file a lawsuit related to your accident. While suing is not always necessary, it’s an option you want to have (and an option you always have with a lawyer representing you).
A lawsuit may be necessary if:
Truck accident attorneys work to resolve their clients’ cases as soon as possible. Even more importantly, though, your lawyer will strive to secure all the money you deserve. In some cases, obtaining fair compensation for truck accident victims means taking a case to trial.
Read more: Who Can Be Liable for a Truck Accident?
Everyone involved in the trucking industry has a duty to exercise good judgment and caution, and this includes:
These parties may have insurance policies that apply to your accident. You may also be eligible to sue these parties directly. Your attorney will attain all relevant information and conceive a personalized strategy for securing the money you deserve.
Read more: Truck Accident with an Uninsured Truck Driver
Truck accident victims do not have to lose sleep over hiring a lawyer, partly because your attorney will almost certainly use a no-risk fee structure. More specifically, your lawyer will likely use a contingency fee.
Clients generally love contingency fees because these fees mean:
You face enough financial uncertainty after a truck accident. Your law firm will ensure their services are a source only of hope, not financial concern.
Expect your lawyer to account for every type of harm that your accident causes, which may include:
Truck accident lawyers also represent clients facing lifelong disability. Each case is unique, so allow a lawyer to evaluate your damages and fight for the money liable parties owe you.
If you have suffered an injury or lost a loved one in a truck accident, you should always speak with a skilled personal injury attorney. Use the internet or other resources to find a law firm with resources, case results, and client testimonials that impress you. Hire that law firm as soon as you can.
Safety → 911 → document → notify. Move to safety; call 911; exchange info; take photos/video; get medical evaluation; obtain the officer’s report # and later notify your insurer (even if you think you’re not at fault). In AZ, drivers must immediately notify police if there’s injury/death; officers must file a written crash report when there’s injury, death, ≥$2,000 damage, or a citation.
Most injury/property claims: 2 years from accrual (A.R.S. §12-542). If a city/county/state may be at fault (e.g., road design/maintenance), you must serve a Notice of Claim within 180 days and sue within 1 year (A.R.S. §§12-821.01, 12-821). Calendar both clocks—negotiations don’t pause them.
Request it immediately:
Accident register (carrier keeps 3 years).
Also seek dash-cam/ECM (black box) data and nearby camera footage before it’s overwritten.
ELD/RODS logs + supporting docs (carrier must retain 6 months and keep a separate backup).
Call your own insurer first, regardless of fault. Industry guidance is to notify your insurer as soon as possible so coverage and next steps are clear; they can coordinate with the trucker’s carrier.
Stack payments: your health insurance and any optional Medical Payments (MedPay) can fund necessary and reasonable expenses now, regardless of fault; the at-fault carrier (and, if needed, your UM/UIM, which AZ insurers must offer) typically reimburses later.