What To Do After A Truck Accident In Huntsville, Texas?

Need to know what to do after a truck accident in Huntsville, TX? Truck accidents are an all-too-common occurrence in Huntsville, TX. Texas has plenty of open roads, and lots of commerce runs through it. One-seventh of all truck accidents in the U.S. happen in Texas. With the presence of many large commercial vehicles and loads, these accidents also are far more likely to produce catastrophic injuries or even kill people.

Knowing what to do in the minutes, days and weeks after a truck accident is important to preserve your health and protect your legal rights and contact a truck accident attorney at Haney Paschal & Romoser. Every motorist in the Huntsville region should understand the following things about what to do in the aftermath of a truck accident.

Contact Emergency Services Immediately

Call 911 as soon as possible. If you’re not in good enough physical or mental condition to do so, ask someone nearby to call 911. Even if you’re confident that emergency services are coming, place a call. You want to be sure that EMTs, firefighters and police officers will be at the scene of the accident.

Foremost, take care of your health. If a first responder offers care, be sure to accept it. They can identify any potential injuries and treat them. Also, the first responder will provide an excellent account of what your condition was at the moment after an accident. For a truck accident lawyer, this information is invaluable. First responders provide respected professional opinions and observations that are contemporaneous.

Even if you think your injuries are minor, have an EMT check you out. As a matter of health, it is just a good idea to be sure. After all, you might not be in the best condition to judge after an accident. People sometimes are in shock after accidents and don’t notice major injuries.

A truck accident attorney will also do a better job of handling your case if they know that first responders had been at the scene. Most fire, police and ambulance departments require reports for all accident calls. Again, the contemporaneous account from a professional is invaluable to a truck crash lawyer.

Under no circumstances should you let anyone talk you out of calling 911. If anything, take that concern as a stronger sign that first responders need to see what happened.

Collect the Driver’s Information

You want all the information about the truck driver that you possibly can get. Their driver’s license number and state are essential. Get the company’s insurance information. Even if they’re an independent operator, they should be insured. Take pictures of the license plate of the vehicle and its trailer, if you can find them. If there are any registration numbers visible, get those, too.

Do not discuss the accident with the other party. Even if you feel you might have been at fault, refrain from discussion. Get the basic information and stop there, even if the other person is upset or demanding an apology. Let a truck collision attorney make sense of who might be at fault. Remember, an apology could be treated as an admission of liability at a later time. Get tips for auto insurance claims from the Texas Depart Of Insurance.

Photograph the Scene of the Accident

Once first responders have stabilized the medical condition of everyone at the scene, their priority will quickly shift to getting traffic moving again. Do not assume the police or the fire department will get all of the images. Take your own photos. If your phone was lost or damaged in the accident, use someone else’s phone. If necessary, ask a bystander to borrow their phone and send the images immediately to your social media accounts.

A truck crash attorney cannot emphasize enough how important fresh photos from the minutes after the accident are. This provides information about the relative positions of the vehicles. Photos show skid marks, collision points and debris.

Your photos can provide your truck collision lawyer with a better picture of what other available evidence sources are in the area. For example, the lawyer might note the presence of ATMs and traffic lights, which oftentimes have cameras. This extra information is usually available through legal requests, and it can provide more evidence.

When in doubt, take more photos from more angles than you feel is necessary. Overdoing it is better than not having enough. If you’re not physically able to get the photos because you were transported, call someone you know and have them go to the scene to get pictures as soon as possible.

Request a Medical Exam

Even if the EMTs gave you the all-clear, request a medical exam from a doctor at a trauma center. Emergency room doctors are often better at recognizing the signs of trauma after an accident. Remember, not all traumas are outwardly visible. If you’ve suffered brain or spinal damage, you might not notice it right away. Also, there is the benefit of having a doctor’s report for your truck accident lawyer to work with.

Get the exam as soon as possible after the accident. One of the main reasons for rejected truck accident insurance claims is that the defendant’s insurer says the injuries weren’t documented soon enough. A full work-up of X-rays and other scans can identify internal injuries that might not be immediately apparent.

The contemporaneous scans also let a delivery truck accident attorney work with experts to compare them to your earlier medical data. For example, a defendant’s insurer might assert that a claimed injury was pre-existing. They might assert that your old medical records show that you had previously broken your wrist and that it has nothing to do with the accident. The contemporaneous scans can support that a new injury occurred because they’ll show fresh damage.

Contact a Truck Accident Attorney

You want to consult with a truck accident lawyer as soon as possible after the incident. They can examine the case and determine if you might have a claim. The sooner you loop them in, the sooner you can start thinking legally about the accident as a case. Similarly, you can tell anyone who contacts you about the accident to speak with your truck crash attorney. Not only does this limit your legal exposure, but it also minimizes potential retraumatization from constantly rehashing the incident.

Also, don’t assume that a rejection by one law firm is proof that you don’t have a case. Law offices may avoid certain cases for reasons that have nothing to do with you, such as a bad fit for their practice or there isn’t enough money at stake. Even if a few attorneys reject the case, get additional opinions to be sure.

Make Notes

Get a notebook and dedicate it exclusively to documenting the accident. Make notes as soon as you get any new information. Note the time and date of the accident. Write down the names of everyone involved. Write down contact information for first responders, doctors and witnesses.

Note the conditions at the time of the accident, too. Was it raining? Was there low sunlight? Was traffic heavy? Was something else going on, such as another accident?

Keep making notes as the situation progresses. For example, you should contact your car and medical insurance providers. Make notes about who you talked to and when.

Eventually, the other party’s insurer may contact you. Take copious notes whenever they contact you. Also, refrain from answering their questions. If they need to discuss anything in detail, tell them to contact your truck collision attorney. Write down the times and dates of insurance company contacts and relay them to your counsel.

Try to make notes about the vehicles involved in the accident. For example, was the truck an 18-wheeler or a delivery truck? If you recognize the make and model, include those. Did it have a trailer? Was there evidence that it was loaded? A delivery truck accident lawyer may be able to use the information to determine if there are other potentially at-fault parties, such as the manufacturer or even the service garage.

Follow Up with Specialists

Documenting your attempted recovery is just as important as documenting the accident. Orthopedists, physical therapists and neurologists can help you document how your recovery efforts are going. Make notes of the dates of visits. Also, ask the specialists for copies of all of the imagery and reports.

How far your recovery does or doesn’t go will affect the value of your claim. A portion of an accident claim hinges on the long-term effects of the accident. Suppose you suffered nerve damage in your neck and that it never really heals to the point you can be comfortable or work again. You have the right to demand compensation for those future-facing losses just as much as you can seek damages for injuries, pain and suffering from the initial accident. Specialist data will present a better picture to your truck crash attorney of what they should pursue when it comes time to file for damages.

Journal Your Condition Daily

Use a small day planner to journal how you feel each day. Keep the notes short and to the point. Note any pain that you’re feeling. Rate it on a ten-point scale. If you’ve noticed a new problem, note it and then contact your doctors and lawyer. Stick to the facts and avoid heavily characterizing your suffering. The journal can provide a sense of what your pain and suffering have been like since the accident. That chart of your suffering over time tends to be more important than anything experienced on a specific day.

Preserve All Evidence

Your phone and GPS data are invaluable in understanding the case. Even if you think a call or text record is immaterial, it was from the day of the accident. Preserve it. The same goes for anything like dash cam video. Even if you’re worried that the evidence might cast you in a poor light, preserve it. A truck accident lawyer will always have an easier time explaining something that doesn’t look great versus evidence that was deleted or destroyed.

Preserve all physical evidence. Everything from clothing to the contents of your car may provide use evidence later. Store them safely and in climate-controlled conditions, if possible. If there’s a problem with storage, talk with your truck accident lawyer. They can tell you how to best preserve evidence.

Know the Rules

Most truck accident cases in Texas fall under the state’s two-year statutory limit. This means you must formally file a claim with the defendant or their insurer within two years of the date of the accident. One reason to call a truck accident lawyer immediately after an accident is to get the ball rolling as soon as possible. Doing so reduces the risk you’ll miss the cut-off under the statute of limitations. Also, it gives your lawyer a chance to determine if the case falls under an unusual provision that might shorten the statutory limit.

Be Patient

Truck accident claims may take a while to shake out. This is especially true if the victim needs time to physically recover. Your truck collision attorney will want to know how far your medical recovery has progressed before they file a claim. Likewise, they may need to interact with the insurance company and the defendant for a while before they can reach a settlement. In the meantime, be patient and keep working on your physical recovery.

Contact Our Law Firm Today

Our law firm is ready to discuss your case now. Contact us today and schedule a consultation with a truck accident attorney.