If you or a loved one been involved in an 18 wheeler accident, contact our team of experienced attorneys and staff today!
Feeling the rumbling of an 18-wheeler passing your car on the interstate is scary enough but getting into an accident with one is a nightmare no one dreams of ever happening to them. A crash involving an 18-wheeler often is serious because of the heavy weight and large size of the truck compared to the smaller sized passenger cars that most people drive every day.
If you are the victim of a truck company’s negligence (carelessness or recklessness?), then you shouldn’t have to worry about working on your own to prove you deserve fair compensation from insurance companies and adjusters. Getting a personal injury attorney who is experienced in handling trucking cases to help you is imperative. We know the best way to get what you deserve and hold truck companies accountable. Two common questions that people have when dealing with 18-wheeler accidents are what am I trying to prove and how do I prove that?
What are you proving?
In order to get compensation for your injuries, you must prove four things to show that the company and the driver were negligent in causing your injuries and you deserve to get money from them. The first thing that must be proven is that the driver owed you duty of care. Duty of care means that whatever happened in the accident, if it was foreseeable as a possibility of harming another human, then they have a duty to try to prevent any harm from coming to you. The second thing that has to be shown is that duty of care was breached. If the duty of care was breached, the company and driver didn’t take your care into account when acting and thus put your life and well-being in danger.
The third thing that must be proven is if the crash occurred as a result, or was caused by, of the breach of duty of care. Finally, the fourth thing to prove is that you suffered damages. Suffering damages means any harm, physically, emotionally, and mentally, that may have occurred was caused by the accident, and you suffered is some way. Proving your case against a big truck company is difficult, but with the most knowledgeable and experienced help you will be successful in proving that you were wronged.
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How do I prove these claims?
Getting in an 18-wheeler accident usually means you must go to the hospital immediately from the scene of the accident by ambulance. When this is the case, you likely will miss giving your statement to police and telling your side of the story. Going into the police station after the accident is important, because it shows that you are taking the situation seriously and that you know you were wronged by the crash. The sooner you go, the better. It will be easier to recall specific memories about the accident closer to when it occurred. Be sure to tell the truth and know it is OK to say you don’t remember. Police will often have witness statements and pictures from the scene that can help with any claims you have. Also, it is imperative that you get a copy of your police report to give to your lawyer to look over and use for your case.
It’s always a good idea to keep a journal of your injuries, so if a trial does happen or you need to give testimony, then you have something to look back on to recall the day of the accident and your injuries and medical treatment. Start writing from the beginning of what happened during the crash, how you felt after, and how you were treated throughout everything. Having a journal also puts into perspective what you had to go through, emotionally and physically. A journal is also beneficial so that the only evidence you have isn’t reports written by third parties such as police and doctors. Other than talking to the police and keeping a journal, be sure to find an attorney experienced with handling truck cases that can help during the rest of your case, collection of evidence, and guide you on what to do next. Your trucking attorney would be able to do a lot of the work for you to ensure that you are getting the care you need and relieving you of the stress of having to handle it all on your own.
Being in an accident can bring enough problems in your life, but one with an 18-wheeler brings new light to the word crash. Having a personal injury attorney with a lot of experience handling cases against big truck companies on your side can make a world of difference in your case and life by taking a lot of stress from the accident off your plate. Taking care of yourself and your family should be your number one priority after an accident, not trying to gather evidence or fighting with insurance companies. An 18-wheeler crash can take a lot from you, but don’t let the case take anymore.
