Sacramento Trucking & Big Rig Accident Attorney
Commercial Truck Accident Litigation
What You Can Do to Avoid Becoming A Statistic
If your family car comes into conflict with a commercial truck, we know which vehicle will sustain the most damage. Not that the trucks don't ever get
damaged - they can roll over, crunch up and be totally destroyed sometimes. But as the little Davids in these encounters, we have to use our resources
extra well to have a chance against the Goliaths.
Basic Items In Your Car
Equip your car or SUV with things that will help and comfort in case of any accident, whether with a commercial truck or any other vehicle.
If you ride a motorcycle, you can still carry all these things, (even the last two, to help anyone trapped in their car):
- First-aid kit
- Flares
- Flashlight - preferably one that doesn't need batteries
- Blanket
- Pen and paper
- Jumper cables
- Camera - for taking immediate photos of the accident scene.
- A disposable camera would be fine, even two of them, because you don't want to skimp on how many you take. A 35 mm or video camera would both be excellent.
- Get as much detail as you can, and snap from different angles and distances.
- Include any skid marks, and if you have a ruler or tape measure, lay it down next to the mark before you snap the picture.
- Include debris lying around. Take close-ups as well as shots that include some surrounding area, so police can later see where this debris was.
- Include the interior of your vehicle, e.g. if a person's head hit something, get a close-up of the damage to the vehicle
- A seat belt cutter - you don't want to be trapped, in case of fire
- A vehicle window glass breaker - special pointed hammers
If You're In An Accident With A Truck
You should do the same things you would do after any road accident.
- First, see if anybody is hurt and needs medical care. That includes you too. Unless you have EMT training and know what
you're doing, don't try to move anyone.
- Call 911. The operator will notify the nearest police station and can send all services needed, such as ambulance
and fire truck. Since you'll be calling from a cell phone, remember to tell the 911 operator where you are, as this
info isn't available from a cell phone.
- A huge damaged truck at an odd angle will obviously alert oncoming traffic that something's blocking the road.
But unusual lights attract attention easily, so if you have flares, put them out to give extra notification, or turn
on your hazard lights, or if your vehicle is particularly exposed on the highway, raising the hood will help alert approaching drivers.
- Exchange basic information with the truck driver if you can, and with any other drivers involved.
- Don't volunteer any information beyond your name, address, insurance information and driver's license number
- Ask them to show you their documents as well as giving you that information about themselves
- Note down the license plate numbers
- If there are any witnesses, obtain their names and phone numbers and ask them what they saw
- As soon as you can, contact a personal injury lawyer, a
wrongful death lawyer, or an insurance lawyer.
In California a claim for personal injury or wrongful death must be filed within two years of injury or death.
Public Vehicles
If your injury is caused by a public entity, such as a city, county or state vehicle, CALTRANS, a fire truck, etc.,
you must file a written claim with the city or county clerk within 6 months of your injury. This is true in cases of wrongful death too,
if a loved one was killed in such an accident.
If the public entity takes no action, you then have only six months to file a formal legal complaint. Contact an accident lawyer to be
sure you don't miss any important deadlines.
In Cases of Injury
- Remember that some symptoms show up the next day, or a week or two later. This is notoriously true of whiplash injuries.
- Take photos of the injured person in hospital. Get close-ups of injuries and keep distracting things out of the frame, such as flowers or balloons.
- If you have a video camera, use it to document injuries and treatments. You could even take daily videos showing the progress of healing, or difficulty with healing. Sound can be part of these videos too, and don't be shy about allowing sounds of pain to be heard.
Truck Insurance
By law, commercial trucks must carry a minimum amount of insurance to protect the public from drastic injuries.
In addition, national trucking companies have layers of underlying and extra insurance. Therefore,
you could potentially be able to tap into millions of dollars in your quest for compensation. Contact an experienced
accident attorney to see what options there might be.
Every Case Is Different
An experienced personal injury attorney or insurance attorney can
assess the particular facts of your case and decide on the action that will lead to the best possible compensation for your injuries.
|
|
Contact Us
Sacramento Office
(916) 442-000
Stockton Office
(209) 464-7700
|
|
|
|
|
