How to Protect Your Rights After a Truck Accident
It’s always important to start thinking about protecting your rights after a truck accident. Truck accidents often involve large trucking companies and insurance providers that work quickly to protect their interests. If you do not protect yourself, you could end up paying for someone else’s mistakes.
Gathering evidence, documenting the accident, and contacting a lawyer can help you stay ahead of the game in a truck accident case. Delaying could result in lost evidence and missed opportunities to hold the responsible parties accountable. Prompt action gives you the best chance of building a solid case and securing fair compensation for your losses.
How to Protect Your Legal Rights After a Truck Accident
Truck accidents often result in catastrophic injuries and significant property damage, and you could face challenges in getting full compensation for all your losses. Understanding the most important legal steps after a truck accident will help you stay on track and avoid mistakes.
Getting Medical Attention for Your Injuries
Your health is your top priority after a truck accident. You should seek medical attention immediately, even if you initially feel fine. Some injuries do not show symptoms immediately, but delaying treatment could worsen them. A medical professional can also document your injuries, and this documentation can provide valuable evidence if you decide to take legal action.
Filing a Police or Crash Report
In Missouri, you must file a crash report if a truck accident results in injury, death, or more than $500 in property damage. Filing a report is necessary to record the accident officially and can provide a helpful starting point for any insurance claims.
Keeping an Itemized List of Your Damages
The term “damages” refers to the money you could receive for your losses due to the accident. These losses could include:
- Medical bills for treatment of your serious injuries
- Income losses from any time you miss at work during your recovery
- Out-of-pocket expenses for things like car rentals and medical travel
- Subjective losses like emotional distress and lost quality of life
- Repair or replacement costs for your damaged vehicle
You should keep detailed records of every loss, no matter how small, to support your claim for full compensation from the liable parties for all the truck accident’s impacts.
Understanding the Value of Your Collision-Related Losses
Your personal injury attorney can handle the process of calculating the total value of your truck accident losses. That includes determining your current and future medical expenses, income losses, and any other losses related to the truck accident. Your lawyer can also estimate the value of subjective losses like pain and suffering, which are more challenging to calculate.
Understanding Your Legal Options After a Truck Accident
Our truck accident lawyers are ready to explore your legal options after a truck accident by analyzing the different paths you could take. We can assess whether you have a strong case for pursuing a personal injury claim and explain what compensation you could recover from the insurance company. Additionally, we can discuss the potential challenges you might face and help you decide on the best course of action based on your specific situation.
How an Experienced Attorney Can Help Protect Your Rights After a Truck Accident
Contact Sumner Law Group, LLC, today for a free legal consultation if you have suffered harm in a truck accident. A truck accident lawyer from our law firm can explain your legal options and fight for the financial recovery you deserve.
Brent A. Sumner is the Managing Partner at Sumner Law Group, LLC. He focuses his practice exclusively on cases that involve serious personal injuries. Over the years, he has successfully represented thousands of individuals and families, recovering millions of dollars in compensation for injured accident victims.
