Following a truck accident, medical treatment, investigations, and determining liability are some critical steps involved in helping victims recover both medically and financially. Understanding what to expect after a truck accident could better prepare you following an accident.
For help with a truck accident case from an accident attorney in Naperville, call Chute, O’Malley, Knobloch, and Turcy, LLC at 312-775-0042 for a free consultation.
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What Happens in the Aftermath of a Truck Accident?
Truck accidents frequently occur in Illinois. One recent report from the Illinois Department of Transformation (IDOT) found that one year saw a total of 11,178 accidents involving tractor-trailers alone, accounting for 3.8% of all accidents that year. Of these accidents, 1,817 resulted in injuries, and 103 were fatal.
Following any type of truck accident, there are key elements that come into play in a truck accident claim or lawsuit. Generally, this process involves:
- Determining Liability: One element involves identifying liable parties, but how is liability determined in a truck accident? After an accident, law enforcement, insurance companies, and other parties will investigate the accident to determine how it occurred and who was at fault. In the process, all parties will collect and review evidence to determine liability. Many parties could be responsible for truck accidents, including drivers, mechanics, trucking companies, and government agencies.
- Calculating Compensation: Victims who suffer injuries in accidents may be able to recover compensation for those injuries and other damages sustained. There are many damages that accidents could cause, especially with truck accidents that tend to involve more serious injuries and property damage.
- Taking Legal Action: After calculating compensation, victims could either file a claim or a lawsuit to recover compensation with the help of a car accident lawyer. If a loved one dies because of a truck accident, the victim’s family could alternatively file a wrongful death lawsuit to recover damages.
Steps Involved Following a Truck Accident
With a general understanding of what happens after a truck accident, let’s look deeper into the process of building a case.
The following are the steps you’ll need to take throughout the truck accident settlement process:
Medical Treatment and the Recovery Process
Medical treatment is crucial for victims to undergo shortly after an accident. While some people involved in these accidents decide they don’t need treatment because symptoms and injuries are minor, even seemingly innocuous injuries could develop into serious conditions later on.
Additionally, if you wait too long to seek treatment after an accident, you risk being unable to connect your injuries to the date of the accident. This inability to prove the nature of your injuries could then compromise your case.
If you want to shorten the truck accident claim timeline, seeking medical treatment is one of the first steps to take. Getting treatment from a professional will help you recover from your injuries while providing you with critical medical records that support your case.
Contacting Authorities
Contact the local authorities by calling 9-1-1. In Illinois, you are legally required to do so if an accident results in injuries or significant property damage.
When calling the authorities, dispatchers could send an ambulance and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to address all injuries on the scene and take victims to a nearby hospital if needed. At the same time, police will arrive to assess the accident and scene.
In the process, police will begin drafting an official police report detailing the events leading up to and following the accident. This document is essential in determining liability and constructing a narrative explaining the accident. Police will also question any witnesses who were present at the time of the accident and record their statements, which could further support your case.
Gathering Evidence
Before building a case, it’s important to collect as much evidence as possible to prove liability and the nature of your injuries.
Truck accident cases can involve many factors, which is why many types of evidence could contribute to a claim or lawsuit.
This evidence could include:
- Medical records and bills
- Police reports
- Proof of lost income and earning capacity
- Receipts for purchases made to repair or replace damaged property
- Witness statements
- Truck drivers’ logbooks
These are some of the many pieces of evidence you’ll need to help your case. If you need assistance with this, an experienced truck accident lawyer will be able to collect and organize all relevant evidence in a claim or lawsuit against liable parties.
Identifying All Damages
The evidence you gather will not only prove liability, but it will also prove all the damages involved in the case.
There are multiple types of damages for which accident victims may recover compensation. These include economic, non-economic, punitive, and wrongful death damages. Knowing the differences between each could help you identify and classify all damages in your case.
Starting with economic damages, these account for all direct financial losses resulting from an accident and injuries. These damages could include medical expenses, property repairs and replacements, ramps and other accommodations for disabilities, and all other costs related to the accident.
At the same time, you may qualify for certain non-economic damages, which cover the personal and emotional impact of truck accidents. For example, you may be able to count pain and suffering, anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress toward your settlement based on your experience with the recovery process. Other non-economic damages include disfigurement, overall loss of enjoyment of life, and loss of relationships stemming from injuries and psychological trauma.
If a defendant in your case is liable for gross negligence or malicious intent, you may also recover punitive damages if your case goes to trial. These are rare and only have the purpose of punishing defendants for egregious behavior, with the goal of preventing similar acts in the future. For instance, a trucking company could have been aware of mechanical issues with its fleet and failed to properly address these issues with effective maintenance, in which case a judge or jury may find the company grossly negligent in causing an accident.
Victims’ loved ones could also recover wrongful death damages if the victims succumbed to their injuries in an accident. These might include a combination of the above damages, along with others resulting from the individual’s death, such as funeral expenses and loss of financial support.
Filing a Claim or Lawsuit
Depending on the case, you would file either a claim or lawsuit against the liable parties to recover compensation.
Most truck accidents involve insurance claims against the liable party’s insurer, during which a truck accident insurance investigation will take place to determine liability and quantify damages. Insurers want to avoid paying out large settlements, meaning that adjusters and investigators will likely do what they can to minimize or deny your case or claim that you were liable.
Although the majority of truck accidents settle during the claims process, some may wind up going to trial if the parties involved cannot reach an agreement. In these instances, you and your lawyer would file a lawsuit against the liable party and go to court. While your case may still settle before the trial process actually begins, you may need to settle in a trial case to recover full compensation if you believe the other party is liable.
Hiring a Truck Accident Attorney
One of the most important steps to take following a truck accident is to consult a truck accident attorney with experience handling cases like yours.
With the help of an attorney, you can complete all the aforementioned steps, including collecting evidence, determining liability, calculating all damages, and filing a claim or lawsuit.
A lawyer in this practice area will have ample experience and can help navigate you through the claims or legal process. He or she will be able to meet with you in a free initial consultation and discuss the nature of your case. Based on this meeting, he or she may then decide to represent you.
Lawyers have the resources and knowledge to contact all involved parties, helping you pinpoint precisely who was liable with sufficient evidence. He or she could also represent you in court if your case goes to trial.
Ultimately, the presence of a lawyer could make or break your case, as the right representation is essential in helping you recover total compensation.
Want help with a case? The Naperville car accident attorneys at Chute, O’Malley, Knobloch, and Turcy, LLC are here for you. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation and find out how we might help you build a successful case.