Truck Accident Cases: Everything You Need to Know

Semi-Trucks and 18-wheelers are massive vehicles and any collision with such heavy vehicles will almost always lead to severe injuries for the people involved, if not worse. Getting medical help to the injured parties is the priority, but once that has been taken care of, one must immediately start to think about how they can get the compensation they deserve in order to pay for the medical bills, repairs, and damages. In order for the victims of truck accidents to find justice, here are the most important points they need to consider as soon as possible.

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Act Fast

As soon as you get your medical priorities sorted out, contact your truck accident attorney without delay. The longer you wait before taking legal action, the weaker your case will become. Besides, in accordance with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulations, even if the guilty truck driver was driving beyond the legal hours, he is not bound by law to produce the necessary hours of service records if the time period from the day of the accident has exceeded six-months. Your lawyer will prevent the destruction of such crucial evidence at the end of this period by simply serving a court order to the defending party.

Expect an ISO Search

ISO stands for Insurance Services Offices and you should expect that the defence lawyer will surely go through all your insurance records, which includes dates and other intimate details about all your policies and every claim that you have ever made. As the defence lawyer will try to use all this data to somehow undermine your position as a claimant, be sure to tell your trucking accident lawyer everything in advance. If it was documented, chances are that you won’t be able to hide it, so be honest about everything to your legal advisors so that they can prepare you to face any troublesome questions.

Expect to be Under Surveillance

The trucking company will probably put you under surveillance. Your attorney should advise you how to deal with surveillance and how you can avoid making any moves that might weaken your legal standpoint.

Your Case is Stronger than it may Look

According to the Department of Transportation, 30,000+ truck drivers are found each year with illegal drugs in their system and this number doesn’t even count the ones who drive after drinking too much during their duty hours. If you are a victim of a trucking accident, the chances are pretty high that the driver was either drunk or high on drugs and if that can be proven in the court of law, you have almost won the case.

Even if it wasn’t the fault of the truck driver, but a true accident which happened due to the malfunctioning of the vehicle, you have a high chance of winning the case because it is the responsibility of the trucking company to make sure that all vehicles they put out on the road are in optimum condition. Most of what you read here will likely be explained in more detail by your truck accident attorney, but it is only wise to know a few things in advance.