James
Truck accidents can result in injury, time off work and speaking with insurance companies before you even know what occurred.
An accident will be part of your injury claim. You will want proof of who was at fault, how you were injured and the expenses those injuries have incurred. There are some errors that can negatively affect this.
In 2024 there were an estimated 161,201 injuries in large-truck crashes in the US. This is from all types of large truck accidents not just from truck drivers being fatigued.
Driver fatigue can be a contributing factor that may take more work to investigate.. Below are errors that you can run into when trying to build your truck accident claim.
You Will Learn:
- Facts about the scene that you should obtain
- More information on truck driver fatigue
- Why your medical treatment and what you say can affect your claim
- Things to consider when you accept an offer
- Why you should be aware of who is at fault and filing deadlines
Not Obtaining Information From The Scene
You can take pictures of your car to show damage from the accident. But those pictures may not explain how the collision happened.
Take pictures of the scene if you can safely do so. Picture all vehicles, lane lines, street signs, any debris and damage that you see. Try to get names of any witnesses that may have seen what happened and if there are any cameras that caught the incident. If you are injured you can have someone do this for you.
There are also other things you should obtain. Keep the accident report number, any dashcam footage you have, and messages exchanged after the accident. Keep the originals of these and do not edit them in any way.
Why should you do this right away? Vehicles can be removed from the scene and cameras can have their memory filled up and deleted. It is better to have a photo of the road than describe what you think it looked like later.
Assuming Truck Driver Was Not Fatigued
You cannot reliably tell whether a truck driver was fatigued just by looking at them after the accident. If the driver looks awake when law enforcement arrives that does not mean they were not tired while operating their vehicle. If they look tired it does not mean they were at fault.
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There are laws that truck drivers must follow for how long they can drive and how much time they need to be off of duty. Not every situation will fall under these laws. If you believe a truck driver was fatigued you will have to dig deeper to see if they followed these rules.
Here are some things to look for:
- Drivers log books
- Any messages between dispatcher and driver
- Where the truck was prior to the accident (gas, toll booths, etc.)
- How long they were driving and resting before the accident
These logs are usually kept by the trucking company. The records may reveal an inconsistent timeline that deserves closer examination. Be sure to ask your attorney to look into this.
If the police report does not list that the truck driver was fatigued that does not rule it out. Law enforcement can only go off what they know at the time of the accident.
Delaying Your Medical Treatment
You may feel ok after an accident with a truck. Some symptoms may not become noticeable until later.
Make sure to see a doctor right away. If you are feeling any pain or discomfort let them know. By doing this you can receive proper treatment and your doctor will have your symptoms noted.
If you skip appointments you are leaving questions unanswered. Insurance companies will ask why you did not seek treatment for your injuries for some time. Just because you did not seek treatment right away does not mean that your injuries were not caused by the accident. But you want your doctors to know what was going on with your body.
Stay on top of your medical bills and treatment that you are receiving. Make a note of when your symptoms started and what you are unable to do. Avoid overstating your limitations or diagnosing yourself.
If you are unable to go to your medical appointment for whatever reason let your doctor know. You want them to be informed of what is happening with your treatment.
Telling Insurance Companies Too Much
When you speak with an insurance company you may not know the extent of your injuries. You may feel like you need to answer all of their questions right away.
Only tell them what you know. Do not assume how fast the truck was going, why they changed lanes or that you are healed from the accident. If you think something you said may have gone too far, speak to your attorney about it.
Be careful if the trucking company insurance asks to speak with you on the phone. Ask what this entails and speak to your attorney before answering any questions. Make sure you notify your insurance company of the accident as well.
Social media can be harmful to your claim as well. You may post that you went out with friends but did not mention that you are still in pain. Do not say anything about who you think was at fault or that you are healed on social media.
Do not delete anything that you may have posted or took pictures of. These can all play a role in your claim.
Accepting A Settlement Too Soon
It can be hard to wait when you have medical bills and no income coming in. Signing a settlement release may prevent you from seeking further compensation for the same crash.
Think about what else you may be billed for besides the initial trip to the hospital. If you have missed work, need more treatment or will not be able to do certain activities you will want to factor that in. You may not know what the future holds until you have had more time to heal or your doctor tells you what to expect.
Collect all of your information that pertains to what you have lost so far. If your doctor says you will need more treatment make sure you have that documented.
When you receive an offer make sure that it will cover all of your injuries and that you can prove those injuries happened from the accident.
Missing Your Deadline And Who Is At Fault
Just because you are talking to an insurance company does not mean your statute of limitations has stopped. In Texas, most personal injury lawsuits generally must be filed within two years after the claim accrues, although exceptions may apply. There are some circumstances that may extend this, but you do not want to wait until the last minute to file.
Knowing who is at fault can also affect your case. In cases covered by Texas proportionate responsibility rules, a claimant found more than 50% responsible generally cannot recover damages. If a claimant is assigned some responsibility but is not barred from recovering, the court generally reduces recoverable damages by that percentage.
This is why you want to know who was at fault as soon as you can. Make sure to keep an eye on your deadline while this is being looked into.
Build A Better Truck Accident Claim
Collect information that will help your truck accident case. By seeing your doctor, obtaining information from the scene and not guessing at facts you can help your case. If you think the truck driver may have been fatigued look into their hours of driving and working.
