SEMI TRUCK ACCIDENTS

Pursue medical treatment and get the care you need in order to physically recover as much as possible. Take the time needed to do this, and focus on your recovery. The biggest mistake a trucking accident victim can make is to push themselves back to work too soon, or to stop medical treatment when they start to feel better. This can lead to serious physical relapses or setbacks that can make physical recovery longer and more painful than it would if the victim would have follow the regimented care prescribed by their medical providers. It is a terrible inconvenience that will affect every facet of your life. But, you must endure it and complete your treatment until you feel as good as you did the moment before impact. If you’re in a commercial truck accident, follow these steps to ensure your claim is framed correctly as to minimize friction and delay in your claim.

• Stay calm. The other driver may attempt to persuade you to not call the police, and may even attempt to drive off. Do not agree to this.
• Call 911 and request a collision report be made.
• Obtain the relevant information from the other vehicle driver’s information:
  • Name
  • Address
  • Phone Number
  • Vehicle year, make, model and license number
  • Insurance information. The at-fault driver was likely driving a company vehicle. Be sure to get this information.

• Obtain as much contact information of every witness, as this information can be absolutely vital to your claim if liability is disputed (and it likely will be) :
  • Name
  • Phone Number
  • Address
  • Email

• Take clear photos of the scene of the collision, as well as the damage to both your vehicle and the vehicle that hit you. If you are transported to the hospital via ambulance, ask a loved one to the scene in order to take pictures.
• Open a claim immediately with all insurance companies involved, even your own.  Do not give any recorded statements without first speaking to a lawyer first.
• Call an experienced semi truck and commercial truck collision attorney.
• Keep track of all of your medical providers; obtain any police reports and company incident reports, and any documentation from insurance companies or law firms. Document all of your time lost at work due to injuries caused by the collision.
• Pursue medical treatment and get the care you need in order to physically recover as much as possible. Take the time needed to do this, and focus on your recovery. The biggest mistake a trucking accident victim can make is to push themselves back to work too soon, or to stop medical treatment when they start to feel better. This can lead to serious physical relapses or setbacks that can make physical recovery longer and more painful than it would if the victim would have follow the regimented care prescribed by their medical providers. It is a terrible inconvenience that will affect every facet of your life. But, you must endure it and complete your treatment until you feel as good as you did the moment before impact.

If another party is at fault, you have the right to receive medical treatment that is reasonable, necessary, and related to the accident.

Just because your PIP becomes exhausted does not mean you can’t or shouldn’t seek more treatment. There are cases where car insurance is not enough to compensate for injuries, but even in these cases, solutions can still exist. These cases are few and far between, and can be improved greatly if an attorney is on your side.

If a medical condition is diagnosed and deemed related to the accident on a more probable than not basis, you can and should get treated.

Frequency, intensity, duration of treatment is all important. It is your responsibility to get better. If a doctor recommends a consult with a specialist, it's in your best interest to schedule one immediately.

"If you're hurt, you should treat". Don't be a tough guy and wait to seek medical treatment.  Foregoing treatment altogether means there’s no valid documentation of your injuries – and this is likely fatal to your personal injury claim. Waiting more than a week or two, and gaps in treatment over a few weeks call into question the extent of your injuries and therefore some or all of the care you received for said injuries.

You have the right to have your vehicle repaired to its pre-loss condition.

This includes the right to have your vehicle repaired at a shop of your choice. Insurance companies employ a tactic known as "steering", where they attempt to persuade you into using a body shop in their network. Insurance companies often recommend against shops you choose that are not in their repair network. These body shops are contractually obligated to pay as little as possible to repair your vehicle, and this unfortunately oftentimes means cutting corners that can affect your safety. Taking it to one of the independent shops around you can cause friction with the insurance company, but in the long run is almost always worth it. If you've had your vehicle repaired at one of their preferred facilities, you can have a post-repair inspection done by an independent appraiser. They oftentimes find repairs to be lacking and incomplete.

You may have the right to recover the diminished value of your vehicle.

Even if your vehicle is repaired perfectly to a "pre-loss condition", it's still worth less than a vehicle with the same make, model, year, miles and condition, just because it has been in an accident. Diminished value claims are not worth it for a large percentage of vehicles, and getting the full diminished value in Washington State is all but impossible without an attorney.

You have the right to recover for lost wages, travel time, and time spent treating, if applicable.

You have the right to recover noneconomic damages such as pain, suffering and inconvenience.

The attorneys at Washington’s Law Firm have handled a wide variety of truck accident claims. Over the years, we’ve compiled a list of things every Washington driver should know. If you are better protected, the outlook of your claim improves by a great margin.

PIP and UM/UIM premiums are among the best choices you can make as a consumer.

If the person who hit you didn't have insurance, and you don't have UM/UIM, you are stuck with the repair bill. You're also stuck with the medical bills that are now piling up as a result, unless covered by medical insurance. In the same situation, you're without recourse when it comes to lost wages, time and inconvenience.  Those who have PIP usually go through the process with much less stress, more financial recovery, and more fully healed bodies.

“FULL COVERAGE” is a HUGE misnomer.

It merely means you have your liability insurance, collision coverage, and other property damage coverage such as vandalism, theft, hit and runs. It by no means indicates that you and your body are covered. UM/UIM, and PIP are not automatically included in what may be described as “full coverage”. Neither is rental reimbursement, emergency services, or gap insurance. Just because you have “full coverage” does not mean you have an adequate amount of coverage to ensure the smoothest and least stressful experience in the event of an auto accident.

Unrepresented parties are taken much less seriously than those with an attorney.

This is seen throughout the entirety of the claim, and most notably at the end of the claim, when an injured party demands compensation. Often there is an offer that isn’t fully calculated or broken down – meaning the adjuster is withholding vital information from you.

You can absolutely afford a lawyer.

The vast majority of car accident attorneys work on a contingency fee- meaning they will advance the cost of working the case until its resolution and only take a fee if they win your case. Injured parties almost never have to pay anything out of pocket to pursue a claim against an insurance company.

Just because you file a lawsuit doesn't mean you have to go to trial.

Many insurance companies stand by lowball offers for minor injury, soft tissue cases. Oftentimes the Insurance Company will offer a low enough amount proposing the person that got hit as a result of their insured's negligence actually has to pay out of pocket. When the offer is too low, and the case is worthy, you have to file lawsuit. However, almost all cases settle or are resolved before the actual trial date.

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!

Waiting to go to the doctor and/or other medical providers can greatly devalue your claim, and even sometimes be fatal to your claim against the insurance company. In some cases, waiting to demand compensation can be fatal to your case.  Gaps in care can severely diminish the value of your likelihood of recovery. Time is not on your side, and neither is the at-fault party’s adjuster. You have a responsibility to get better: no one is in a better position to take care of this than you are.