While not nearly as dangerous as an accident with a tractor trailer, an automobile vs. pick-truck or other commercial truck accident can cause catastrophic injuries and even death. The sheer magnitude of a truck type vehicle vs. an automobile can cause the death of the driver of the automobile depending on how the accident occurs. Even if the driver of the automobile is practicing road safety in the operation of an automobile, the driver and passengers can fall victim to the negligence of a driver operating a truck on the roadway.
If a truck accident occurs, be sure to get your vehicle off the road to safety but do not leave the scene of the accident. Some injuries may not manifest themselves immediately. The adrenaline and emotions of how much worse an accident with a pick-up truck “could have been” will make your head spin and emotions will be running high. The best thing to do, as in any accident is to say nothing to the other party. Wait for EMS and the police or deputy to arrive at the scene and investigate the accident.
Sometimes your actions at the scene are just reactions to the accident and you are not thinking at that moment how what you do in those first few minutes will affect you.
In those immediate moments after a car accident, there are some things you should not do:
- Never try to represent yourself against an insurance company. This occurs when people do not understand their legal rights and mistakenly believe that the insurance company will be fair and offer an adequate settlement.
- Do not think that hiring a large personal injury firm based on radio and television commercials is the best choice because of the size of the firm. In large law firms, there are many levels of staff that you will talk to before you get to talk to your attorney. In some instances, client who hire large firms never actually get to speak to their attorney who is assigned to their case. Although you may sometimes speak to the paralegal assigned to your case at Hunter Law Firm, it is your right to speak directly to your attorney any time you want to. Attorney George Hunter is available to speak to all of his clients personally.
- If you are involved in any kind of motor vehicle accident do not leave the scene. Call 911 immediately so they can send policeman or deputy to the scene of the accident in addition to an ambulance and EMT’s to do an on-site assessment of your injuries.
- Don’t apologize to the other driver and do not admit any fault for the accident. Anything that you say at the scene may be brought up later and used against you.
- Do not tell anyone that you are not hurt or that you are okay. You have just had an accident, you are not thinking clearly and at that point you really don’t know if you are okay.
- Do not leave the scene of the accident without taking pictures, preferably if you are able to, while the cars are still in the position immediately after the accident. Almost everyone has a cell phone that can take pictures. These pictures could be very important later on when the adverse driver’s insurance carrier tries to dispute liability.
- Do not forget to obtain the other driver’s insurance information and if possible take a picture of the license plate of the other driver’s car or truck.
- Do not refuse to be medically assessed at the scene of the accident. Some injuries will take a few days before you are really feeling pain as you try to go about your regular routine. The other drive’s insurance company will try to say are not hurt because you refused treatment at the scene or did not go to the hospital.
- Do not speak to anyone from an insurance company or a private investigator. They are going to try to get information from you that they will use to hurt you later on. Tell whoever calls you to contact your attorney. Insurers will often reach out to accident victims immediately and try to offer them a few hundred dollars in exchange for an all inclusive release. If you sign that release you will never be able to file a claim, even if your injuries are very serious.
To really protect yourself and your future after an automobile accident that is not your fault, you need to retain the services of a law firm that has represented injured clients and knows how to deal with insurance carriers.
Hunter Law Firm will make sure that you get the compensation that you deserve for your injuries, your pain and suffering, medical expenses and lost wages. We will make sure that the insurance company for the at-fault party does not have the opportunity to take advantage of you and settle your claim for a nominal amount which is likely significantly less than what your case is really worth.
If you are injured in an automobile accident, contact Hunter Law Firm to represent you. And when the adverse insurance company calls you to settle with you for $500, you can tell them call my attorneys – Hunter Law Firm at 813-853-0720.
