After a truck accident in Rhode Island, it’s essential that you know the steps to take to improve your well-being and protect your right to seek compensation for your injuries. Taking the right steps can strengthen your truck accident claim, and taking the wrong steps can severely impede your ability to recover the compensation you need.
Why Truck Accidents Require Special Legal Attention
Truck accidents require special legal attention because they’re often far more complex than other motor vehicle accidents. This is due to the severity of the injuries involved, the multiple liable parties, the state and federal regulations at play, and the significant insurance policies trucking companies have.
If you were injured in a truck accident, you need a lawyer with experience handling these types of cases. Your lawyer must be able to accurately assess the value of your case, identify all liable parties, and understand which federal regulations apply and how to use them to your benefit.
Step-by-Step Actions to Take After a Truck Accident
The key steps to take after a truck collision are reporting the accident, seeking medical attention, avoiding admitting fault, documenting the scene, collecting contact information, and notifying your insurance company. By taking these steps, you can give yourself the best chance of maximizing your recovery.
Report the Accident to the Police
The first step after any motor vehicle accident is to get to a safe location off the side of the road and report the accident to the police. You’ll want to request that an officer and an ambulance come out to the scene.
When the police officer arrives, they’ll conduct an initial investigation into the accident and fill out an accident report with the details of their findings. Always request a copy of this report, as it’s often necessary when filing an insurance claim, and the information contained in it can be helpful for the rest of your case.
Seek Immediate Medical Attention
Even if you initially feel fine after an accident, you need medical professionals to check you for injuries, which is why you should request paramedics when calling 9-1-1. Truck accidents often result in catastrophic injuries that are hard to miss. However, they can also result in internal injuries that may not immediately display symptoms or that your adrenaline may mask directly after the crash.
For example, internal organ damage, soft tissue injuries like whiplash, and traumatic brain injuries can all worsen over time and lead to serious complications if not caught early.
Do Not Admit Fault
The insurance companies for the at-fault parties may contact you after the accident, seeking a recorded statement about the collision. You should not speak to these insurers without your lawyer present. Their job is to get you to say something they can twist into you admitting partial fault for the accident so they can reduce the value of your claim.
Rhode Island follows a pure comparative negligence rule that reduces the compensation a victim can receive through a trial award based on their degree of fault. Insurance companies also look to this rule when evaluating claims.
Document the Accident Scene
If your injuries allow for it, try to document the accident scene by taking photographs. You can get someone else to do this for you if your injuries are too severe for you to do it yourself. Some of the most important things to photograph are:
- The damage done to the vehicles
- Skid marks on the road
- Relevant traffic signs and signals
- Visible injuries
These pictures can help identify the liable parties, determine how the crash occurred, and prove the connection between the crash and your injuries.
Collect Contact Information
Don’t forget to collect the names, contact information, and insurance information of all drivers involved in the accident, especially the truck driver. It’s also recommended that you collect the names and contact information of any witnesses so your lawyer can follow up with them to record their statements. If you cannot get witness contact information, your lawyer may be able to obtain it through the police’s accident report.
Notify Your Insurance Company
Even if you weren’t at fault for the accident, it’s important to notify your insurance company. Your insurance policy may have a clause that requires you to inform your insurer in order to be covered if someone else files a claim against you.
Additionally, you must report the accident to your insurer if you need to file an uninsured or underinsured motorist claim. Trucking companies often have significant liability coverage, but if another motorist contributed to the accident, these types of claims may still come in handy for seeking the maximum compensation available.
Additional Tips for Protecting Your Legal Rights
In addition to the immediate steps to take after a Rhode Island truck accident, you should follow these tips to further protect your legal rights and strengthen your case:
- Avoid Social Media – Posting on social media can harm your legal case by giving the insurance company evidence it can use against you in negotiations or at trial. You should lock down your accounts and tell your friends and family to avoid posting about you.
- Keep All Medical Bills – It’s essential that you keep track of all medical bills related to the truck accident so your lawyer can use them when calculating your damages.
- Be Aware of Deadlines – Rhode Island gives injury victims three years to file lawsuits against at-fault parties. This may sound like plenty of time, but due to the complexity of truck accident cases, there is a lot to investigate and multiple parties to negotiate with, making it vital that you begin working with an attorney as soon as possible.
Contact Our Rhode Island Truck Accident Lawyers
If you were in a Rhode Island truck accident, reach out to the team at The Law Offices of Ronald J. Resmini, Accident & Injury Lawyers, Ltd. at 401.444.4444 for a free consultation with a knowledgeable injury lawyer. Our firm has over 85 years of combined legal experience and has successfully represented hundreds of clients. Let our family fight for you. Reach out today to speak with an experienced truck accident attorney.
