🚚What should I do after a trucking accident?
Get help for injuries, talk to the police, and call Rankin & Gregory!
Lancaster Truck Injury Lawyer Chad Rankin explains the urgency of calling a lawyer immediately after an accident involving a tractor trailer truck.
If you are involved in a truck accident, you may be wondering, “Should I call a lawyer after a trucking accident?”
Yes, you should immediately call an experienced and qualified attorney, like the attorneys at Rankin & Gregory, LLC (RG Injury Law).
We have won hundreds of trucking accident cases. Time is of the essence when you’ve had an accident, so act quickly!
Why does it matter if I call an attorney right away after a truck causes an accident?
The lawyers who defend trucking companies and their insurance carriers are on-call for serious accidents. They often arrive at the scene within hours of the accident to collect evidence, interrogate the witnesses, protect the truck driver, and influence the investigation in ways that would benefit their clients.
Truckers’ lawyers will often bring accident reconstruction experts along with them to potentially combat the police investigation if it shows that the truck driver was at fault. You need someone on your side ASAP to preserve the evidence and investigate the accident.
The sooner that our attorneys get onto the scene, the more likely you and your family will be protected.
What should I do at the scene of a trucking accident?
Check yourself and anyone else in your vehicle for injuries.
Then, check the accident scene for any other possible injuries.
Call 911 if anyone is injured. If in doubt, call 911.
Serious injuries can appear minor at first.
Should I call the police after a trucking accident?
Yes, you should call the police if there is property damage to the vehicles or injuries.
Make sure that the investigating police officer provides you with an exchange of information showing the name of the other drivers and their respective insurance companies or have them provide you with an incident number so that your lawyer can obtain the full police accident report. If these are unavailable, get the police officer’s name and badge number so they can be contacted later.
Should I talk to the witnesses of a trucking accident?
Yes, if possible, you should talk to all of the witnesses to hear how they believe the trucking accident happened. Make sure to get the names and contact information for each witness. If you cannot talk to them at the scene, provide the witness names and contact information to your lawyer so that can obtain statements from each witness.
Should I take photographs at the trucking accident scene?
Yes, you should take photographs of the vehicle in their final resting positions; if possible. You should also take photographs of the damage to all of the vehicles. Finally, you should take photographs of the accident scene. Your lawyer will also go out to the scene of the accident to photograph any important landmarks or road conditions. Get your lawyer involved in the case early to preserve this type of evidence.
Should I notify my insurance company of a trucking accident?
You do not need to call your insurance company from the scene of the accident, but you should call them when you get home or when things calm down. You should notify your insurance company of the accident, even if it was not your fault, for a few reasons.
First, In Pennsylvania, the first level of medical bills will be paid by your own car insurance company regardless of who was at fault for the accident because Pennsylvania is a no-fault state up to the limit of your medical benefits under the policy.
Your insurance company will provide you with a claim number that you should give to your medical providers so that the bills are paid in full.
Second, if you purchased collision coverage with your own insurance, have them inspect the damage to your vehicle for repair costs or the total loss value. You can then compare those numbers with the proposed value from at-fault driver’s insurance. You can then take the best deal for you.
Third, let them know what happened in case the at-fault driver tries to blame you. Your insurance company will be in a better position to defend the claim if they have enough information to do so. If fault for the accident is questionable or is being questioned by anyone, contact a lawyer immediately to help ensure that things go as smoothly as possible.
Should I accept the trucking company’s settlement offer or should I consult a lawyer?
Insurance companies always try to pay as little as possible. They like to keep the money that they received in premiums. You may receive a quick offer to settle from the trucking company’s insurance carrier. Unfortunately, that offer will not be reflective of the value of your case.
An excellent and experienced lawyer will get the best number for you. This number will almost assuredly be more than you would have been able to get on your own even after paying the lawyer. The bottom line is that your net recovery in your trucking accident case will be better with a lawyer like those from Rankin & Gregory, LLC (RG Injury Law).
See number #1 and consult with a lawyer at Rankin & Gregory LLC (RG Injury Law). Trucking accident cases are complicated. There is usually a lot of money at stake. The trucking company’s insurance company is only going to take your claim seriously if you have a lawyer that they respect.
Call Chad Rankin at (717) 656-5000 to help guide you through your trucking accident case. His experience and past results will benefit you and your family. Check out our client reviews on Google to learn what clients say about working with the Rankin & Gregory legal team.
Call us for a no-pressure, truck accident injury case consultation at 717.656.5000.
You may think you need big city truck accident lawyers in Philadelphia to win your accident injury case when you’ve been hit by a big rig or tractor trailer truck. However, our winning record is the result of personalized attention and communication with clients, thorough knowledge of vehicle law in Pennsylvania, and experience with the insurance companies who want to pay you as little as possible for what you’ve suffered.
While we call Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, our home, our PA personal injury law firm fights for clients with injuries and disabilities in need of personal injury lawyers, auto, motorcycle, truck, and pedestrian accident lawyers, Workers’ Compensation lawyers, and wrongful death lawyers throughout the mid-Atlantic region from offices in Lancaster County PA that include service in Harrisburg, Hershey, Middletown, Annville, Mt. Gretna, Elizabethtown, Columbia PA, Lancaster City, Neffsville, Hempfield Township, Manheim Borough, Manor Township, Manheim Township, Gap, Ephrata, Lititz, Leola, Mt. Joy, Marietta, Akron, Denver, Millersville, Willow Street, Strasburg, New Holland, Paradise, Refton, Quarryville, Reamstown, West Chester, Coatesville, Exton, King of Prussia, and Malvern. RG Injury Law also fights for injured people in the counties of Lebanon, Philadelphia, Chester, York, Dauphin, Berks, and Montgomery.