Why you NEED a Lawyer After a Truck Accident
When a large commercial truck (like a semi-truck or flatbed truck) gets into an accident, the damage that occurs is often devastating. The reason is because these trucks are so BIG. Many of them often way close to 80,000 pounds once they are loaded with cargo. Cars, pickup trucks, and motorcycles don’t often stand a chance when they are involved in an accident with a large semi-truck. Along with damages to the vehicles involved, the people in these accidents are usually badly injured. In many cases, these injuries become long-term disabilities. For this reason, if you were injured in a semi-truck accident, it’s so important to make sure you come away with the proper compensation to financially support your ongoing treatments and injury management.
Here’s the challenge. These trucking companies (especially the large national companies) will do anything they can to avoid accountability for the accident. And unfortunately, they are very good at avoiding accountability. Our law firm has seen its share of shady procedures that these trucking companies will take in order to avoid paying out a settlement. This is why you need a lawyer on your side. This is not a fight that you can handle by yourself.
Let’s take a closer look at what these trucking companies will do and what your lawyer needs to do in order to make sure you receive the justice that you deserve.
Let’s take a look at the process AFTER the accident takes place
Immediately after a crash takes place, the truck driver will report the accident to the trucking company. The trucking company will then immediately contact the insurance company. In most cases, the insurance company will have someone out on the scene as soon as possible. There are even times when the insurance company will use a helicopter to fly their agents onto the scene!
These insurance company investigators will then get right to work. They will take photographs, conduct witness interviews, collect data from the truck, and assess the damage of the vehicles that were involved in the crash.
Here’s where you need to be careful
As we mentioned earlier, these trucking companies will do anything they can to escape accountability. Unfortunately, we’ve seen a lot of immoral actions from these trucking companies over the years. We have seen them threaten to sue the other drivers for fault, falsify documents, falsify repair orders, and try to get the drivers to sign medical releases and settlement forms. These trucking companies will even coach their drivers on how to answer questions from the police in ways that will allow them to avoid accountability.
This is what you need to do
Once you seek medical attention for your injuries, hiring an experienced Oregon truck accident lawyer should be your next step. Your lawyer will take care of several crucial steps that need to be handled immediately. Most importantly, there is some evidence that your lawyer will need to investigate right way. For example, the scene of the accident is critical. There may be skid marks or other indicators that need be examined right away to help prove negligence on the truck driver. Proving negligence is the key. Your lawyer will gather every piece of evidence possible to show that the truck driver was negligent in causing the accident.
Handling the insurance company
As you might have guessed by now, these trucking insurance companies can be very difficult to handle. This is why it’s so important to hire an experienced Oregon truck accident lawyer. Your lawyer will handle all of the dialogue and ‘back and forth’ with your insurance company. This will ensure that you don’t end up saying the wrong thing to the insurance company that could provide them with better leverage to dismiss your settlement.
You also have to remember this: these insurance companies spend a lot of money on their lawyers. You need to fight fire with fire by bringing in an experienced lawyer who can properly handle your case from start to finish. There is often a lot of complex data and other intricate factors that will arise throughout the case. Your lawyer will be able to make sense of everything in ways that the average person could not.
The value of an Oregon-based truck accident lawyer
Every state has different sets of regulations and laws that come into play during truck accident cases. This is why it’s so important to hire a lawyer within the state of Oregon. Stay local to ensure that you are getting the proper knowledge applied to your case.
If you were the victim of a truck accident here in the state or Oregon, contact us today at Dwyer Williams Cherkoss Accident Injury Attorneys for a free case evaluation. You can also reach us directly at: 1-800-285-8678. Our team of highly skilled personal injury attorneys has many years of handling truck accident cases all across the state of Oregon. We will work hard to ensure that you receive the justice that you deserve!