Being injured in an accident with a commercial vehicle like a company truck can cause extensive injuries that can leave the injured victims out of work for significant lengths of time.
That’s enough to place most people in serious financial hot water. But under most circumstances, these commercial vehicles usually have sufficient insurance to cover most costs of accidents caused by at-fault drivers employed by the company. Getting them to pay your claim in full, including covering future medical contingencies, is the tricky part, however.
Many of those injured in collisions with commercial vehicles wind up retaining an attorney to represent them in order to ensure their rights are fully protected at all phases of the claims process. If you choose to do this, it will be helpful to bring the following with you to your initial appointment with the attorney:
1. Information about the vehicle you were in at the time of the wreck. Were you driving or riding with somebody else? What is the make, model and year of the vehicle? If it was your car or truck, were you making payments on it or do you own it unencumbered of liens? Did the insurance company offer to pay for damage from the collision? Do you have pictures of the wrecked vehicle?
2. Information regrading the commercial vehicle, its driver and the company that employs him or her. Depending upon the length of time between the accident and your appointment, as well as the extent of your injuries, you may not know very many details. The police report of the accident is a good place to start.
3. Details of the accident as you remember it. If you were badly injured, you literally may not know what hit you. Begin a narrative, including the time of day, weather and road conditions and anything you can recall about the crash.
4. The type and nature of medical treatment you had to receive as a result of the wreck, and any medical bills, prescription invoices and receipts for over-the-counter medications or medical devices like crutches, Ace bandages or slings.
5. Information about your own personal and financial history. This can be important if you had to miss any work due to your injuries, as your attorney can add that to your claim for damages.
If your attorney needs more information, they can get it from the defense counsel.
Source: Findlaw, “Five Things to Research Before Meeting a Truck Accident Attorney,” accessed Nov. 04, 2016
