5 steps to protect yourself if you are involved in a truck accident

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The 5 Steps to Protect Yourself Truck Accident Law www.urbanthier.com

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Page 1: 5 Steps to Protect Yourself if you are involved in a Truck Accident

The 5 Steps toProtect Yourself

Truck AccidentLaw

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Page 2: 5 Steps to Protect Yourself if you are involved in a Truck Accident

The vast majority of collisions involving semi trucks or

other large commercial vehicles are going to either block

off traffic completely or at least seriously impact the flow of

traffic. On top of this, there may be injuries to yourself or

passengers. The eventual police report (usually titled short

form or long form “Crash Report”) can prove a very critical

piece of evidence in your case, as it should include the

following information:

The personal and contact information of the semi truck or

other commercial vehicle driver, although you should make

sure the police also get contact information for any trucking

company or other employer

The name and contact details of the driver and owner of

each vehicle involved in the accident

The names of the insurance companies that cover the

commercial vehicle driver and his employer

An accident scene diagram

­Names and individual contact information of passengers

and other witnesses

The weather conditions at the time

Notations of any applicable tickets or citations that the

truck driver or others receive

Step 1: Call local law enforcement

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Page 3: 5 Steps to Protect Yourself if you are involved in a Truck Accident

If you're like most people, then you have a

smartphone with a camera. Use it to capture images

of the scene of the accident. Include photos of both

the car and the truck. Make sure you photograph

the actual point of impact specifically. Look out for

skid marks too. Try to get photographs of the truck

driver, witnesses, and all injuries. Also keep an eye

out for signs that were damaged or any other

collision evidence.

Step 2: Take photos and snap images

Step 3: Jot down notes

If you have a memo pad or paper, write things

down. Alternatively, type what you can into your

phone. Make observations of the scene. Note

specific admissions the truck driver might state,

such as "I did not see you" or "I'm sorry." You also

need to note witnesses that might have heard such

admissions from the driver. Transfer any notations

into a journal as soon as you can.

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Page 4: 5 Steps to Protect Yourself if you are involved in a Truck Accident

Note the location of surveillance cameras that are

close to the scene of the accident. Most of the time,

you'll see that they are attached to schools,

businesses, or government­owned light poles where

they can record intersections and railroad crossings.

If you are able to identify and find the video owners,

see if you can get a copy. If they are unwilling, let

your attorney subpoena the records as part of

building your case/lawsuit.

Step 4: Look around for surveillance cameras

Step 5 : Go back to the scene of the accident

If you are healthy enough to do it, go back to the

scene the following day. If you are unable to do it,

enlist the help of a family member or friend. You

should take pictures and make measurements of

skid marks and photograph signs or solid objects

that might have been moved since the day the

accident took place.

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