It is very important that anyone involved in a truck accident case get a Louisville injury lawyer right away. The attorney must immediately put the trucking company on notice to preserve evidence. That includes their log books, OSHA investigations, and any video from the cab of the truck which will demonstrate exactly what happened in the accident. There is a great deal of work to do for truck or trailer accidents that are unique to them and requires the assistance of an attorney immediately.
If you or someone you love has been involved in a truck accident in Louisville, contact a Louisville truck accident lawyer today.
Truck accident claims are different for a myriad of reasons. Trucks are much heavier. Trucks cause much more extensive damage to property and more extensive injury to people who are affected. The numbers of trucks that travel up and down I-65 or I-64 are required to be on the road for only a certain number of hours per day. They must follow OSHA standards, national standards, and safety standards. They are obligated to keep logs. If they are driving tired or distracted and they hit someone, they can cause catastrophic injuries.
First Steps to Take
The first thing a person should do after being injured by a truck in Louisville is to make sure that they receive proper medical treatment. The next thing they should do is contact a Louisville truck accident attorney immediately. If they are physically able, they should take photos of the scene. They should also get the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of any witnesses to the accident. If there are any obvious defects in the truck, for instance, the lights are not working, or the driver seems intoxicated or tired, these facts should be reported to the police officer and photos should be taken.
After a truck accident in Louisville, a person must get the name of the driver and the name of the trucking company. If possible, they should take pictures of the information on the side of the truck that shows who owns the truck and their address. The person should take photos of the trailer, the side, and the back, including the kind of lights and whether they are working, and what kind of reflectors are on the truck.
They should ask the police officer for copies of the driver’s logs and find out where the truck driver was coming from and where they were going. For instance, if this accident occurs in Louisville and the truck driver has come all the way from Kansas, how many hours were they in the truck? These are the kind of things a truck accident lawyer in Louisville will want to find out immediately following a collision.
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Damages
Compensation for a truck accident occurs in a number of ways. First, there could be a settlement through the truck company’s insurance company. Sometimes, they are self-insured so it could be through the company itself. The case may end up going to trial, at which point a jury is asked to decide reasonable medical bills, wage loss, and pain and suffering.
The person can receive settlement through the trucking company if they are self-insured or through the trucking company’s insurance company. There may also be an issue where the driver is a self-insured, over the road trucker who works for himself so you go through his insurance company. If they do not have insurance, the injured party may have to go to their own insurance company for uninsured coverage. If the injured cannot get a settlement, it may be a case that goes to trial to get an award from a jury.
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Hiring An Attorney
A Louisville truck accident lawyer can help a person maneuver through all the difficulties of dealing with the insurance company and the trucking company. You do not have to field phone calls; your attorney can do that for you. Your lawyer can help you review your medical bills and discuss liens that any medical provider may have. They can help you get your medical bills paid through Personal Injury Protection Benefits (PIP). Your lawyer can help you with your wage loss and deal with potential disability claims. There are many issues that must be addressed. An attorney can take the load off of you and allow to you to focus on getting better while they do the necessary paperwork.
An experienced truck accident lawyer in Louisville has an understanding of how the trucking industry works. They know that an operator must have a commercial driver’s license (CDL), and that an operator must pass medical examinations. The attorney understands that the truck must be kept up-to-date in terms of mechanics and lighting. He or she knows that logs must be kept as to how long the operator has slept, where they have been, and how many miles they have driven. They also understand that there will be OSHA investigations. A standard attorney who does not work with trucking companies may not know the different aspects of trucks that must be considered when pursuing a truck accident injury or wrongful death claim.
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