The effects of a truck accident can be detrimental, and too many accident victims suffer alone.
If you or someone you love has been seriously injured or killed in a collision with a semi-truck, a truck accident lawyer in Hammond, Indiana can protect your rights, guide you through the legal aftermath, and help you get compensated for your injuries and losses.
Our team at Yosha Law Firm has helped numerous car accident victims get the compensation they need to start healing their bodies and minds following the accident.
You don’t have to do this alone. We know how grueling this process can be, especially without the support you deserve. We want to help you seek justice for what you’ve suffered in a truck accident and get you back to your life.
How to Get Compensation for Your Truck Accident Injuries
This is one of the first questions our personal injury lawyers in Hammond hear from truck accident survivors who contact us: how can I get compensation to cover these costs?
We understand that this is first and foremost on your mind. When you are recovering from a serious accident, the costs can be astronomical – and incredibly stressful.
A truck accident lawyer can help you get compensation for the following and more:
- Past, current, and future medical bills related to the accident
- Lost wages
- Lost earning capacity
- Bills for therapies, including physical, occupational, speech, and mental health therapy
- Medication costs
- Emotional and psychological distress
- Pain and suffering
To get compensation for these damages after a truck accident in Hammond, you will need to collect all of the documentation you can, including paycheck stubs, medical bills and records, and receipts for any accident-related expenses. It can also be helpful to keep a journal of your pain and how the accident has impacted your day-to-day life.
Don’t Make These Mistakes After a Semi-Truck Accident in Hammond
The hours, days, and weeks after an accident involving a semi-truck or commercial vehicle can make or break a lawsuit, especially if you make mistakes that can damage your credibility. One of the biggest mistakes you can make is believing the at-fault party’s insurance company has your best interests at heart. Follow these tips if you want to avoid costly mistakes:
Be Careful What You Say to the Insurance Company
It’s natural to say, “I’m sorry,” after an accident, even if you know you weren’t at fault. After all, apologizing is good manners. At least, it is most of the time. After a truck accident, even a small, seemingly harmless statement like offering an apology for someone else’s pain can leave you on the hook for your damages by lessening your settlement.
When the insurance company calls, tell them you’ve hired a personal injury lawyer, and all further communication should be directed to your attorneys.
Talk to Your Hammond Truck Accident Lawyer Before Accepting a Settlement
Giving you a quick settlement is in the insurance company’s best interest, especially in cases where the accident involves a semi-truck and serious injuries. By getting you to sign away your rights to future compensation, they can pay you off for far less than the full value of your claim and protect themselves from having to pay for more bills that may come up later on.
When you’re suffering physically, financially, and emotionally and you’re not sure what to do next, it can be tempting to give in and accept the first offer. This is why it is critical to let your Hammond truck accident lawyer do the talking for you. We will make sure you are not settling for less than the full value of your claim.
Do Not Miss Any Appointments With Your Doctor and Follow Their Instructions
It’s extremely important not to miss any doctor appointments after a semi-truck accident for several key reasons:
- Thorough diagnosis – Follow-up appointments allow doctors to fully evaluate the extent of your injuries over time. Issues like concussions can be missed initially.
- Treatment planning – Doctors will develop and modify treatment plans as your condition progresses. Missing visits can delay getting needed care.
- Legal documentation – Keeping all appointments provides critical documentation of your injuries and treatment that may be vital if seeking compensation.
- Recovery tracking – Physicians monitor healing progress at appointments. Missing visits can impede your recovery.
- Maximizing recovery – Following physician instructions and treatment plans is essential to restore your health as fully as possible after an accident.
- Identifying complications – Some post-accident issues like infections or blood clots don’t arise immediately and may be caught at follow-ups.
- Disability determinations – Consistent evaluation helps doctors determine the extent of any disability resulting from accident injuries.
Remember, keeping all follow-up appointments provides essential medical care, legal documentation, and the very best opportunity for maximum physical and financial recovery after a semi-truck accident.
What Makes Truck Accidents So Serious?
Trucking accidents are more serious than other auto collisions for several reasons. Although every accident is unique, truck accidents tend to have several factors in common that lead to serious injuries or even death for the drivers and passengers of other cars in the accident.
In Indiana in 2020, there were 178 fatalities in truck accidents. Of the 1254 vehicles that were involved in fatal collisions that year, 148 of those were trucks. Semi-trucks made up 11.8% of the vehicles involved in fatal accidents.
People who survive a motor vehicle collision with a truck are likely to suffer from serious injuries, very high medical bills, and a long recovery period. You may have accident-related expenses that stretch far into the future – and possibly for the rest of your life. Your Hammond truck accident attorney will fight to get you the fair compensation you’ll need to cover these costs.
Semi-Truck Weight
The US has a maximum weight limit for semi-trucks of 80,000 pounds. Even though many trucks will weigh less than that when loaded, that number shows the capacity for damage.
By contrast, the average weight of a car is around 4,000 pounds.
Accident Speed
Semi-truck accidents often occur on interstates, where high rates of speed play a factor in how serious the accident is. In Indiana, the interstate speed limit for trucks is 65 miles per hour, and other cars may drive up to 70 miles per hour.
Drivers often exceed these speed limits, increasing the chance of an accident.
Truck Size
In addition to being heavier than other cars on the road, semi-trucks are much larger. The force of the impact from the front of a semi will hit much higher on a car than any other vehicle would. This causes a difference in the impact and injuries caused by a semi collision.
What Causes Most Truck Accidents in Indiana?
There are many things that can cause a truck accident, including poor road conditions, bad weather, and ice. However, most commercial trucking accidents are caused by driver failure or mechanical failure.
Inexperienced drivers may cause accidents because they just haven’t had enough learning experience. Although all truck drivers are required to have a CDL license by federal law, there are new drivers joining the commercial transportation workforce all the time. Some of these drivers may not know how to react quickly to avoid causing an accident.
Additionally, unethical trucking companies may allow their drivers to haul heavy loads before they have enough experience to do so.
Lack of sleep can cause truck drivers to make dangerous mistakes on the road. Legitimate trucking companies will follow the law and enforce mandatory breaks and driving limits. When a company or a driver ignores these guidelines, a fatigued driver can cause a major accident involving serious injuries and fatalities.
Malfunctioning equipment, such as faulty brakes, may lead to an accident as well. If the truck was not properly inspected or maintained, the fault for the accident may lie with the company or owner of the truck, rather than the driver.
This is not a comprehensive list of all of the causes of big rig and commercial truck wrecks our truck accident lawyers in Hammond, IN, have represented, but here are some more things that may cause a truck accident:
- Driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or medications that may affect driving
- Speeding
- Reckless driving
- Distracted driving
- Failing to compensate for poor road conditions or bad weather
- Failing to check blind spots
- Attempting dangerous turns and maneuvers
- Improperly loaded cargo
- Missing or inadequate road signage
- Road construction debris
- Potholes and damaged roads
Long- and Short-Term Effects of a Semi-Truck Accident
Truck accidents involving semi-trucks, big rigs, and other commercial trucks can cause both immediate and long-term problems for accident victims.
Some effects are evident as soon as the accident occurs, but some symptoms may have a delayed onset. Additionally, you may see fast recovery from some injuries but require years of treatment for others.
Common Injuries that Lead to Truck Accident Claims in Hammond
- Back injuries
- Neck injuries
- Spinal cord damage
- Paralysis
- Brain and head injuries
- Broken bones
- Whiplash
- Injuries to internal organs
- Lacerations and bruising
- Broken ribs
- Seat belt injuries
- Wrongful death
Symptoms after a truck accident may include dizziness, nausea, pain, headaches, difficulty concentrating, vision and hearing loss, pain, body stiffness, numbness, and more.
What to Do After a Semi-Truck Accident in Hammond, Indiana
Immediately after an accident, everything is a blur. All motor vehicle collisions involving semi-trucks are serious, and it can be incredibly overwhelming to know what you should do next. There are steps your truck accident lawyers in Hammond will recommend you take to protect the value of your claim.
In the event of any accident, you should seek medical attention. You may be badly injured without even realizing it, thanks to adrenaline and injuries that cause delayed symptoms. If you are unable to call for an ambulance, someone else will need to do it for you.
These are the steps you should take following the accident involving a semi-truck in Indiana:
- Stay at the scene of the accident. If you need to be transported to the hospital, of course you should go. However, if you are able to stay on site, do so. You will want to wait until the police can speak with you, the driver, and any other witnesses in order to create a police report.
- Collect evidence. Assuming that you are well enough to do so, collect evidence from the scene of the crash, including photos and videos of the vehicles, the road, the weather conditions, and your injuries. If you are unable to collect evidence but someone is with you who can do so, ask them to collect it on your behalf.
- Contact a truck accident attorney. After you have received medical treatment and are healthy enough to book a consultation, reach out to a lawyer who specializes in truck accidents. Your attorney will be able to help you understand your next steps and start the process of filing your personal injury claim in the Indiana courts.
How to Determine Who Is at Fault After a Truck Accident
Commercial vehicles are governed by the regulations of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA).
This can be difficult for the average person to navigate, because the regulations are written for people in the industry. That said, fault may be determined by going through the FMCSA regulations, so it is important to get a legal representative who understands these guidelines and how to interpret them as they relate to your specific accident.
Your Truck Accident Attorney’s Job Is to Prove Who Was at Fault
In any accident, the fault may fall with multiple parties.
Your Hammond truck accident lawyer’s job is to prove that your injuries were the direct result of one or more party’s negligent actions. In order to get you the compensation you deserve, we have to prove that the defendant was liable in the accident.
Truck accident collisions are complicated, and the fault may lie with any of combination of the following:
- The driver of the truck
- The truck manufacturer
- The company that hired the truck driver
- The truck’s owner
- The shipping company whose cargo was loaded onto the truck
- Third-party contractors responsible for the truck’s maintenance, loading, inspection, or leasing
- The municipality that is responsible for maintaining the road where the accident occurred
The potential for a complicated assignment of liability is clear!
At Yosha, we collect evidence, track down all potentially liable parties, thoroughly review all of the relevant documentation, and hire experts to provide testimony about who was at fault.
How Yosha Law Firm Can Protect You After a Semi-Truck Accident
When you have survived a traumatic truck accident, or lost a loved one in a collision with a semi, you need legal support from people who care.
At Yosha Law Firm, our Hammond, Indiana personal injury lawyers work tirelessly to protect your rights, get you the justice you deserve, and patiently walk you through each step of the process.
Throughout your Hammond semi-truck accident claim, we stand by you from start to finish. You can expect constant communication from us, as we are always updating you with important information about your case and how it is proceeding. We are always available to answer your questions as quickly as possible!
You can trust that we will fully investigate your accident in order to learn every detail about what happened and who was at fault. We prepare every case to go to court.
At Yosha, we don’t get paid for your truck accident claim unless you do
Working with Yosha Law Firm after a big rig or semi-truck accident in Indiana is a NO-RISK arrangement.
We know that you are focused on your recovery or your grief, and you may have bills piling up. You deserve legal representation, regardless of your income or savings!
We work on contingency, which means that we don’t accept any payment from our clients until they have received their settlement or court-ordered award. There are NO required fees upfront, and we start working on your case without any payment at all.
Yosha’s Hammond Truck Accident Attorneys Are Here for You
We’re ready to talk when you are.
Don’t hesitate to contact our Hammond truck accident lawyers, as Indiana sets a two-year statute of limitations on suing for personal injury after an accident.
Reach out to us for a free consultation so that we can learn about your case and help you determine the best course of action for your case.
