What to Do if You’re Hit by a Truck While Driving a Smaller Vehicle

A collision with a large commercial truck can be a deeply unsettling experience, especially when you are in a smaller passenger vehicle on Indiana’s busy roadways, perhaps even on thoroughfares like I-69 or US 30. The moments and days following such an Indiana truck accident are critical, as the steps you take after leaving the scene can significantly influence your physical, emotional, and financial recovery.

When an Indiana truck accident disrupts your life, the thought of dealing with trucking companies and their insurers can feel overwhelming. These entities often have considerable resources and teams focused on minimizing their responsibilities. You deserve to have your voice heard and your story understood as you seek fair treatment and the resources necessary for your healing. Speaking with an experienced truck accident lawyer can help you navigate this complex process with confidence.

If you are working through the consequences of being hit by a truck, Yosha Law is here to listen. We invite you to call us at (317) 751-2856 to discuss your situation and learn how we may be able to assist you in protecting your rights.

GET A FREE CASE EVALUATION

The Physics Problem: Why Truck Collisions Hit Differently

A fully loaded semi-truck can weigh 80,000 pounds or more. The average car weighs maybe 4,000 pounds. When these two collide, the laws of physics are brutal and unforgiving, especially for the occupants of the smaller vehicle.

When a smaller car crashes into a large truck, the substantial force of the impact frequently causes serious injuries, such as trauma to the head, spine, and internal organs. Safety measures in passenger cars are designed for collisions with vehicles of comparable size and might not offer sufficient protection against the power of a truck weighing many tons.

The stark reality is that occupants of smaller vehicles account for the vast majority of fatalities in collisions with large trucks. Statistics from one recent year show that 89% of fatalities in large truck crashes were occupants of other vehicles or nonoccupants like pedestrians and cyclists.

The potential for rollovers, underride accidents (where a car slides partially or fully beneath a trailer), and multi-vehicle pileups also increases dramatically when a large truck is involved.

After the Dust Settles: Organizing Your Case from Home

You’ve dealt with emergency services, maybe received initial medical attention, and exchanged basic information. Having returned home after the collision, you are probably experiencing soreness and stress, and are trying to understand what happened. This is where the real work begins to protect your interests.

Your priority is documentation. Think like an archivist building a case file. Every scrap of paper, every detail, matters. Start gathering everything related to the accident.

• Police Report: Obtain a copy as soon as it’s available. Check it for accuracy. If there are errors, note them down.
• Information Exchange: Did you get the truck driver’s name, license number, insurance information, trucking company name, and USDOT number? If not, this information should be in the police report. Also, gather info from any witnesses.
• Photos and Videos: Hopefully, you took pictures or videos at the scene showing vehicle damage, skid marks, road conditions, and maybe even your initial injuries. If not, take photos of your vehicle’s damage now, and document your visible injuries as they evolve (bruising, swelling, etc.).
• Medical Records: Keep meticulous records of every doctor visit, hospital stay, physical therapy session, medication prescribed, and medical bill generated. This includes ambulance transport, emergency room care, follow-up appointments, specialist consultations, and even receipts for over-the-counter pain relief if related to your injuries.
• Your Account: Write down everything you remember about the accident as soon as possible, while the details are fresh. Include the date, time, location, weather, traffic conditions, what you were doing just before impact, what you saw the truck do, and the sequence of events. Don’t embellish, just state the facts as you recall them.
• Proof of Lost Income: If you’ve missed work due to injuries, start collecting pay stubs, employment letters confirming your wage and missed time, and any disability slips from your doctor.

This might feel like a tedious administrative task when you’re trying to recover, but this collection of evidence forms the foundation of any claim you might make. Without it, you’re relying on memory and the other party’s records, which is never a good position to be in.

The Insurance Labyrinth: Trucking Policies Aren’t Your Standard Auto Plan

Navigating insurance claims after a typical car accident is frustrating. However, dealing with insurance after a collision with a commercial truck is significantly more complex. Trucking companies carry commercial liability policies with much higher limits than standard auto insurance, often $1 million or more, mandated by federal regulations.

Why does this matter? Because with more money on the line, the trucking company’s insurer has a much stronger incentive to fight your claim, deny responsibility, or minimize the payout. They represent the trucking company’s interests, not yours.

You will likely hear from an insurance adjuster representing the trucking company relatively quickly. They might seem friendly, concerned, even sympathetic. Be careful. Their job is to gather information that could potentially weaken your claim.

Here’s what you should anticipate and how to handle it:

• Requests for Recorded Statements: Adjusters will almost always ask for a recorded statement. You are generally not required to provide one to the other party’s insurer. Politely decline. Anything you say can be twisted or used out of context later. Provide basic factual information if necessary (your name, contact info, date/location of accident), but do not discuss fault, your injuries in detail, or settlement possibilities without legal counsel.
• Quick Settlement Offers: Sometimes, an adjuster might offer a quick, seemingly reasonable settlement amount early on. This is tempting, especially when medical bills are piling up. However, these initial offers are frequently lowball attempts to close the case before the full extent of your injuries and damages is known. Accepting it means you waive your right to seek further compensation, even if your condition worsens or requires unexpected future treatment.
• Requests for Broad Medical Authorizations: They might ask you to sign a blanket medical release form. Don’t do it without reviewing it with an attorney. These forms often grant them access to your entire medical history, not just records related to the accident. They can then fish for pre-existing conditions to argue your injuries weren’t caused by the crash.

GET A FREE CASE EVALUATION

Big Rigs, Big Rules: Federal Oversight Matters

Trucking is a heavily regulated industry, primarily overseen by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). These regulations cover nearly every aspect of commercial trucking operations for a reason: safety.

The FMCSA sets rules known as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs). These FMCSRs are standards designed to prevent accidents caused by driver fatigue, poorly maintained equipment, or improperly secured loads, not just bureaucratic checkboxes.

Some key areas governed by FMCSRs include:

• Hours of Service (HOS): Strict limits on how long truck drivers can be on duty and driving without mandated rest breaks. Fatigue is a major factor in truck accidents. Violations can often be proven through electronic logging devices (ELDs) or driver logs.
• Vehicle Maintenance: Requirements for regular inspection, maintenance, and repair of trucks and trailers. Brake failures, tire blowouts, or malfunctioning lights can lead to catastrophic accidents.
• Driver Qualifications: Rules regarding licensing (CDL), medical fitness, and drug/alcohol testing for commercial drivers.
• Cargo Securement: Specific standards for how loads must be secured to prevent shifting or falling, which can cause loss of control or road hazards.

Why is this relevant to your situation? If the truck driver or the trucking company violated any of these federal regulations, and that violation contributed to the accident, it can be strong evidence of negligence. For example, if records show the driver exceeded their hours of service limit just before the crash, that points towards fatigue potentially playing a role.

Investigating potential FMCSR violations is a key part of building a strong truck accident claim. It requires accessing and analyzing records like driver logs, maintenance reports, and post-accident inspection data – information the trucking company might not readily volunteer.

Who’s Really Responsible? It Might Be More Than Just the Driver

When a truck causes an accident, the driver behind the wheel is an obvious focal point. But liability often extends far beyond that single individual. Commercial trucking operations involve multiple parties, and several could share responsibility for the crash.

Think about the different players involved:

• The Truck Driver: Was the driver speeding, distracted, impaired, fatigued, or engaging in other negligent behavior? Their actions are usually the starting point.
• The Trucking Company (Motor Carrier): They employed the driver. Did they conduct proper background checks? Provide adequate training? Enforce safety regulations like HOS rules? Did they pressure the driver to meet unrealistic deadlines, implicitly encouraging unsafe driving? Trucking companies can be held liable for their own negligence in hiring, training, and supervision, as well as potentially being vicariously liable for their driver’s actions performed within the scope of employment.
• Maintenance Providers: If faulty brakes, tires, or other equipment failures contributed to the crash, the company responsible for maintaining the truck could bear some responsibility.
• Cargo Loaders/Shippers: If the cargo was improperly loaded or secured, causing it to shift and lead to a loss of control, the party responsible for loading might be liable.
• Truck/Part Manufacturers: In rarer cases, a defect in the truck or one of its components (like tires or brakes) might be the root cause, potentially leading to a product liability claim against the manufacturer.

Untangling this web of potential liability is complex. Identifying all potentially responsible parties is necessary for ensuring you pursue full compensation for your damages. A trucking company might try to deflect blame solely onto the driver, especially if the driver is an independent contractor, but the company’s own operational practices are frequently a contributing factor.

This investigation requires resources and know-how to dig into corporate structures, employment relationships, maintenance logs, and shipping records. It’s not something easily done on your own while recovering from injuries.

Secure Your Future with Yosha Law

You need someone who understands the specific challenges of truck accident cases – the regulations, the insurance tactics, the multiple layers of liability. As an experienced personal injury lawyer, Yosha Law is ready to stand with you, investigate thoroughly, and fight for the compensation you need to rebuild.

Your recovery is the priority. Let us handle the fight. Call Yosha Law today for a consultation at (317) 334-9200.

GET A FREE CASE EVALUATION