Getting into an accident with a commercial motor vehicle can be a scary experience. Considering that there are over five million vehicle accidents per year in the United States, this is not all that uncommon.
If you or a friend have been in truck accidents in Georgia, you may want to consider hiring a Georgia commercial vehicle accident lawyer.
What should you do following a commercial vehicle accident? Why is it so important to have a commercial vehicle accident lawyer by your side?
This guide will answer those questions and more.
What Is a Commercial Vehicle?
Before we can discuss what you should do after a commercial vehicle accident, you need to know what a commercial vehicle is. Essentially, this is a vehicle that is in operation for business purposes.
Think of something such as a large truck or a van that is driving shipments across the country. With commercial vehicles, you can look into the business aspect of things if you end up filing a personal injury lawsuit.
You can look at business practices such as if drivers are qualified, what type of safety training was there for drivers if the vehicle has good maintenance, were items stored properly, the condition of the driver, and more. In other words, a commercial motor vehicle can open up Pandora’s box for a commercial vehicle accident lawyer.
Document the Accident
One thing you are going to want to do immediately is document your accident. This means calling the police to file a police report, talking to any possible witnesses that saw the accident, and taking as many pictures as you can of your vehicles and surroundings.
This could help you if you decide to go forward with a personal injury lawsuit because your personal injury lawyer can use that as evidence in a court case. On top of this, it may help prove who was at fault in this accident.
Get Medical Attention
If you think there is even a possibility that you have a commercial vehicle accident injury, you should seek medical attention. A big reason for this is that you may feel fine now, but there could be lingering internal injuries. Also, your mind and body may still be processing what happened, so you may not feel the full effects of the accident.
Having a medical record can also help strengthen your case. This commercial vehicle accident injury can be used as evidence to get you more compensation for the time that you have to miss from work. Also, it can help justify why you have to miss work in a court case.
On top of this, if you win a personal injury lawsuit, you will very likely receive compensation for your medical bills. So, it is better to be safe than sorry in this situation.
Make an Insurance Claim
The next thing you need to do is file an insurance claim for your accident. Try to see what type of coverage you can get for your accident yourself before taking things further.
Anyone with basic liability insurance should be able to cover your medical bills and the damage to your car, at the very least. However, if this is not the case with the commercial vehicle that hit your car, you need to make a note of this.
Make a List of Damages
Next, note how much damage there was in your accident.
What do your medical bills add up to? Is your car totaled? If not, how much damage is there to your car? How much time do you have to miss work because of this accident?
These are questions that you need to think about. This is especially true if you decide to go forward with a personal injury lawsuit.
For example, the average person makes over just over $58,000 per year in the United States. So, if you have to miss three months of work, that could be around $14,500 of lost income for the average American.
Adding this all up can help you determine what you are entitled to and if the damages are worth pursuing in a lawsuit.
Talk to a Lawyer
Finally, if you decide that you want to file a lawsuit, you need to speak to a Georgia commercial vehicle accident lawyer. This is important because a lawyer can help you move forward with your case and give you the legal muscle that you need to win your case.
On top of this, a lawyer can look into specific things that a commercial business is responsible for. This includes the maintenance of the vehicle, if it was properly loaded, what kind of drivers the business hires, and more.
In other words, lawyers can investigate cases like this deeper than the average person. They may be able to find things mentioned above that may be able to help you make your case.
Hire a Commercial Vehicle Accident Lawyer
These are the things that you should do if you are involved in truck accidents in Georgia. You need to document what kind of damage there was to your car and what the accident scene looked like. On top of this, seek medical attention for any lingering injuries that you may have.
Then, make a list of what damages you have and see what your insurance company has to say. If this is not enough, it is time to hire a commercial vehicle accident lawyer.
Are you ready to get started? Get a free consultation with us today.