You have many resources to draw upon for support if you’ve suffered a serious injury in a Georgia truck accident. You can rely on your loved ones for emotional support and your doctors for medical support. When it comes to financial support, it depends on how prepared you are to face the challenges of filing a truck accident claim.
Fortunately, you have the right to seek help in this process from an Atlanta personal injury attorney. Seeking legal help is one of the 5 steps to take immediately following a serious accident with a semi-truck or tractor trailer.
Step 1 – Seek Medical Attention
Thanks to the abundance of cell phones, it’s rare that several 911 calls are not made after a serious truck accident occurs. Still, make sure that someone has notified the authorities and that help is on the way. Meanwhile, all of those involved should seek a safe area to wait for emergency services.
Try to avoid moving your body or other victims unless in immediate danger. It is important that you remain at the scene until the police clear you to leave or you are being transported for further medical attention.
Step 2 – Preserve Evidence of the Truck Accident Scene
The wrecked vehicles and debris of a serious truck accident will only sit on the road for a few hours before cleanup crews remove the evidence. Before this happens, you or an uninjured person should take photographs of all of the damages including the vehicles, victims, and nearby structures.
If your vehicle has to be towed from the scene, make sure you know where it is going and make certain that it will not be tampered with or destroyed. Also have someone take down the contact information for the truck driver, responding police officer, and any witnesses of your truck accident.
Step 3 – Contact an Atlanta Personal Injury Attorney
This may be the most important step in giving your truck accident claim the best chance possible at a fair settlement. Without an attorney’s help in the claims process, you could unknowingly damage your claim and jeopardize your right to the full compensation to which you are entitled.
Not all injury attorneys are able to handle a truck accident claim. Before you choose your attorney, make sure he or she has handled cases similar to yours and has reached a full settlement for clients.
There are 2 more important steps to complete with the help of your attorney before you can file your truck accident claim. Continue reading to learn how to handle your first contact with the insurance company and the importance of following up.