Tractor trailers, semi-trucks, delivery trucks, and other large trucks are a critical part of our economy in West Palm Beach. These larger vehicles are made to transport essential goods to people and businesses throughout South Florida. While there are many regulations to make this industry as safe as possible, accidents that involve these large and important vehicles happen every day.
The most important step after a trucking accident in West Palm Beach is to call 911 to report the incident to local law enforcement. An ambulance will be called to the scene to take anyone who is injured and involved in the accident to the hospital.
Law enforcement will investigate the scene, collect evidence, interview witnesses, and determine probable cause for the accident. The police will typically then issue an accident report. Insurance companies will often use these reports to determine liability. An accident victim’s negotiations with insurance companies will mostly focus on evidence that shows who was at fault—in other words, who was negligent, or whether there were two or more parties to blame for the accident.
While receiving medical care is an absolute necessity and law enforcement’s investigation of an accident is routine and required by law, there are steps that you can take to ensure that you protect your legal rights to file a lawsuit against the at fault party.
While law enforcement provides an essential public service in investigating the accident, sometimes, a police officer might not interview all the witnesses. In addition, depending on the severity of the accident, photographs may or may not be taken. Plus, if the accident occurred at an intersection, it is possible that surveillance videos from nearby businesses could catch critical details of the accident that law enforcement might have missed.
Because witnesses, photographs, or recordings could play a pivotal role in how insurance companies determine liability, as well as be pertinent evidence in court should the case go to trial, your case would benefit from having additional evidence in your favor.
Therefore, if possible, try to take photographs of the scene of the accident, check if there are any additional witnesses who were not interviewed by a police officer, and contact an attorney about any possibility of a surveillance video near the scene of the accident.
It is crucial to find an experienced West Palm Beach personal injury attorney to represent you. An attorney can best advise you when it comes to dealing with insurance companies, how to protect yourself when you make a statement to an insurance company, as well as how to handle social media accounts and other such communication that could be used in court. An attorney’s job is to make these next steps as easy as possible so that you can focus on your recovery without needing to worry about the overwhelming aftermath of a trucking accident.
At Clayton Trial Lawyers (“CTL”), our elite accident attorneys have the skills and the experience to settle with insurance companies for the maximum amount possible, considering the circumstances. CTL’s attorneys graduated from some of the country’s best colleges and universities in the nation, and have been specifically trained to relentlessly fight for your rights after your accident. If you or a loved one has been involved in a trucking accident in West Palm Beach, there’s no waitin’, call the accident attorneys at CTL today for a free case consultation.
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