What to Do After an Accident with a Semi-Truck
Any accident you experience on the road is scary. Accidents with semi-trucks, though, create particular dangers for you. The large vehicles, traveling at highway speeds, can cause a lot of damage when something goes wrong, and often leave other drivers with significant injuries. If you have been in an accident with a semi-truck driver, you need to protect yourself and your legal rights.
How Accidents with Semi-Trucks Happen
Truck drivers often work long hours driving. This can leave them tired and prone to mistakes. Even professional drivers can get into trouble in these situations. If something goes wrong, whether hitting a patch of ice on a Wisconsin highway or having a tire blow out, these large vehicles and their trailers lose control, veering into other traffic. Depending on what the driver is hauling, the contents can spill and create all kinds of other hazards as well.
Unfortunately, when a semi-truck loses control, you may not be able to avoid a collision. These accidents will often destroy your vehicle and cause serious injuries to you and others traveling with you.
Protecting Your Legal Rights
The most important thing after a semi-truck accident is to seek medical help. Treat your injuries and take care of yourself and those with you. Your health and well-being need to come first. That said, make sure you get documentation of your injuries, treatment, and costs. Keep track as well of the time you need to recover and any lost work, because all of this is part of what you can recover.
As soon as you can, get the information on the other driver, his or her insurance coverage, and the employer. Semi-truck drivers usually work for a trucking company. If the accident occurs in the course of their employment, both the driver and the company will be liable for your damages.
The legal framework for your recovery can be complicated. Before you try to work out a settlement with the driver’s insurance company, contact an experienced personal injury attorney. Eisenberg Law Offices is here to help in the Madison, Wisconsin area, online or at 608-256-8356.