Kentucky Truck Accident Lawyers

Commercial Drivers Don’t Own the Road!

If you sustained injuries in a commercial trucking collision in Kentucky, a truck accident attorney can help you seek the compensation you deserve.

Your entire life will likely change after being involved in an accident with a commercial truck, often shortened to just a “truck accident.” These massive vehicles are loaded to the brim with freight and fly down the highway at high speeds. They are protected by giant companies that only worry about their bottom dollar and insurance companies that will offer you insultingly low settlement offers.

Depending on the details of your case, you could be entitled to recover compensation for your medical treatment, lost wages, pain and suffering, emotional trauma, and more. However, you will need an attorney to help you through this complicated legal process.

If you need experienced legal representation, contact the experienced Kentucky truck accident attorneys at Gerling Law Injury Attorneys.

Call 812-213-4551 today for a free consultation.

How Are Truck Crashes Different From Car Crashes?

Kentucky trucking accidents differ from passenger vehicle crashes in two significant ways.

Higher Risk Of Serious And Life-Threatening Injuries

If you get hit by a semi-truck, you have a greater risk of sustaining severe and potentially life-threatening injuries.

Tractor-trailers and other large commercial trucks are substantially larger and heavier than any type of passenger vehicle. A fully loaded commercial semi-truck can weigh up to 80,000 pounds.

In addition, trucks are more difficult to steer and take much longer to stop. They are also more susceptible to bad weather conditions, such as heavy rain, snow, sleet, and blowing wind. While truck drivers are trained to handle their loads in these conditions, they are often overworked. Mix driver fatigue with bad weather, and you have a disaster waiting to happen.

A vehicle accident with a civilian vehicle already has a significant risk of severe injury. Imagine how much deadlier an accident with a fully loaded semi-truck could be.

More Parties Involved

The second difference between car accidents and truck accidents is how many parties can be involved. If you have a collision with another passenger vehicle, you will be dealing with the other driver and their insurance company.

In a truck crash, multiple parties are involved, such as the truck driver, the trucking company, shipping brokers, shippers, and the equipment manufacturer. All of these parties will likely have a strong legal team backing them up, guiding them to a solution that costs them the least amount of money and headaches.

Other parties besides or in addition to the driver could be at fault for your damages. Identifying all parties who caused or contributed to the crash is critical to obtaining the compensation you deserve for your injuries and other damages.

What Should You Do After A Truck Accident In Kentucky?

Getting into an accident with a commercial vehicle can be a terrifying experience. It will likely have an immediate impact on your mental and emotional health, making it hard to think clearly. Taking a moment to gather yourself is important. Check yourself and your passengers for injuries. Take stock of your surroundings. Are you in the flow of traffic? Is your vehicle totaled, or can you move it to a safe position?

Your truck accident claim starts at the moment of impact. How you carry yourself from that point on will have an effect on your truck accident case. Even though your emotions are hot, you have to remain cool.

Call Emergency Services

Request medical attention at the scene, even if you believe you didn’t suffer any serious injuries. You could be in shock and unaware of any potential damage. No matter how minor you feel your accident was, you should, at the very least, call the non-emergency dispatch number and request an officer. You will need them to come to the scene of the accident so you can get a police report.

It is imperative you do not leave the scene of the accident. Remain on the line with the dispatcher until they tell you to hang up.

Collect Information From the Parties Involved and Potential Witnesses

Just like an accident with a civilian vehicle, you will need to speak with the other driver or drivers involved in the accident. Ask them for their full name, phone number, and their insurance information. You will need to get information about the company they work for, as well. Take a few steps back and take a photo of the truck that hit you. Include any damage to the truck, identifying marks, such as the company the truck operates for, and serial numbers that can help your attorney identify the truck.

If there were any witnesses to your accident, ask them for their information. Ask if they would be willing to stick around until first responders arrive so that they can give their version of events that led up to the crash. Their witness testimony can be the key to building a solid commercial truck accident case.

Collect Evidence if You are Able

Your world was just rocked by an 80,000-pound highway missile. If you are able to spend time collecting evidence to help your case, take this time to do so. Take photos of the following:

The entire accident scene including skid marks on the pavement, traffic signs, traffic lights, and damage to your vehicle as well as the other vehicles involved.
Your injuries and, if you had passengers, their injuries.
Anything that you think helps paint the scene and will assist your lawyer in determining that the truck driver was at fault for the accident.

Do Not Admit Fault or Guilt

It is natural to feel apologetic after something as serious as a car accident. When you are speaking with the people involved in the accident, as well as witnesses and first responders, do not claim fault for the accident, even if you believe you were partially or completely responsible.

You were just in a serious accident, and you may not have all the facts regarding the events that led up to the accident. It is not your job to determine who was at fault for the accident.

Seek Medical Care Immediately

Even if you walk away from your wreck with minor aches and pains, you should seek immediate medical attention. If the first responders think you need to take an ambulance to the hospital, you should take their advice.

Many injuries that can happen as a result of an accident with a commercial vehicle can go unnoticed, either until your adrenaline goes down or even days and months later.

Schedule an immediate medical examination. Tell your healthcare professional why you are there; they will know what tests to run and what injuries to look for.

Establishing immediate care can help your upcoming legal case. If you wait too long, the defending parties may try to claim that your injuries occurred well after your accident and that they are not at fault.

Document. Everything.

You have already started this process by collecting information from the other parties involved, getting a police report, and collecting evidence from the scene of the accident.

Continue to collect and save any and all documentation regarding your accident. Keep documentation of your medical diagnosis and any treatments prescribed to you by your doctor. Save your medical bills, repair bills, and car rental invoices. Document your injuries and your recovery. If you suffer from lost wages, keep thorough documentation of how much you are losing.

If you feel like your mental and emotional health has been impacted by your accident, then seek help from a therapist and psychologist. Track these visits as well as how they believe the accident has affected you.

File an Insurance Claim

It is still your duty to file an insurance claim with your agent. When you inform them of your accident, be sure to answer all of their questions. They will likely direct you to their app, where you can submit photos of the damage to your vehicle.

Speak With a Personal Injury Lawyer

If all of this seems overwhelming and stressful, you are right. A personal injury lawsuit has many moving parts and many potential parties.

Speaking with an attorney early on in the process can help relieve some of that load. Your attorney will know what evidence is valuable and how to document the necessary parts of your case, such as medical bills and missed wages. They can also help you deal with insurance companies and rude commercial truck companies.

You may not even know if you have a valid case.

Call 812-213-4551 to schedule a free consultation with the Gerling Law Injury Attorneys. This initial meeting can help you understand your upcoming case and your potential compensation. Don’t take this task alone; call today to find out how we can help!

Be Wary of Lawyers and Insurance Companies

It won’t be long before you start getting phone calls and other correspondence from lawyers and insurance companies representing the company of the driver who ran into you.

These professionals will likely approach you with a polite, friendly demeanor meant to disarm you and create trust. They will implement tactics that make you feel like their questions are harmless.

Do not give them a statement, recorded or otherwise.

These representatives will ask you to give a statement or account of the accident. They are not your friends; they are trying to lessen the financial impact this accident will have on their clients.

They may even come right out of the gate with a settlement offer, one that might even be tempting. But what about any future issues you suffer because of the truck driver’s negligence?

Do not give a statement or accept a settlement offer without first speaking with a Kentucky truck accident lawyer. You could be offering up valuable information that will hurt your case or leaving money on the table by accepting an offer.

Gerling Law Injury Attorneys is available anytime, day or night. If you have a question or don’t feel right about where a conversation is going, tell them to speak with your truck accident lawyer.

How Do You Prove the Truck Driver Was Negligent?

A key component to your personal injury lawsuit is proving fault, which means you will have to prove that the truck driver that caused your accident was either acting negligently or recklessly. Proving negligence is the same for just about every personal injury claim and requires you and your attorney to prove these three components:

The driver that hit you owed you and other drivers a duty of care.
The driver that hit you breached that duty of care, resulting in an accident.
The driver’s failure to uphold their duty resulted in the accident that caused your injuries.

Duty of care is the responsibility the truck driver owes to all other drivers on the road. If the truck driver acted in a way that resulted in their failure to abide by that duty, such as driving while tired, distracted driving, driving under the influence, or not maintaining their equipment to ensure the safety of others, then they breached their duty of care.

Many different actions taken by commercial drivers could result in them breaching their duty of care, and those actions aren’t always readily apparent. That is why hiring a personal injury lawyer is important; they have the experience to know what to look for and to hold a negligent driver accountable for their actions.

Could There be Other Negligent Parties?

Commercial truck accidents are unique in the sense that there may be many parties involved. You may be able to file a claim against the truck manufacturer for poor truck maintenance, defective braking systems, and other issues that should have been caught before the truck left the lot.

Truck companies are expected to operate safely. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t overload trucks or force their drivers to work too many hours in an effort to increase profits.

To ensure you’re not leaving money on the table and that the guilty parties face the consequences for their actions, you will need a Kentucky truck accident lawyer on your side!

Do You Need A Kentucky Truck Accident Attorney For Your Case?

Kentucky law does not require you to hire an attorney for a tractor-trailer accident claim.

Having an experienced Kentucky 18-wheeler accident lawyer on your side, however, can make a substantial difference for you and, potentially, for the outcome of your case.

An experienced 18-wheeler accident attorney understands the many complex state and federal laws that affect your case. A knowledgeable truck accident lawyer knows how to build the most persuasive case possible to help establish liability for your damages.

In many cases, an experienced lawyer can successfully negotiate a settlement with the at-fault party’s insurance carrier. This helps get you compensation as quickly as possible and avoid the time and hassle of going to court. If the insurance company doesn’t make a reasonable settlement offer, however, a skilled truck accident lawyer in Kentucky won’t hesitate to file a lawsuit and pursue your case in court.

When you have an attorney on your side, you won’t have to worry about communicating with the insurance company, their lawyers, or other parties related to your case. Your legal team will handle everything throughout the legal process, letting you focus on your health and recovery.

Should You Call Gerling Law Injury Attorneys?

If you were hit by a semi-truck, call Gerling Law Injury Attorneys now for help. We provide free consultations and case reviews for injured Kentucky truck accident victims.

We understand how confusing and frightening this situation can be, and we are here to help. We will answer your questions and ensure that you understand all of your options for pursuing legal action. We will dedicate all our resources and fight tirelessly to get you the results you deserve.

We see our clients as more than a payday. We want you to get back on your feet, and we will fight to get your life back to normal. You want Gerling Law Injury Attorneys in your corner because we will guide you through the entire process, and we get results.