Why You Need A Personal Injury Attorney After A Head-On Truck Collision
by Arnab Dey Legal 06 July 2022
A head-on truck collision can usually cause serious damage to the other car, and even more severe injuries to any person inside the car. The truth is that head-on truck collisions happen to be the most devastating and dangerous types of car accidents.
Remember that in this type of accident, the truck can cross into oncoming traffic to cause a significant amount of force that leads to serious injuries. A head-on collision can leave you with various types of injuries, such as spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, organ damage, amputations, and severely broken bones.
No wonder, many accident victims tend to face lifelong complications due to these injuries. Therefore, you need to contact a New Braunfels Head On Truck Accident Attorney to help you file a compensation claim against the at-fault party.
If you are involved in a head-on truck collision, it’s a good idea to know what you can do next. This article discusses why you need a personal injury attorney after a head-on truck collision.
Causes of head-on truck collision
A head-on truck collision can happen because a car moved out of its lane into the lane utilized by another car. Quite often, when a truck comes into your lane, there is little you can do to prevent the accident from happening.
Truck drivers usually spend a lot of time driving their trucks each day. This can cause them to feel overconfident and may decide to do other activities while driving rather than focus on handling their trucks.
Some of the distracted driving activities can include drinking or eating while driving, consulting a GPS device, checking email, or even using their cell phones.
When a truck driver gets distracted by these activities, they can easily drive away from their assigned lane to get into oncoming traffic. A truck can use a lot of space on the road compared to other cars, so they easily drive away from their assigned lanes.
Inebriated drivers can also struggle to control their cars even in the best situations. Big trucks need more attention and care to drive them, so they tend to be harder to control when you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Sadly, alcohol use by most truck drivers remains a significant contributing factor in most head-on truck collisions.
A truck driver can decide to drink to reduce the feelings of isolation and loneliness while driving, especially on long-distance trips. In most cases, a truck driver can mistakenly overdrink the alcohol before getting the wheel.
There are also some cases where truck drivers deliberately drink alcohol while driving. Under the influence of alcohol, most truck drivers usually find it hard to drive their trucks in the right lane, so this increases the risks of head-on truck collisions.
These incidents often result in severe injuries and legal consequences for the responsible parties. In such cases, understanding the reasons behind the accident and the involvement of cars or trucks becomes crucial from a legal standpoint. Hiring an experienced injury attorney can be invaluable in navigating the complexities of these situations. With their expertise in handling vehicle-related injuries, they can investigate the circumstances, gather evidence, and build a strong case to secure fair compensation for the victims.
Blown-out tires or transmission or engine problems can also cause a truck driver to quickly control it on the road. Remember that the truck driver alone cannot be liable when there are these problems that lead to a head-on truck collision.
In such accidents, liability for injuries can be on a mechanic who recently maintained the truck or the truck company if it failed to properly take it for maintenance.
When truck drivers are not used to driving on wet or icy roads, truck tires may sometimes fail to hold on to the road. This can cause the truck to move into the center lane and hit oncoming traffic. When truck driver loses control of their truck, they can find it hard to bring it back under control.
In such poor weather conditions, a car driver needs to pay close attention to these big trucks as well as other cars around them so that you can reduce the chances of experiencing a serious car accident.
A truck driver trying to pass double yellow lines can also cause a head-on truck collision. A truck driver usually needs to meet tight deadlines.
Therefore, they can easily get frustrated when a car in front of them is traveling below the speed limit or even keeps slamming on its brakes or keeps on slowing down. And, if the truck driver believes the other lane is clear, they can try to pass through the other car.
Unfortunately, there can be a problem with visibility to prevent a truck driver from seeing if they have adequate space to get around the vehicle in their lane.
Trying to drive back to the original lane too soon can cause a sideswipe collision that may cause serious damage to the other car. And, a truck driver can fail to bring back their truck under control properly when another car appears in the other lane.
Drivers using unfamiliar roads can also struggle to clearly view lane markers. They can sometimes mistakenly drive in the wrong lane or even not have adequate space to drive back in the right lane after a minor mistake. A truck driver usually drives on unfamiliar roads, especially when they need to detour or take on new routes.
Most GPS devices don’t look into the needs of truck drivers and can cause problems for the drivers. For example, there can be winding roads that can be harder for truck drivers to maneuver.
A big truck requires more space to maneuver than smaller cars. In sharp turns, a truck can find it hard to keep their trailers in the right lane. Therefore, once the truck swings into oncoming cars, it can easily cause a head-on collision.
Key steps you need to follow after head-on truck collisions
As explained earlier, a head-on truck collision can cause serious injuries to any individual in the other car. There are a couple of actions you have to take right at the accident scene and beyond to make sure that you protect yourself both financially and physically.
You should always avoid leaving the accident scene. This is especially true unless you have to leave the accident scene to seek medical treatment. Keep in mind that the police need to come to the accident scene to create a police report of the car accident. Therefore, if you decide to leave the car accident scene, then there is a chance that the police can charge you with a hit and run.
This can happen even if you were not at the at-fault party. The only time you can leave the accident scene is if the situation becomes dangerous, you want to seek medical treatment, or you want to call the police.
It’s crucial to seek medical treatment right away, but you need to follow the instructions provided by medical personnel and first responders. The first responders at the car accident scene can tell you to remain still so that you can avoid moving around.
You may also require to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance. These instructions can make you feel uncomfortable or inconvenient, but they are necessary when it comes to preventing further injuries.
Therefore, make sure you tell the emergency staff if you lost consciousness at the accident scene. It’s a good idea to make medical care your top focus after a head-on truck collision. This means you should not avoid medical care even if you feel that you have other things that you must do.
It’s worth remembering that if there are no apparent injuries after the head-on truck collision, there can still be some other injuries, such as traumatic brain injury, spinal cord damage, or severe bruising that can show up a couple of hours or even days later.
This is the reason why you need a full examination from an experienced doctor so that they can identify any other injuries you may have sustained in the truck collision. This makes sure that you don’t miss out on crucial medical treatment that can improve your chances of recovering fully.
The injuries can get worse when you wait for too long to receive medical treatment. In most cases, failure to diagnose and receive treatment for some injuries after a head-on truck collision can lead to paralysis or even death.
You should also try to collect the evidence. Remember that the evidence you can collect at the accident scene can be useful when you decide to file a truck accident claim.
Some of the evidence you can gather include pictures of the accident scene, pictures of any features that may have contributed to the accident, contact details of the witnesses, and many more.
Lastly, you need to contact an attorney. No doubt, an experienced head-on truck accident attorney can make a significant difference when it comes to filing a claim after the accident.
You should note that most truck drivers have insurance policies that are much higher than those of an average driver on the roadways. Therefore, you can receive huge compensation for the injuries that you sustained in the truck accident.
However, some insurers can try to reduce their financial liability by giving you a low settlement offer. A good lawyer can assist you in fully understanding your rights after a head-on truck collision, such as the fair compensation you are entitled to for your injuries.
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