Soon after a commercial vehicle accident, you can begin the process of filing a claim. The claim will name the insurer of the commercial vehicle involved in the accident. If your accident involved a commercial truck, your claim will pit you against the trucking company’s legal team as well as the insurer of the truck. However, you must keep your own insurance company in the loop too.
After you’ve reported a semi-truck accident to the police and seek any necessary emergency care for related injuries, you will go through the truck accident claims process. Here’s an overview of what to expect and what you need to do.
Following a Texas accident involving a large truck or commercial vehicle, the injured party will need to file a claim with the trucking company’s insurance. Often, though, the trucking company’s lawyers will mount challenges to your truck accident claim. They will try to blame the accident on the victim. If you’ve been in an accident with a commercial truck driver, here are some defenses used by trucking company attorneys to prepare you for the fight.
Commercial trucks and truck drivers in Texas are required to follow both state and federal commercial semi-truck regulations. In the event that a car accident involving a commercial vehicle occurs in Dallas, one thing that will be considered when determining fault and liability is whether or not a violation of state or federal trucking regulations occurred. If you’re filing a claim for damages after a truck accident, here are some things that may affect it.
In any accident with a commercial vehicle, you are likely eligible to file a claim for compensation that names the operator of the commercial vehicle and other companies. For instance, the trucking accident company, the bus operator, and other companies possibly are all liable in your accident claim.
Yes, you’ll be covered by insurance: truck accident or otherwise. However, for this, you must have adequate collision coverage.
Liability coverage would cover the cost of the other driver’s expenses if you caused the accident. However, it will not cover the cost of your medical expenses and property damage in an accident. Collision coverage will do that for you.
Collision covers the repairs of your car, and if the car is damaged to the extent that it is no longer possible to repair it, it will cover the replacement of your car. Speak to your insurer about the collision coverage that you currently have on your vehicle, and the damages that it will cover.
Remember that your insurance will only cover damages to the limit specified in the policy. You bear any excess damages. Unless you have large savings, it is always best to purchase more auto insurance so that you can cover the costs of all damages.
Federal texting and driving laws make it illegal for commercial truck drivers to use texting devices while driving. Driving laws also specifically prohibit drivers of vehicles transporting hazardous materials and substances from such practices.
Commercial truck rollover accidents are associated with a higher risk of injury, fatality, and a devastating environmental impact, compared to other types of accidents involving commercial vehicles. Just four percent of all trucking accidents are rollover accidents, but more than 12 percent of all fatalities in trucking accidents occur in rollovers, reports the University Of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI).
Truck rollover accidents pose a serious threat of injury or death to the occupants of the truck and to others nearby. Learn more about their causes – an important aspect of any accident claim – and liable for the damages the accident causes.
It’s essential that a truck accident victim is able to prove liability when pursuing damages after a serious truck crash in Dallas. Proving liability requires proving negligence. A truck’s “black box” stores electronic data that may be quite useful when presenting relevant evidence to support your claim of negligence and liability.