Georgia Personal Injury Lawyer Blog
Filing a Claim Against a Trucking Company
Under the laws in Georgia, drivers who cause car accidents are held legally responsible and are made to pay personal injury or wrongful death damages when someone is seriously hurt or killed in a crash.
When the driver who causes the wreck is a truck driver or other commercial driver, both the driver himself and the company who employs him may be held legally responsible for car accident damages. To obtain these damages, however, the victim needs to take legal action.
Steps to Filing a Claim Against a Trucking Company
After a trucking accident, there are a few steps that you should take in order to protect your legal rights and file a claim for compensation. These steps include:
- Getting medical help immediately after the crash. This step can not only protect your legal rights but can also save your life, especially as there are some injuries such as head injuries that are very serious and have no immediate outward symptoms. When you get medical help after a wreck, you also ensure that your injuries are documented so you can prove the trucking crash hurt you.
- Contacting the police at the accident scene. The police can write an accident report about how the crash happened. This can have invaluable information in it if the truck driver denies he caused the wreck and you need to prove he was to blame.
- Contacting your own insurance company immediately after the crash. You need to ensure that you protect your right to insurance coverage just in case the crash is determined to be your fault or in case you have a hard time getting compensation from the truck driver. If you don’t contact your insurer right away after a crash, you can jeopardize your coverage.
- Getting contact information from the truck driver. You should get information about his license, his insurance and his employer. You want to be sure that you have all of the information you need to make a claim for damages against the driver.
- Getting contact information from witnesses to the crash. Witnesses can help to corroborate your story in case there is a dispute about how the accident happened.
- Contacting a trucking accident lawyer. Your Atlanta, Georgia Trucking Accident Lawyer can help you to gather evidence and ensure that you do everything possible to protect your claim and get the full compensation you deserve.
- Negotiating an out-of-court settlement with the truck driver or trucking company’s insurance company, or filing a personal injury/wrongful death lawsuit in the court where the accident occurred. If you can negotiate an out-of-court settlement that provides you with fair compensation, then you do not have to take your case to trial. However, if the trucking company or driver’s insurer won’t offer you a fair settlement, you will need to prove in court that the driver was responsible for the accident and that you were damaged as a result.
An Atlanta, Georgia Trucking Accident Lawyer Can Help
At Van Sant Law, LLC, our Atlanta, Georgia Trucking Accident Lawyer can handle all of the necessary steps after a trucking accident on your behalf. We can use our legal experience with trucking accident claims to make sure you get the full amount of compensation you deserve under the law.
Give us a call today at (855) 424-6587 or contact us online to speak with one of our caring and professional Atlanta, Georgia Trucking Accident Lawyers about your case.