What You Can Expect when Dealing with a Truck Accident
After any accident, you have a lot on your mind. That’s especially true if you have suffered major injuries! While you want, and rightfully deserve, compensation if you have been involved in an accident with a semi-truck, filing your claim can be one of the last things on your mind. As days go by, you may begin to wonder, “How long do I have to file a truck accident claim?”
The good news is that you don’t have to worry about filing your claim within a day. In fact, most states, including Texas and Oklahoma, the states where truck accident attorney Zach Herbert is licensed to work, allow up to two years after the accident to file a claim or a personal injury suit.
You can wait 24 months, but there’s important reasons not to wait that long. Here’s what you should know.
Why You Shouldn’t Dilly Dally when Filing a Truck Accident Claim
The longer you wait, the harder it can be to prove that your claim is justified. Let’s take into account some of the reasons why.
- Your Witnesses May Not be around Anymore
Immediately following a truck accident, there are hopefully people who witnessed the crash. Getting their contact information is vital to ensure that these key witnesses are able to relay what they saw happen.
If you wait a year, they may have moved from the area. Their phone numbers could change. Or they may have lost a battle with a life threatening illness. Even if you are able to get in touch with them, memories fade quickly, and our brains will tend to fill in details that aren’t exactly what happened.
Filing your truck accident claim quickly means that a witness will be more likely to remember exactly what happened, and they will be able to give a statement about it. - The Physical Evidence Fades or is Deleted
You have probably come upon the aftermath of an accident at least once in your life. Tire marks on the pavement, broken glass in the gutters, maybe damaged landscape, signs, or poles where the vehicle went off the road surely point to a collision.
Come back in a week, and how’s it look? The glass is probably cleaned up, posts and signs replaced, and while the screech marks are still visible they’re fading away and any damaged landscaping is healing.
Come back in a year; now how does it look? Likely it’s as though there was never a wreck there to begin with. Over time, the evidence fades.
But that’s not all that disappears with time. Trucking companies are required to keep logs of their drivers recording hours driven, experience, and other information. Eventually those logs could be lost, destroyed, or otherwise inaccessible. Furthermore, even if the truck has a dash cam, the footage may be overwritten if it isn’t forced to be preserved or an open insurance claim or personal injury case.
The longer you wait, the less likely it will be that evidence is easy to see. - Truck Accidents Can Take Time to Investigate
If you’re rear ended by another passenger vehicle, it’s often fairly straightforward what happened and who is at fault.
Truck accident claims aren’t quite so straightforward. In fact, sometimes it’s not even the driver of the truck that is found to be liable for the accident.
These claims can be very complex, and they can take significantly longer than an auto accident claim. To learn more about the liability behind truck accident claims, check out our previous blog about who can be held liable.
Call Zach Herbert, Dallas Truck Accident Attorney
If you have been involved in a truck accident, you need a truck accident attorney to help you navigate the complexity of these claims.
Zach Herbert has helped clients in Texas and Oklahoma get justice after their accident. Call 214-414-3808, or fill out our contact form, to get started with your free, no obligation consultation.