When it comes to recovering from a truck accident, there are two key aspects of the process:
- Protecting your health
- Protecting your legal rights
Both are extremely important, and both require your immediate attention. Here are the steps you should take if you have been seriously injured in a truck accident in Connecticut or New York:
1. Protect Your Health
First and foremost, you need to take care of yourself. Nothing – no amount of money – can replace your health, and this means that seeking medical attention should be your first priority. With this in mind, following a truck accident you should:
- See a Doctor. After being involved in a truck accident, you should see a doctor right away. You can try to get in to see your primary care physician if you don’t need emergency care, but you should not wait days (let alone weeks) for an appointment. Go to the emergency room if necessary, and be clear that you were involved in an accident and need to obtain a thorough diagnosis.
- Schedule Your Next Appointment. After you receive a diagnosis and treatment, be sure to schedule your next appointment before you leave. Write down the date, time, and location in a place that you won’t forget, and make arrangements to be there on time.
- Follow Your Doctor’s Advice. Between your appointments, carefully follow your doctor’s advice. Are you supposed to rest? Or do you need to stay mobile? Do you have a cast, splint, or brace? Did your doctor prescribe medications? Whatever the case may be, right now, it is more important than ever to follow your doctor’s orders.
- Contact Your Employer. If you are unable to work as a result of your injuries, you should contact your employer and make arrangements for your absence. If you have any concerns about doing this, you can ask your attorney for help.
- Seek a Second Opinion If Desired. The one caveat to strictly following your doctor’s advice is that you should seek a second opinion if you think one is necessary. Doctors make mistakes, and you are well within your rights to ask for a second opinion if you have any concerns.
- Keep All of Your Receipts, EOBs, and Bills: As you receive medical care, maintain an organized file for anything that charts the money you pay for treatment after the accident. You will receive a register receipt for some expenses, such as prescription medications and doctor copays, while others will come as letters in the mail. You and your attorney will review these documents to determine how much you may be able to pursue in damages.
2. Protect Your Legal Rights
In addition to protecting your health, you also need to protect your legal rights. In Connecticut and New York, truck accident victims can recover compensation for their financial and non-financial losses; if you have been seriously injured, your losses are likely to be substantial.
In order to ensure that your attorney has the best possible chance to help you secure maximum compensation, you should:
- Keep Your Photos from the Accident. Did you have the chance to take photos or videos at the scene of the accident? If you did, keep copies of everything you have on your phone. Your attorney will want to review them, and they could potentially be key evidence in your claim for compensation.
- Write Down Everything You Can Remember. In addition to keeping your photos and videos, you will want to preserve your memory as well. While the accident might seem hard to forget, your memory will fade, so it is a good idea to take notes while the accident is still fresh in your mind.
- Stay Off of Social Media. While your claim is pending, we believe it is best to stay off of social media entirely. There are a few reasons why, but the main reason is that you do not want to inadvertently post something that could be used against you during settlement negotiations or in court.
- Don’t Talk to Anyone about the Accident. If anyone contacts you about the accident, you should politely decline to speak with them. The person on the other end of the phone could be an investigator for the insurance company, and they are looking for information to undermine your injury claim. Right now, you should only be discussing the accident with your doctors and your attorney.
- Arrange to Speak with an Attorney. Speaking of your attorney, you need to hire one, and you should do so as soon as possible. You will want to choose a local Connecticut attorney who has experience handling truck accident claims. It is also important to choose a law firm that has the resources required to litigate your case effectively.
Schedule a Free Truck Accident Consultation
If you have been seriously injured in a truck accident in Connecticut, we encourage you to contact us to discuss your case. One of our attorneys will be happy to meet with you free of charge — at your location if you are unable to come to us.
We are available 24 hours a day, so give us a call at 203-800-8000 or use our online contact form to tell us about your case and where we can contact you. Our attorneys can meet with you at our Connecticut offices in Danbury, Hartford, Norwalk, or Bridgeport, or we can meet you at our New York City location.