Truck Accidents Disrupt Life

6ABC.com reported on May 30, 2012 Pennsylvania State Police investigating a crash involving a tractor trailer dump truck in Delaware County. Truck accidents can disrupt your life not only physically and emotionally, but also financially. When involved in an accident with a truck, the following parties may be responsible for a car accident victim’s injuries: truck driver, truck owner, vehicle manufacturer, shipper of truck’s cargo.

In a truck accident, driver errors are more likely to cause accidents than other factors such as weather, road conditions, or truck performance. Federal regulations force trucking companies to test drivers for substance abuse. Besides alcohol impairment, a driver may be impaired by sleep deprivation, or use of prescription drugs.

Federal regulations provide rules on hours of service to ensure drivers obtain the needed rest to drive safely. After an accident with a truck, engage an experienced Philadelphia, PA personal injury attorney to help you determine the reasons for the accident. To prove sleep deprivation, your attorney can discover a copy of the truck driver’s logs. Your attorney may also discover driver logs. Drivers are required by federal laws to record their driving information. Review trip tickets for deliveries including stamps that expose the time a load was picked up.

Drivers who do not have many assets or trucking companies that attempt to avoid liability by arguing the drivers are independent contractors may leave a car accident victim with little recovery for medical bills, loss wages, and property damages.

It’s disheartening that vehicle accidents may leave people with insurmountable debts. Sometimes the responsible parties delay settling a case by making the accident victim go through uncomfortable situations such as medical exams, exposures of finances, and depositions that require testimony under oath.

If you have been involved in an accident, write down the details of the accident to remember the incident accurately. These notes are invaluable when you put together a compensation demand. The notes help in establishing credibility. Write down what you were doing at the time of the accident, where you were going, the individuals you were with, the time and weather, shocks to your body, anything anybody said. Following your accident, make daily notes of your pain and activities. If you do not record your pain, you will not remember them once you recover and the injury marks on your body clear away. When you look like new, a jury may not believe you were ever hurt.

For economic loss, document days taken off from work, job opportunities missed, classes absent from, social gatherings not attended. Take notes of conversations with insurance adjusters, witnesses, and medical personnel.

Sadly, vehicle accidents leave people with insurmountable debts from lost wages and medical bills. Contact experienced Pennsylvania accident attorneys to help you obtain full compensation for your car wreck.