Truck and commercial vehicle collisions are more complicated than ordinary car accidents. A crash involving a tractor-trailer, box truck, delivery vehicle, construction truck, bus, or company van may involve corporate insurance coverage, electronic vehicle data, driver records, and multiple responsible businesses.
If you or someone you love was injured in a truck crash in Wilkes-Barre or Luzerne County, contact O’Donnell Law Offices for help protecting your rights and taking these important steps.
1. Call 911
Report the crash and remain at the scene unless emergency personnel take you for treatment. The police can document the drivers, vehicles, witnesses, roadway conditions, and other important details.
Tell the investigating officer what happened, but do not guess about facts you did not clearly observe. O’Donnell Law Offices can obtain and review the police report as part of its investigation.
2. Obtain Medical Care
Truck crashes can cause traumatic brain injuries, spinal injuries, internal bleeding, broken bones, and other serious conditions. Get checked by a medical professional even if you initially believe you can recover without treatment.
Follow your healthcare provider’s recommendations and retain your medical bills, treatment records, medication information, and proof of lost income.
O’Donnell Law Offices can use this documentation to demonstrate the full physical, financial, and personal effects of the collision.
3. Take Photographs and Gather Information
If you can do so safely, photograph the vehicles, damage, debris, tire marks, intersection, traffic controls, and road conditions.
Make sure you capture the commercial vehicle’s:
- License plate
- Company name and logo
- Vehicle or unit number
- U.S. Department of Transportation number
- Trailer and cargo, when relevant
Ask witnesses for their contact information. If your injuries prevent you from documenting the scene, O’Donnell Law Offices can investigate on your behalf and search for witnesses, traffic cameras, business surveillance footage, and other evidence.
4. Refer Insurance Companies to O’Donnell Law Offices
The trucking company or its insurer may ask you for a recorded statement, medical authorization, or early settlement. You are not required to face that process alone.
Refer insurance representatives to O’Donnell Law Offices. Its attorneys can manage communications, evaluate settlement offers, and prevent an insurer from pressuring you into resolving your case before the extent of your injuries is known.
Avoid posting about the collision, your treatment, or your activities on social media. Insurance companies may monitor public posts and attempt to use them out of context.
5. Have O’Donnell Law Offices Preserve the Trucking Evidence
Commercial vehicles may contain electronic information showing speed, braking, location, driving time, and other activity before a crash. The company may also possess driver logs, maintenance records, dispatch messages, training files, and dash-camera footage.
This information may be erased or overwritten. O’Donnell Law Offices can act promptly to demand that the trucking company and other businesses preserve relevant evidence.
The firm can then determine whether driver fatigue, distracted driving, unsafe loading, inadequate training, poor maintenance, or pressure from an employer contributed to the collision.
6. Identify Every Responsible Party
The truck driver may not be the only party responsible. A claim could also involve the driver’s employer, the vehicle owner, a maintenance company, a cargo-loading business, or a manufacturer of defective equipment.
O’Donnell Law Offices can identify the responsible individuals and companies and pursue compensation for:
- Medical treatment and rehabilitation
- Lost wages
- Reduced future earning capacity
- Property damage
- Pain and suffering
- Permanent impairment or disfigurement
- Other losses caused by the crash
Call a Wilkes-Barre Truck Accident Lawyer
From its Kingston office, O’Donnell Law Offices represents people injured in truck and commercial vehicle crashes in Wilkes-Barre, Kingston, Pittston, Hazleton, Dallas, Mountain Top, Nanticoke, Plains, Forty Fort, and throughout Luzerne County.
The trucking company may already be building its defense. Let O’Donnell Law Offices preserve the evidence, investigate the collision, deal with the insurers, and fight for the compensation you deserve.
Consultations are always free. Never a cost unless we win.
Call O’Donnell Law Offices at 570-821-5717 or schedule a free consultation with an attorney online.