Being involved in a truck accident is not the same as being involved in a vehicle accident involving all automobiles. Vehicle crashes involving large trucks cause devastating injuries due to the size of the truck.
In many cases, the driver and passengers of the vehicle involved in the collision suffer life-altering injuries. If this was your experience, you should consider contacting a personal injury attorney to help you file a claim. A personal injury lawsuit can help you recover compensation for the damages caused by an accident involving a delivery truck.
Accidents Settlements Involving Trucks
If you are nervous about filing a claim, consider the fact that it has happened before--and the victims have had success.
Settlements and verdicts in delivery truck accidents are usually large because the injuries in a commercial truck accident are substantial.
Determining Fault in a Truck Accident
In order to receive compensation for injuries sustained in a truck accident, you must establish negligence on the part of the UPS driver or any other party.
If you were at fault for the accident, you typically cannot recover compensation from UPS or another party. However, if you are involved in a truck accident in a state that allows for comparative negligence claims, you may be able to receive compensation for a portion of your damages.
Common Causes of Truck Accidents
While there are many causes of accidents with trucks, here are some of the more common:
- Driver fatigue
- Speeding
- Reckless driving
- Improperly loaded freight
- Lack of proper truck maintenance
- Impaired driving
Determining fault in a truck accident can be very complicated because commercial trucks are governed by federal and state regulations.
An attorney with specific knowledge in this area of personal injury law understands how to use federal and state regulations and laws to assist in the truck accident investigation. In many cases, special investigators and accident scene reconstructionists are used to determine fault in a truck accident.
Steps To Take After a Car Accident With a Delivery Vehicle
If you have been hit by a UPS truck, or any other delivery service’s vehicle, you may want to pursue a personal injury claim against them to recover compensation for the damages that you suffered because of the accident. There are a variety of damages that could be suffered from such a crash. Every state has a time limit, or a statute of limitations for pursuing a personal injury claim, so if you wait too long you will not be able to recover compensation for your damages.
You need to do everything that you can to gather evidence and supporting documentation so you can get your claim on the right track and get compensated for your losses. You should always stay on the scene of an accident and call the police.
An accident report is your first step in getting a personal injury claim on track. The accident report will explain what happened, how it happened, who saw it, and the damages that resulted from the accident in question.
If you are physically able to do so, you should take photos of the accident scene. Get photos from all different angles to show a clear picture of what happened, the placement of the vehicles, and the extent of the damages that your vehicle suffered.
Get photos of any visible injuries as well. If you have serious injuries, call for an ambulance. Otherwise, you should still be checked by a medical professional. Some injuries are not apparent right away, and other injuries are more serious than they initially appear.
Check to see if there are any witnesses to the accident. You will want any witnesses to provide written statements that detail what they saw, how the accident happened, and what happened. Get the names of any witnesses and be sure to get their contact details in case additional details are needed later.
Evidence and Documentation To Support Your Claim
If you have been injured in an accident with a delivery vehicle, be sure to maintain copies of medical expenses and copies of your medical bills. You want to ask them to cover your past and present lost earnings as well as any future lost wages that you may suffer because of the injuries you suffered in the crash. You will want to be sure to ask to be compensated for your lost wages and future lost earnings.
- All medical expenses - Hospital bills, physician visits, physical therapy, prescriptions, medical devices, x-rays and scans, surgeries, and so forth should be included. If you will require future medical care, be sure to get documentation that indicates that and then do research to come up with the general costs associated with your future medical care.
- Pain and suffering - Copies of your medical bills as well as your medical records are needed to help you get your claim on track. Your medical records will help show the severity of your injuries and the prognosis. They will also indicate if there is permanent damage, any limitations or restrictions, or any disabilities.
- Lost wages - You will need to maintain documentation that shows your lost wages. Also, if you will be missing work in the future, or if you must change professions and take a decrease in pay, you will want to include those lost earnings as well. You should claim all lost wages as well as any future loss of earnings in your damages.
- Property damages - To claim property damages, you need photos of the accident scene and any damages to your vehicle, you should also have written estimates from a qualified auto repair facility detailing the cost of repairing damages to your vehicle. Keep copies of any tow bills and any rental car receipts for a vehicle used while your car is being repaired.
Here are some of the more commonly claimed damages after an auto accident. If you have been hit by a truck, you may want to claim:
- Medical expenses – past, present, and future
- Lost wages – past, present, and future
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Property damages
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of consortium
Your personal injury attorney will be able to determine which damages you suffered and help you get your claim underway.
Filing a Property Damage Claim with Package Delivery Services
If you have property damage following a car accident with a UPS truck, or any other package delivery service, you will need to file a claim with the appropriate claims department. This means that you file a claim with the company’s insurance company rather than with their claims department that handles damaged package claims.
Documentation is essential to your claim, so be sure to have copies of all your supporting evidence ready when you notify the UPS claims department that you want to file a claim with their insurer for property damage you suffered during a crash involving a UPS vehicle.
You will need to maintain medical bills, proof of missed work and lost wages, and any statements that can help prove your financial losses caused by the car accident that involved a UPS truck. Remember if you are involved in an accident with a UPS truck, or any other package delivery service, you should maintain thorough documentation.
Make sure you call the police so an accident report can be made. The accident report can be very beneficial to your property damage claim because it will verify the details of the crash as well as the damage that your vehicle suffered because of the accident with a delivery service vehicle. Photos of the accident scene, witness statements, and repair estimates are all essential to the success of your property damage claim with a package delivery service.
How To Report a Package Delivery Service Driver
To report a UPS delivery driver, or the driver of any other package delivery service, you will need to file a claim with the company. As an example, if you were involved in a crash with a package delivery vehicle and it was because of the driver’s negligence, you will need to explain in detail why you would like to report a UPS driver. UPS property damage claims are not uncommon.
When you report a driver, you will need to explain why you are reporting the driver from the auto accident and what you believe . For example, it may be because he was not paying attention to where he was going. The driver may have been distracted because he or she was looking at packages, using a phone, or so forth.
Be sure to be as specific as possible when you explain why the driver is being reported, so you can have success with your property damage claims. A personal injury lawyer who handles auto accident claims may be able to help you report the package delivery service driver for causing the accident. Be sure to discuss the process with your attorney, so you can make sure all proper protocol has been adhered to and that you have met any pertinent deadlines, so your claim is not dismissed.
Getting Your Claim Started
The first step in getting a personal injury claim underway is sending a demand letter. In the demand letter, you must explain what happened, how it happened, where it happened, and why you think the delivery company is liable for your damages.
You will also need to provide supporting documentation that indicates your losses. You will need to itemize your losses and then come up with an overall value for your claim.
When you do this, you will want to ask for more than the minimal amount that you are willing to accept because odds are that the company and their insurer may not be willing to give you the amount of money that you are asking for. You will want to leave room for negotiations, so you can make counteroffers and reach an agreement.
Personal injury attorneys have strong negotiation skills and your lawyer will work to ensure you are treated fairly. When you hire a personal injury lawyer to help you pursue a claim, you will not have to pay anything out of pocket. Instead, your attorney will not be compensated until you win your case and recover compensation through a judgment or settlement.
Proving Fault
You will need to show that the delivery company was at fault for the crash. You can do this through witness statements, the location of the vehicles as shown in photos, the accident report, and through witness statements. Also, your vehicle damages and the injuries you suffer could help show how the accident happened and help prove fault or liability.
Sometimes there may be video that shows part – or all – of an accident. This may be from a dash camera, from a nearby surveillance camera, or from a traffic camera. Your personal injury attorney will investigate to determine if video footage that shows the crash and that helps prove fault is available.
Do You Need An Attorney After a Truck Accident?
If you or a family member has been injured in a truck accident, it is important that you contact a personal injury attorney as soon as possible. Proving fault in a commercial truck accident requires a thorough and complete investigation including an accident scene investigation to preserve key evidence that could be lost as time passes.
A personal injury attorney skilled in commercial truck accidents knows how to identify, preserve, and protect the key evidence that will be used to prove negligence and prove that the company should reimburse you for your physical, emotional, and financial damages.
Commercial truck accidents involving trucks can be complex and complicated. Do not allow your personal injury claim to be denied because you lack the evidence to prove negligence and fault. Hire an experienced personal injury attorney to ensure that you receive a fair and just settlement for your truck accident claim.
Additional Resources
*Disclaimer: The content of this article serves only to provide information and should not be construed as legal advice. If you file a claim against United Parcel Service, or any other party, you may not be entitled to any compensation.
