Your Rights as a West Palm Beach Truck Accident Victim

Your West Palm Beach truck accident has changed everything. Now you are confused, injured, and overwhelmed by your possible options for legal recourse. Whether an 18 wheeler zigzagged across a lane and hit you head on, or a smaller vehicle, such as a delivery or farm truck, careened into you at a stop light, West Palm Beach truck accident lawyer David Glatthorn can help you understand your rights and fight for the compensation you deserve. 
 

Truck Accident Victims Can Get the Short End of the Stick 

Insurance companies that represent trucking firms and negligent truck drivers will work hard to protect their bottom line. Many of these companies have investigators on the scene of a crash within hours, gathering evidence in their favor. In other words, even if a negligent or careless truck driver clearly hurt and injured you, you are likely to face stiff resistance when attempting to get fair compensation. It is not just, but if you are not careful, the negligent, careless, or even outright purposefully aggressive driver (or trucking company) can get away with hurting you, destroying your property, and injuring your loved ones without paying a fair price. 

Reconstructing truck accidents is notoriously tricky. Your West Palm Beach accident attorney must do an immediate investigation to parse out the possible causes and complications of the accident. Your truck accident lawyer may: 

1. Interview the injured person and all witnesses as soon as possible after the accident.

2. Immediately alert the defendant trucking company to preserve the truck before it is repaired, and to save all records relating to inspection, travel, maintenance and the "black box", the electronic control module that can record critical information in the moments before a crash.

3. Thoroughly document the accident scene with photographs, both ground and aerial.

4. Hire an accident reconstruction expert to carefully investigate and document the scene and document all damage to all the vehicles involved in the crash.

5. Obtain any police reports and photos from the accident scene.

6. Obtain road camera and 911 information. Many high speed roads now have cameras installed that may have recorded the accident or important moments leading up to it. Recordings of 911 calls can sometimes yield useful information.

7. Gather data about the motor carrier and past safety violations. If the motor carrier is under the jurisdiction of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the truck accident attorney can gather a wealth of data through the Compliance Safety Accountability Program.

8. Subpoena all cell phone records, GPS tracker, time sheets, company regulations, the driver's personnel files, driver's license and driving history.

9. Clarify all corporations with possible liability. Trucks are often leased and sometimes the chain of command is complicated.

10. Document the condition of the client's vehicle both for accident reconstruction purposes and to deflect any allegations of poor maintenance.

West Palm Beach truck accident attorney David Glatthorn has lived and practiced law in the Palm Beach community for over 30 years. His experience enables him to develop solutions to both the legal and human problems caused by truck accidents. Even if you have a complicated accident case - or if another law firm has previously rejected your case or said that you will never be able to recover damages -David Glatthorn might be able to help you design, fortify, and move forward on a strategy to get the compensation you need. Call his offices now at 888-340-2620 for a free consultation.