After a serious semi-truck crash in Iowa, you may be dealing with life-changing injuries, or you may have lost a loved one.
You may also be getting phone calls from a trucking insurance company that wants to interview you about the crash.
If you want to be treated fairly, 2 things must be done as soon as possible:
(1) Get Medical Attention for Your Accident-related Injuries
The very first thing you should do after a crash is to get medical attention for your injuries. The safest thing you can do is get checked out by a doctor, even if you aren’t sure you were seriously injured. Injury symptoms don’t always show up right away – sometimes it can be hours, days, or even weeks before you realize how badly you were hurt in a crash.
Under Iowa law, the victims are the ones that must prove their harms and losses after a serious semi-truck accident. Therefore, having complete and accurate medical records from the time of the crash is crucial in proving your Iowa truck crash claim. It’s also important that you treat your injuries until you are healed.
Your number one job after a serious truck crash is to attend your doctor appointments and follow the medical advice, they give you so you can heal as much as possible.
(2) Talk to an Experienced Iowa Semi-truck Crash Attorney
Many Iowans don’t realize that truck accidents are very different from normal car crashes. In a normal car crash, it is usually safe to rely upon law enforcement to investigate how and why the crash occurred. That is not the case in Iowa truck accidents.
Most police officers do not have commercial drivers’ licenses and they are not familiar with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations which set the minimum safety standards for the trucking industry in the United States. Therefore, local law enforcement often fails to consider important information after a truck crash and misses crucial types of evidence.
The only way to secure and preserve this important information is to consult with an experienced truck accident lawyer who can hire the trucking industry investigators and experts needed for your case. Just like most people don’t start their driving careers by driving an 18-wheeler, most lawyers don’t start their legal careers by handling truck crash cases.
If you were in a serious trucking accident, you need an attorney experienced in semi-truck crashes to get you a fair settlement. RSH Legal offers a free, no-obligation case evaluation to Iowa trucking accident victims. To schedule yours, call 1-800-433-0283 today.