Some people don’t realize that there are specialty truck and car accident lawyers. Sometimes, entire law firms exist that only handle car and truck accident cases. They can do this because these accidents are so frequent.

If you talk to one of these lawyers, they will probably all tell you to do the same things in the same order following a commercial truck accident. Let’s go through those one by one, so you’ll know the procedure if you ever have to deal with this unfortunate event.

Get Your Car Out of the Way and Turn on Your Hazards

If you talk to truck accident lawyers, the first thing they’ll always tell you to do after a collision is to move your vehicle to the side of the road if you possibly can. Commercial truck accidents often occur on the highway because that’s where these gigantic vehicles spend most of their time. If you’re able to move your car onto the shoulder or to the grassy strip in the middle, then do that. 

If you can’t move your vehicle, then you have no choice but to leave it where it is. That might be right out in traffic’s path, but if the truck damaged your car badly, there’s nothing you can do about that. 

Whether you can move it or not, put on the hazard lights. They will blink and notify oncoming traffic that a crash has occurred. 

If you have road flares, you can get those out and set them up. Those are also very helpful if the crash occurred at night.

As you do all this, though, watch out for oncoming traffic. You never know if the next driver coming is not paying attention, and you don’t want to get hit while you take these steps.

Check for Injuries and Call for Help

Next up, check for injuries. Check yourself as best you can, and look over any individuals who were in the car with you. They can look at you as well since they might notice something that you do not.

You might feel like you’re okay, but that does not necessarily mean you have not incurred some damage. Remember that right after a crash, adrenaline will probably flood your body. This is a natural reaction, and it’s entirely possible that in that condition, you might not notice even a significant injury.

At that point, you can call 911. If you have a smartphone or someone else in your vehicle has one, you can reach out to the authorities that way. You can ask the dispatcher to send both an ambulance and the police. 

If no one in your vehicle has a phone, then perhaps the truck driver has one. They might also call for help using their radio. If that’s not possible, look for an emergency call box. 

Gather Any Evidence that You Can

Gathering evidence is the next thing a lawyer will say to do. If you have a smartphone with a camera, you can either take pictures of the crash site or you can take a video of it.

You can document the weather conditions, skid marks on the road, injuries, the truck driver’s license plate number, and anything else that you feel is relevant. If there any witnesses, talk to them and try to get their names and phone numbers. Get the truck driver’s insurance information and that of any other drivers if the collision involved multiple vehicles.

Hire a Lawyer

Once the police and an ambulance arrive, you can give a statement. If the crash injured you, the ambulance can take you to the hospital for a thorough examination. 

After you get home, you can call a truck accident lawyer. Maybe you know one already if one of your relatives has used one before. Perhaps you even have one in your family.

If you don’t know any lawyers, then do some quick research. Look for attorneys in your area, but make sure that they mention truck accidents on their website specifically. Look at client reviews both on their website and also on Google.

At that point, you can call the lawyer’s office and tell them what happened. They might want you to visit them in person, or they might be okay doing a FaceTime or Skype interaction with you. They can tell you your options, talk about their pricing structure, and discuss what they can potentially do for you.