Posted on Saturday, October 5th, 2024 at 9:00 am
Truck accidents can result in life-altering injuries and expensive medical bills. And with the continual rise of Amazon, the likelihood of getting into a serious accident with one of their delivery trucks is also on the rise.
Understanding what to do after an Amazon truck accident in Utah is essential for protecting your right to seek compensation for your injuries. If you were in an accident with an Amazon truck, the most important things you can do are to seek ongoing medical treatment, keep track of your bills, write down everything, avoid making a statement, and contact an experienced truck accident attorney.
Seek Ongoing Medical Treatment
Seeking medical attention after an accident is one of the most important steps. Even if you feel fine immediately, getting checked out by a medical professional is a good idea, as you may have internal injuries.
However, your ongoing medical treatment is as essential as your initial treatment. Don’t stop after the initial medical checkup. Follow through with your treatment until your doctor tells you you’ve recovered or that further treatment won’t improve your condition anymore. This is known as reaching your maximum medical improvement (MMI).
By seeking ongoing medical treatment, you benefit your health and show the insurance companies that you’re taking your injuries and treatment seriously. Auto insurance companies, whether they’re yours or Amazon’s, are always looking for ways to deny claims or reduce payouts. Taking your injuries and treatment seriously will make it harder for them to argue that the compensation you’re seeking isn’t necessary.
You shouldn’t settle your claim until after reaching your MMI. At this point, you’re less likely to experience further complications, making calculating the full extent of your medical expenses easier.
File a Claim with Your Insurer
After your accident, file a claim under your personal injury protection policy. Since Utah is a no-fault insurance state, your insurer will cover your medical expenses and lost wages up to the limits of your PIP coverage. That money may not go far if you have the minimum required $3,000 policy. After that, you must seek payment from the at-fault party’s insurance policy.
Engage a Utah Amazon Truck Accident Lawyer
When you’ve been injured in a truck accident, including one involving an Amazon truck, you should hire a truck accident lawyer. Your lawyer can provide various essential services, such as identifying all the responsible parties in your accident, filing the appropriate insurance claims, negotiating for an appropriate settlement, and determining when you might be eligible to file a lawsuit.
You cannot file a lawsuit against the at-fault party in Utah unless your injuries result in permanent disability or impairment, dismemberment, fractures, or death or if your medical expenses are greater than $3,000. Your lawyer can handle this for you, as well.
Write Down Everything You Remember About the Accident
Memory isn’t very reliable, especially after a traumatic event like a truck accident. You may have also suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) from the collision, which can impact your memory.
You should write down everything you can think of to help you remember what happened leading up to and after the crash. This includes:
- When and where the accident occurred
- The direction you were heading
- The direction the Amazon truck hit you from
- How you felt after the accident
- Any visible injuries you had after the accident
- Anything the Amazon driver said after the accident
The more details you can write down, the better. Later on, as part of your lawsuit, you may need to recount the events of the accident, and these notes can help you remember details and prevent you from making contradictory statements.
Avoid Making a Statement Until After Consulting a Lawyer
Amazon’s website indicates that Amazon’s delivery drivers don’t work directly with Amazon. Instead, they are independent truckers, or they work for delivery service providers or businesses that are engaged by Amazon to deliver packages. Your lawyer must determine which parties can be sued for the compensation you deserve.
After a serious accident, especially involving a large company like Amazon or its affiliates, it’s common for the company’s insurer and lawyers to reach out to you for a statement. You should not speak to any insurance company or the other party’s lawyers until after speaking to a lawyer of your own.
The at-fault party’s insurance company and lawyers are only reaching out to you in the hopes that you will say something that will harm your case against them. What you say could harm your case due to Utah’s modified comparative fault statute.
Under this statute, your level of fault in the accident will reduce the compensation you can receive from a personal injury lawsuit. If you are more than 50 percent at fault, you cannot recover any compensation.
In practice, this means that if the insurance company or lawyers can get you to admit partial fault, they can save themselves or their clients money. If you are 25 percent at fault, you can only receive 75 percent of your awarded compensation through a trial. And when the insurer or at-fault party knows you can only receive 75 percent of your awarded compensation, they’ll offer you settlements reflecting that.
Contact a Utah Amazon Truck Accident Lawyer
The best thing you can do to protect your legal right to seek compensation after a collision with an Amazon truck is to contact an experienced Utah truck accident attorney. The company that provides drivers for Amazon will have a team of attorneys, so you should, too.
An experienced attorney can handle all aspects of your case, including:
- Investigating the incident
- Gathering supporting evidence
- Filing your insurance claim and personal injury lawsuit
- Negotiating with the insurance company for a fair settlement
- Representing you in court if the insurance company doesn’t offer a fair settlement
Call London Harker Injury Law at 77CARCRASH or contact us online for a free consultation with our truck accident attorneys. We’ll review your case and explain your legal options. Don’t wait. Contact our law firm today to get started on your legal case. Our attorneys have the legal knowledge and proven record of success to help you with your case.
