What Happens if a Truck Driver Leaves the Scene of an Accident

A truck accident can leave you nursing physical and psychological injuries. The crush can also strain your finances due to expensive medical bills and the inability to work. You still have the right to seek compensation even if the at-fault driver flees.

However, you’ll face numerous hurdles in your pursuit of compensation. Hit-and-run truck accidents often involve complex investigations, difficulty identifying the driver, and resistance from insurance companies.

Therefore, you should work with a legal professional who can explain your rights and guide you after the crash.

A skilled truck accident attorney can investigate the crash, gather evidence, track down the responsible party, and pursue maximum compensation for your losses. With the proper legal support, you can focus on healing while your lawyer handles the legal aspects.

Key Takeaways

• You still have the right to seek compensation after a hit-and-run truck accident.
• Proving liability may be daunting when the truck driver flees the scene.
• Immediate actions like calling the police and seeking medical care protect your rights.
• Document evidence such as vehicle damage, skid marks, and witness statements.
• Surveillance footage and accident reconstruction can strengthen your claim.
• Notify your insurer promptly to access uninsured motorist coverage.
• Avoid direct negotiations with insurers without legal guidance.
• A truck accident attorney can investigate, locate the driver, and pursue maximum compensation.
• Call a truck accident attorney if you sustain an injury in a hit-and-run truck crash.

What Happens When a Driver Leaves the Scene of an Accident

When a driver leaves the scene of an accident, the consequences extend far beyond legal penalties; injured victims struggle to identify the liable party or initiate compensation claims.

Immediate Impact on Victims

Hit-and-run victims face several urgent problems. Without the at-fault driver present, emergency responders may delay arriving, potentially worsening injuries.

Victims are also unable to exchange insurance information or document the scene properly.

Financial and Legal Consequences

Victims must initiate insurance claims without details about the responsible party, often forcing them to rely on their coverage for medical bills and other losses. It can mean higher deductibles and potential premium increases for accidents that weren’t their fault.

Protecting Your Rights After a Hit-and-Run

If you’re a hit-and-run victim, act quickly: contact the police, document everything possible, including photos, witness contacts, vehicle descriptions, and contact your insurance company.

You should also speak to a truck accident attorney who can help investigate, locate the fleeing driver, and pursue compensation through uninsured motorist coverage or a lawsuit.

What Should You Do After a Truck Accident

Your actions after a crash can impact your wellness and legal right to recover compensation. Here’s what you should do if injured in a truck accident:

Seek Prompt Medical Attention

You should seek prompt medical attention even if you feel fine or are involved in a minor crash. Many severe conditions, including traumatic brain injuries, internal bleeding, spinal damage, and soft tissue injuries, may not manifest symptoms for hours or days.

What feels like minor soreness can be life-threatening internal trauma. A healthcare professional can reveal hidden injuries and initiate a treatment plan. They will also document the injury and treatment plan, which creates a clear link between the accident and your injuries.

Delaying medical treatment severely weakens your injury claim. Insurance companies and opposing attorneys will argue that gaps in treatment indicate your injuries weren’t serious or were caused by something else entirely.

File a Police Accident Report

You should notify the local police department if a truck driver flees the scene after a crash. Informing the police can help your case in the following ways:

• Preserve Evidence: By contacting the authorities, you allow them to document the scene, take photographs, and gather witness statements before evidence disappears. A truck accident lawyer can use the crash report when building a case against the responsible party.
• Ensure Accountability: Reporting the accident to the police allows them to initiate investigations and identify the truck driver who fled the scene.
• Protect Your Rights: Filing a police report establishes an official record of the incident, protecting your legal rights in case of any disputes or legal proceedings. A truck accident attorney can use the police report to establish liability and push for a settlement value that covers your losses.

Inform Your Insurer About the Crash

You should inform your insurer if a truck hits you and flees the scene. Many insurers require their policyholders to make a notification about a crash within a specific window. Make an immediate notification after the collision.

Your underinsurance/uninsured coverage can cover the losses if you can’t identify the driver or if they hold a low coverage limit.

Most importantly, do not commence settlement negotiations with the insurer without legal aid. An insurer may attempt to take advantage of you by making a low settlement offer, hoping you’ll accept it without objections.

Consult a Truck Accident Lawyer

You should speak to a legal professional if you suffered an injury in a hit-and-run truck accident. Truck accident cases involve complex federal regulations, multiple liable parties, and devastating injuries that require expensive treatment plans.

Attempting to pursue the at-fault party without legal help often results in inadequate compensation that fails to cover your injury-related losses. You can protect your legal right to compensation by working with a truck accident attorney.

Commercial trucking companies and their insurers employ teams of experienced attorneys and investigators who begin protecting their interests immediately after an accident. They work aggressively to minimize liability and reduce settlement amounts.

Insurers can contact you within hours to secure recorded statements or quick settlements that grossly undervalue claims. You risk leaving money on the table if you deal with insurers or their attorneys without legal representation.

A qualified truck accident attorney understands the federal trucking regulations, knows how to preserve evidence like driver logs and black box data, and can identify all potentially liable parties.

They also have the resources to hire accident reconstruction experts, medical specialists, and economists who can accurately calculate your claim’s value.

They also work on contingency fees, meaning you pay nothing unless they secure compensation. The payment plan ensures a truck accident lawyer is motivated to maximize your recovery while you focus on healing from your injuries.

How Can You Prove a Hit and Run

Proving a hit-and-run accident presents a unique challenge since the responsible driver has fled the scene. However, successful cases rely on gathering comprehensive evidence that establishes what happened, identifies the fleeing vehicle, and ultimately leads to the at-fault driver.

Here are eight types of evidence you can use to prove a hit-and-run truck crash:

• Eyewitness Testimony: Witness statements can provide valuable insight into what occurred during the accident. Eyewitnesses who saw the truck driver fleeing the scene or who can offer details about the truck and its driver can complement other sources of evidence to prove a hit-and-run.
• Surveillance Footage: Surveillance cameras are present in many public areas. Footage from nearby cameras can capture the accident, including the truck involved in the hit-and-run.
• Vehicle Damage: Scratches, dents, and paint transfer on your vehicle can be physical evidence of the collision. Documenting the damage with photographs can demonstrate the force of impact.
• Skid Marks and Debris: Skid marks on the road and debris left behind by the truck can help reconstruct the sequence of events leading up to the hit-and-run. The physical evidence can paint a clearer picture for investigators.
• Police Reports: Contacting law enforcement immediately after the incident helps identify the negligent driver. A law enforcement officer will generate a crash report with details such as the hit-and-run location, time, and circumstances, providing an official record of the incident.
• Medical Records: Seeking medical attention after the accident enhances your well-being and documents the injuries. Medical records can link your injuries to the hit-and-run, strengthening your case.
• Cell Phone Records: Timestamped call or text records can help establish your whereabouts at the time of the accident. The cellphone records can corroborate your account of the events leading up to the hit-and-run.
• Insurance Claims: Filing a claim with your insurance company and cooperating with their investigation can provide additional evidence of the hit-and-run. Insurance documentation can support your case and facilitate the claims process.
• Expert Accident Reconstruction: Experts can use physical evidence like vehicle damage, skid marks, or debris to recreate the crash events. Their analysis can demonstrate how the collision occurred, identify the truck’s likely path, and prove that the driver fled the scene.

Can You Sue After a Truck Accident

Truck accidents often result in catastrophic injuries and significant financial losses, giving victims substantial legal grounds to pursue compensation through civil litigation. Here are a few reasons why you can sue after a hit-and-run truck crash:

Negligence and Duty of Care Violations

Truck drivers and trucking companies owe other motorists a heightened duty of care due to their vehicles’ size and destructive potential. You can initiate a truck accident lawsuit if they breach their duty through speeding, distracted driving, improper maintenance, or violation of federal safety regulations.

The above negligence forms the foundation for most truck accident lawsuits, as it directly links the defendant’s actions to your injuries and damages.

Severe and Life-Altering Injuries

Truck accidents frequently cause traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord damage, multiple fractures, and other catastrophic conditions requiring extensive medical treatment, rehabilitation, and long-term care.

These severe injuries justify substantial compensation claims, often exceeding standard insurance policy limits. You can initiate a truck accident lawsuit if the at-fault party’s insurer makes a low settlement offer that doesn’t cover your losses.

Multiple Liable Parties

Truck crashes often implicate numerous defendants, including truck drivers, trucking companies, cargo loaders, maintenance providers, and vehicle manufacturers.

The complex nature of truck claims creates multiple avenues for recovery and increases the total compensation available. Suing allows you to pursue all responsible parties simultaneously, maximizing your potential recovery.

Insurance Company Bad Faith

Trucking companies carry substantial insurance policies, but insurers frequently employ delay tactics, lowball offers, and claim denials to minimize payouts. You can initiate a lawsuit when insurance companies act in bad faith by unreasonably refusing fair settlement offers or failing to investigate your claims.

The potential costs and publicity often motivate insurers to negotiate more reasonably. A truck accident lawsuit allows for a neutral assessment of the case, potentially leading to fair and just compensation.

Get Deserved Compensation after a Hit-and-Run Truck Accident

A broken bone after a truck accident can keep you out of work for months, leading to lost income. If the treatment plan lasts for months, the injury can prevent you from participating in your favorite activities, reducing your quality of life.

Although you’re entitled to compensation, the negligent party’s insurer may reject your claim or make a low settlement offer that doesn’t cover your losses. A truck accident lawyer can gather compelling evidence and negotiate with the insurer for a fair and just settlement.

Speak with a truck accident attorney for legal guidance in the aftermath of the crash.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Prove Negligence or Identify the Liable Parties

Proving negligence requires establishing that the defendant breached their duty of care, directly causing your injuries. The process can involve gathering evidence like accident reports, witness statements, and expert testimony.

Identifying liable parties means investigating all potentially responsible entities, including drivers, trucking companies, manufacturers, and maintenance providers, through thorough case analysis.

How Can a Truck Accident Lawyer Help?

A truck accident lawyer can provide legal guidance and objectivity in the aftermath of the crash. They objectively analyze your case’s strengths and value, negotiate with aggressive insurance companies, and preserve evidence.

They can also identify all liable parties and ensure you receive fair compensation while you focus on recovery.

How Much Is My Truck Accident Worth?

You are likely to accept a low settlement offer if you don’t understand the value of your truck accident. There is no average value of a truck accident, as the outcome depends on the facts and details of the crash.

A truck accident lawyer can use various factors like severity of injury, shared fault, and insurance coverage to push for a settlement value that matches your losses.

Nathan Hughey

Nathan Hughey, an attorney and fourth-generation South Carolinian, founded Hughey Law Firm in 2007. Before that, he spent five years defending nursing homes and insurance companies. Leveraging his experience, he now advocates for those injured or wronged by such entities, securing over $290 million in verdicts and settlements.