My uncle was involved in a crash with an 18-wheeler and he’s still in the hospital. Does he need to hire a truck accident attorney?

Your uncle and his family would be best advised to hire the services of a truck accident attorney as soon as possible after the crash and in some instances, the same day as the crash. In most accidents involving an 18-wheeler or a commercial vehicle, the trucking company typically has lawyers on the scene before the vehicles are removed. Some defense lawyers actually fly a team of attorneys and investigators to the accident site to assess the scene, take notes, interview witnesses, photograph the scene and speak to police. This gives them a leg up in working on a defense for the trucker’s behavior or involvement in the collision.

If you have your own attorney, they perform similar services for you, but are on your side to provide evidence that demonstrates negligence on the part of the trucking company and/or driver. The sooner you have an attorney, the better and the easier it is for that attorney to mount a case on your behalf. Having your own lawyer at the scene of the wreck also ensures evidence does not go missing, such as the driver’s log book. We realize this is hard and often unrealistic, but the sooner someone is out there, the better.

We had a case a few years ago where this timing could have made a huge difference. We were hired late in this case, and when we received the police crash report, it was wrong. It had our clients coming from a completely different direction. Fortunately, we had an understanding police officer who was willing to listen and correct his police report. But that is often not the case. The sooner you can gather evidence and talk to the investigators, the easier it is to make sure things are as accurate as possible.

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