If you get involved in an accident with a semi-truck in New Mexico, it is vital to know what to do to protect your rights and hold someone accountable for your injuries and losses. A few essential actions can make all the difference to the success of your truck accident claim. While every case is different, guidance from a New Mexico truck accident lawyer can help victims understand the claims process and avoid common mistakes.
Put Your Health and Safety First
Seek immediate medical attention after any big rig accident in New Mexico. The size of commercial trucks means that trucking accidents are often catastrophic in the level of damage they inflict and the injuries that they cause. Even if you think you are not injured, your adrenaline could be masking pain, or you could have delayed symptoms.
Go to the nearest hospital or health care provider for a thorough checkup. Prompt injury diagnosis is critical for your recovery, and it can also improve your insurance claim. If you delay medical care, however, an insurance company could use this against you to argue that you failed to mitigate your damages. This could result in a reduced payout.
Contact the Police
You should always involve law enforcement if a large truck accident occurs. Call 911 from the scene of the accident to report it to your local police department right away. Request an ambulance if anyone has been hurt. New Mexico requires crash reporting if there are injuries, deaths or more than $500 worth of property damage. This describes the vast majority of 18-wheeler accidents in New Mexico.
Getting a police report is important for your truck accident claim, even if the law does not require police involvement. The report can contain key information about the crash, such as the names of the parties involved, the name of the trucking company, whether one of the drivers received a traffic citation and the officer’s opinion regarding causation. You can use your police report as evidence during your truck accident claim.
Collect Evidence
Start building your truck accident case early – while you are still at the scene, if possible. The strength of your claim will depend on the strength of your evidence. Do your best to collect the following at the scene or shortly after:
- The truck driver’s name
- The trucking company’s name and truck number
- Insurance information
- Eyewitness names and contact information
- Photos of the crash scene
- Surveillance or dashcam footage
- The truck’s black box
- The truck driver’s cell phone records
- Truck driver logbooks
- Truck maintenance schedules
- Your medical records
Many trucking companies send rapid response teams to the scenes of accidents right away to collect evidence. While these teams are not legally allowed to destroy evidence, it still sometimes happens. It is in your best interests to gather evidence yourself or with help from an attorney right away, before evidence can be tampered with.
Notify Insurance Companies
You need to file an insurance claim as soon as possible after a trucking accident to avoid missing deadlines imposed by the insurance company. Typically, the insurance process should be initiated 24 to 72 hours after the collision takes place. Start by calling your own car insurance company to notify them of the crash.
Since New Mexico is a fault-based insurance state, you have the right to seek financial compensation from the insurance provider of the at-fault party. This could be the individual truck driver, but it will most likely be the insurance carrier for the trucking company. Other liable parties may include a cargo company, a third-party driver, a part manufacturer or the government.
When speaking to your own insurer, you may be required to give a recorded statement to continue processing your claim. If you are contacted by the trucking company’s insurer, however, you are not required to give a statement and should politely decline. Rather than agreeing to being recorded, tell them you will speak to your attorney and send in a written statement. This will protect you from having your statement used against you.
Document Your Injuries
Keep up with your medical treatments and care as you seek financial compensation for your truck accident. Continue collecting medical records, doctor’s notes, x-rays, photographs and other proof of your injuries as you recover. Keep an injury journal, as well, where you document your pain and suffering in detail. Clearly documenting your injuries can make them easier to prove during the claims process.
Consult With an Attorney Before Accepting Any Settlements
Throughout the insurance claims process, the insurance company may try to take advantage of you to protect its own profits. Common tactics include offering a lowball initial settlement, attempting to blame the victim for the crash, asserting that the injuries were pre-existing and denying the claim outright.
You should never quickly say yes to the first settlement offer. Instead, bring your case to a semi-truck accident attorney for a free review. An attorney can give you an idea of how much your case is truly worth based on factors that commonly affect truck accident settlement amounts. This is especially important to know if you suffered serious or catastrophic injuries that will impact you far into the future.
If an attorney offers to represent you during your trucking accident case, your lawyer can handle settlement negotiations with an insurance provider on your behalf to fight for a fair value. Your odds of achieving a fair and full settlement are much higher with an attorney advocating for you.
File a Lawsuit, If Necessary
The majority of truck accident claims filed in New Mexico are resolved with settlements, meaning they do not have to go to court. If the defendant refuses to cooperate with your case or offer a reasonable settlement for severe injuries, however, your attorney may recommend a truck accident trial.
In this case, you would need to act within at least three years of your accident for a valid lawsuit. This is the statute of limitations in New Mexico under Statutes Annotated § 37-1-8. An attorney can help you file the paperwork required to initiate a lawsuit against a trucking company or other parties.
Your lawyer can investigate your truck accident, determine fault, collect evidence, handle paperwork and legal processes for you, and represent you before a judge or jury in New Mexico. Meanwhile, you will have the peace of mind to concentrate on your physical and emotional recoveries.
For legal information about a recent truck accident, contact us today to request a free consultation.