Walpole, MA Truck Accident Lawyer
When disastrous truck accidents happen in Walpole, our experienced attorneys can help victims file lawsuits for compensatory damages.
Victims can document the fallout from a crash through police reports. Call 911, wait for officers to arrive, and then tell them what happened. While you wait for the police, you can get the truck driver’s name and other information but should not discuss the accident. Do the same with eyewitnesses so our attorneys can interview them in the coming days. Try to take pictures and videos of debris, damage, injuries, traffic signs, or other pertinent details. We can give these pictures to an accident reconstruction expert to review when preparing your case. Starting case preparation immediately is crucial, especially since you might need to prove your eligibility to recover non-economic damages according to Massachusetts’ serious injury statute of auto injury claims, including those that arise from truck accidents.
To get a free case review from our Walpole, MA truck accident lawyers, call the Law Office of John J. Sheehan now at (617) 925-6407.
Documenting the Fallout of Your Walpole, MA Truck Accident
Preserving evidence and capturing the fallout of a crash is crucial, as doing so could result in evidence our experienced lawyers can use to prove the defendant’s fault in Walpole. Start by getting yourself to safety, then focus on collecting the necessary information.
Police Reports
If you can, remove yourself from your vehicle and get to a safe area away from the road. If you cannot safely exit the vehicle without worsening your injuries, wait for law enforcement to arrive. Try to call 911 yourself, as you cannot expect someone else to do so, including the negligent driver. In addition to reporting the accident to the police, you might need to complete a Motor Vehicle Crash Operator Report if the accident caused death, injury, or more than $1,000 in property damage, according to Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 90, § 26. Upon completion, victims can send this form to their insurance, the Registry of Motor Vehicles, or the Walpole Police Department within five days of the accident.
When police officers get to the site, give them as much information about the accident as possible. For example, if there is a nearby traffic sign the other driver might have ignored, tell the police about it. Tell them if you are injured, too, even though you may not know the full extent of your injuries. In the days following the collision, our car accident lawyers can help you get the corresponding incident report from the Walpole Police Department.
Driver Information
In Walpole, drivers must stay at the accident site and exchange information with one another. For example, according to Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 90, § 11, drivers must prove their vehicle registration and driver’s license information. Get the other driver’s insurance details, too. If the other party was driving a commercial truck, get their employer’s information, as your claim might include them, depending on its specifics.
Eyewitness Information
Do your best to talk to any eyewitnesses. Ask for their names and phone numbers, and inform them that our truck accident lawyers may contact them in the following days. Promptly interviewing eyewitnesses is vital, lest victims risk their memories fading over time. Depending on the available physical evidence left from a crash site, some cases might heavily rely on eyewitness statements and similar testimony or evidence, so identifying and interviewing them could be vital.
Photos and Videos
One of the best and simplest things victims can do to document a truck crash in Walpole is to use their phones to take pictures. You can photograph everything, like damage to your car and physical injuries to your person. Documenting your injuries at the scene by photographing them can help establish that the accident in question caused your injuries.
Taking sweeping videos of the crash site can help as well. Since law enforcement and other services clear away accident scenes fairly quickly, taking photographs might be the best way to preserve evidence. Our attorneys can give accident reconstruction experts photos and videos of the crash site so that they can piece together what happened and determine the cause. Such an expert could testify about their findings during a trial if your case goes to court in Walpole.
What to Know When Preparing Your Truck Accident Claim in Walpole, MA
You should start preparing your truck accident claim right away, as you may only have three years to sue. You must prepare medical evidence or proof of your medical expenses to meet the serious injury threshold for auto accident lawsuits in Massachusetts.
One of the first things victims should learn about motor vehicle lawsuits is that they must meet Massachusetts’ serious injury threshold, laid out in Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 231, § 6D, before they can sue for non-economic damages. You can qualify to sue for non-economic damages in one of two ways. The first is by having medical damages from the accident in excess of $2,000. The second is by having sustained a serious injury, such as a fracture or sight or hearing loss, among others.
Keeping the serious injury threshold in mind, victims should start preparing their claims immediately by getting immediate medical care. Generating medical records confirming and explaining your injuries can let you establish your right to recover non-economic damages sooner.
All that said, victims should not wait too long to sue, as doing so could hurt their recoveries. Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 260, § 2A sets the statute of limitations for truck accident and injury lawsuits at three years. Attempt to file any later than the deadline, and the court could throw out your case.
Determining exactly when to file your lawsuit is a difficult balance to strike, but one our attorneys can assist you with. We can start preparing your case immediately by investigating the crash and pooling all relevant evidence and documentation so we can build a strong claim and file it before the deadline to sue in Walpole.
Call Our Lawyers in Walpole, MA Now
Call the truck accident lawyers of the Law Office of John J. Sheehan for a confidential and free case assessment at (617) 925-6407.
