4 important tasks you can handle for your injured loved one
If one of your beloved family members has been injured in a collision with a semi truck, you may be feeling justifiably frightened by their injuries, angry at the negligent truck driver, and overwhelmed by the whole experience. Fortunately, there are several ways that you can help your loved one through the experience and ensure that their right to seek full and fair compensation from the party that wronged them is preserved.
Make Sure They Get Medical Care
Of course, if the truck accident was serious, your loved one will most likely have been immediately transported to a hospital and provided with emergency medical care. However, they may not have received all the care that they need. Some types of late-appearing injuries such as whiplash or soft tissue injuries may not have been apparent when they were first admitted to the hospital, and if their other injuries were minor, they might be released before they even notice these injuries.
If your family member begins to have new symptoms or pains in the days and weeks following their truck accident, it is very important that you encourage them to seek further medical care. This will allow their suffering to be properly documented by a medical professional, which will greatly improve the chances of receiving appropriate compensation.
Encourage Them to Keep Up with Treatment
It very important for truck accident victims to continue with any course of treatment advised by their physician. For example, if they are advised to get a certain number of chiropractic sessions or do physical therapy for a certain period of time, you need to encourage them to follow through on these recommendations. Stopping treatment can give the false impression that the injury was not severe and/or stopped causing them difficulty and give the defense grounds to argue for reduced compensation.
Document Everything
Following a serious injury, your loved one is going to be focused on recovery. Keeping track of all the documentation related to their case would put a burden on them, but fortunately you can easily lift this burden by taking over the role of document custodian yourself. Gather and keep all the information relevant to the injury you can, starting with evidence related to the events that caused the accident, such as photos of the scene, contact information for witnesses, and police reports. You will also want to keep copies of medical records and bills. Finally, try to help your loved one keep a diary of their experiences following the injury to help show the impact of the accident on their quality of life and mental state and support their need for compensation for pain and suffering.
Find a Truck Accident Attorney
Finally, you absolutely must help your loved one find a quality truck accident attorney to represent them. This should be done as quickly as possible after the accident, so that your family member will have an advocate to protect their rights and interests in the face of stiff opposition from the trucking company and their team of investigators, insurance agents, and attorneys.
Fernando D. Vargas makes an excellent choice of truck accident attorney, thanks to his extensive experience in handling complex cases and securing highly beneficial outcomes for his clients. Call 909-982-0707 now to arrange for a free consultation for your injured family member.
