If you’ve been involved in a truck accident, or if a loved one has been injured, it’s important to move quickly to seek justice. You do not want to delay the task of exploring your legal options. For one thing, you or your loved one probably needs immediate medical care, and seeking compensation from the trucking company or the driver can potentially allow you to cover these costs. It is certainly important to get prompt medical care right away after an accident, and you don’t want to be stuck with unaffordable bills for months or even years afterward.
But these are not the only reasons why you should act quickly. Consider the following additional reasons why proactively exploring your legal options is such a consequential undertaking.
Preserving evidence is key
First of all, you don’t want evidence to be lost during the delay. This is part of the reason why it’s such a good idea to take pictures or videos at the scene of a crash. You can then refer to these later to see how the accident played out, rather than relying on memory. A single picture can often capture an incredible amount of detail that you wouldn’t have time to notice if you were at the scene for only a brief time.
Trucking companies are powerful
Additionally, if you believe that the trucking company itself may be partially responsible for the accident, and not just the driver, it’s important to remember that trucking companies are large and rather powerful entities. The trucking company probably has an insurance company on its side and significant resources to devote to the case. You’ll need to work quickly to try to give yourself an edge in order to secure a fair result.
The statute of limitations
Finally, you also may want to think about the statute of limitations that governs personal injury cases in Texas. The current statute is set at two years after an accident or injury takes place. Even waiting that long is far too long when thinking about things like evidence and medical bills, but it gives you an idea of the outside limit that you should be considering when thinking about filing legal action.
Getting started
On the whole, acting quickly after an accident can help you and your family recover and work your way through a difficult time. Be sure you know what legal steps to take as you do so and that you seek guidance when you need to.