Florida
Trucking Accident Lawyer Blog

If you have been in a trucking accident and have sustained a serious personal injury such as a spinal cord injury or a brain injury or have lost a loved one in the accident, you should contact a good Florida personal attorney as soon as it is at all viable to do so. Many attorneys will even visit your hospital room to discuss your accident with you.

Many patients avoid speaking to an attorney and often this reluctance is based on incomplete information. Many patients assume that they do not need an attorney because insurance providers will take care of the costs associated with an accident. Some think that they do not require an attorney because they have no intention of suing. However, it is important to remember that an attorney does far more than just represent you in court. After a trucking accident, a good Florida personal injury attorney is essential and can often help you with:

1) Investigating the accident. Most attorneys work with private investigators, accident reconstruction specialists, and other professionals to determine the exact cause of your truck accident. This is vital because it offers you closure and also ensures that you will not be unfairly blamed for an accident that was not your fault.

2) Preventing similar accidents. If you have been injured in a truck accident, an attorney’s investigation into the accident can reveal mechanical failures with the truck, driver error, and problems with the practices of a carrier. Attorneys can uncover dangerous conditions and hazards which can lead to more accidents. In many cases, attorneys are able to hold those responsible liable for the hazards and this can lead to safety changes that can prevent other accidents and injuries.

3) Getting quality care and advice. Attorneys can often help you find resources. Since Florida personal injury attorneys often work with accident victims, they are knowledgeable about resources in your area that can help you. They can help you find assistance as you recover after your accident. If you receive a larger settlement, attorneys can even advise you how to use the money so that it will go further. They may recommend that you speak with a banker, for example, to safeguard your settlement.

4) Evaluating the impact of the accident. After an accident, insurance companies are often concerned with placing a value on the injuries sustained in an accident. An attorney can help ensure that you consult with mental health experts and medical professionals who can document accurately the trauma and physical injuries you have suffered from your truck accident.

5) Negotiating with insurance providers. Even if you have insurance coverage, insurance companies are often reluctant to pay out the full amount of coverage you are entitled to under the law. Some place the blame on you and deny your benefits, while other insurers try to pressure you into a low settlement that does not cover all your medical costs. Attorneys are experienced in negotiations and can ensure that you get a fair settlement. Often, this can mean the difference between substandard and high quality medical care, which is why a Florida personal injury attorney is one of the first persons you should phone after a truck accident.

The Mid-America Trucking Show earlier this month features a number of sessions organized by The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, designed to explain the new compliance program, the Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 Initiative. Under the new initiative:

1) A driver’s driving record will now include collisions as well as any issues with roadside inspections. A record will go back three years and violations will be weighted on how recent they were and on their risk of leading to an accident. A driver’s driving record will be made available through the Pre-Employment Screening Program. Drivers will be able to improve their records with any clean inspections. If a driver is fired due to too many violations or if a driver leaves a carrier, the driver’s driving points will stay with the carrier. This means that carriers will be directly responsible for the driving records of their drivers and will not be able to simply get rid of bad drivers. Details of the point program and system are available through csa2010.fmcsa.gov.

2) The Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 Initiative will likely remove 200,000 truck drivers from roads or up to 320, 000. Most of these drivers will be removed because the new points system and the method of taking a closer look at driving records will reveal unsafe driving records and these drivers will be considered unemployable. The Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 Initiative will make criteria for hiring quite high for carriers and carriers will be more responsible for their driver’s records. As a result, drivers with poor records will likely not be hired. The CSA, however, notes that this will actually increase competition for good drivers, so that good truck drivers will likely be able to enjoy better benefits and pay as carriers become more committed to hiring a smaller pool of good drivers.

3) Driver’s records and carrier’s records will be more closely linked. Carriers who has a poor score with the Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 Initiative will be targeted for inspection more and that poor score will affect a driver’s own record.

4) There will be more inspections. Currently, only about 2% of carriers get safety audits and the Comprehensive Safety Analysis 2010 Initiative aims to change that quickly. The program aims to audit the majority of carriers quickly, targeting those with the poorest records especially. The aim of the inspections is to institute changes that will make roads safer. Inspectors will also be given more information prior to each inspection, so that each inspection takes less time. The CSA hopes that the inspections will catch and fix more safety violations, thus preventing truck accidents and their resulting brain injuries, fatalities, spinal cord injuries, and other injuries.

According to Jungheinrich, an international materials handling equipment supplier, many forklift truck accidents could be prevented with better reporting. Currently, most businesses have in place a reporting procedure for forklift truck accidents, but according to Jungheinrich and other industry experts, reporting a wider variety of accidents could help prevent more accidents. Specifically, reporting perceiving hazards as well as “near miss” incidents involving forklift trucks could prevent truck accidents before they occur by targeting potential hazards before they cause personal injuries and accidents.

Currently, many workplaces have extensive procedures in place for reporting workplace accidents, especially when those workplace accidents cause personal injury or fatality. Federal and state laws as well as union standards ensure careful reporting and investigation of all incidents leading to injury. Careful reporting is usually necessary for workers’ compensation claims as well.

However, most companies do not have policies in place for “near accidents” or incidents which almost caused an accident. Most companies do not keep track of these incidents or analyze or investigate with them. Most such incidents, because they do not result in personal injury, are not recorded or kept track of. Quite simply, in most workplaces, everyone considers themselves lucky that no accident has occurred and work continues on as before.

For Jungheinrich and other experts, however, such near misses are important clues of potential hazards. When such clues and analyzed, investigated, reported and acted upon, important corrections can be made to workplace procedures – corrections that could save a life. Some larger firms already have reporting procedures in place for near-miss incidents involving forklift trucks, but many smaller companies with five forklift trucks or fewer generally do not have such policies in place.

Jungheinrich and others note that many forklift truck accidents are caused by badly designed workplaces or by operator error. This means that most of these accidents are highly preventable. In fact, before such an accident occurs, there is usually a chain of events involved – a chain of events that may include near-misses – which can alert the workplace of the possible dangers. By reporting near accidents, workplaces can highlight this chain of events and act before a more serious accident occurs in the workplace.

There are many ways that even small businesses can institute a new policy in the workplace. Encouraging workers to come forward with safety concerns with no fears of retaliation is a good place to start. Workplaces can also have an anonymous system of reporting in place, allowing workers to report problems anonymously. Simply asking workers to report near accidents involving forklift truck accidents and designating a few workers to investigate each incident can be a step in the right direction.

While more common causes of trucking accidents, such as rollovers or car accident collisions, cause many injuries and deaths each year, at least some of the 500,000 large truck accidents on our roads each year are caused by more esoteric reasons. Truck accidents caused by these rarer causes can also cause serious personal injuries and fatalities, so these dangers need to be considered as well:

1) Wind and road conditions. High winds, especially on bridges, can increase he likelihood of a truck accident or rollover. High winds can push on a truck with extreme force, especially if a truck is traveling very fast, and this force can cause a truck driver to lose control. When high winds are combined with poor road conditions, this combination can prove especially lethal.

2) Animals. Animals run into roadways all the time and when a truck swerves to avoid an animal, accidents often occur. A truck driver swerving to miss an animal can crash into other cars or rollover, causing serious injuries, including brain injuries. In some cases, even striking a larger animal can cause injuries to a truck driver. Since many truck drivers tend to drive at dusk and later in the evening to meet deadlines, they are especially subject to accidents involving animals, as these are the times when animals tend to be most active.

3) Objects in the Road. Foreign objects on the road – including tree branches, stopped vehicles, and other items – can be a hazard for all drivers. A truck driver traveling down a dark road might not see some larger objects until it is too late and this can cause a serious accident. A larger object can cause a truck to swerve or can cause a collision or rollover accident.

4) Unusual weather patterns. Mudslides, earthquakes, and other natural disasters can occur in an instant, and when they do truck drivers are at the mercy of the elements. A truck driver driving full speed at the time of an earthquake or mudslide will usually lose control of the vehicle. A mudslide can cover the windshield with debris, making it impossible for the driver to see. An earthquake can damage the road under the truck, can create large gaps in the roadway, and can shake a truck off the road entirely.

5) “Phantoms.” A small number of truck accidents each year are caused by things which cannot be explained. Truck drivers report seeing objects which are not there upon investigation. While some people attribute this to various odd phenomena – and while there are many urban myths about truck drivers encountering ghosts on the road – in many cases, these incidents may be caused by excessive fatigue, which can cause hallucinations. Truck drivers may also react to shadows or atmospheric phenomena on the roads.

Many frightening and distressing events can cause trauma, emotional upset, and even Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Car accidents and truck accidents, by their very nature, can cause severe trauma that lasts for weeks or even months. Even after the physical personal injuries of a trucking accident have begun to feel, the emotional aftermath of the accident can remain.

Each patient reacts to the trauma of a truck accident differently. Some patients return to work and normal activities normally and with a little help from supportive friends quickly seem to recover. Other patients struggle more severely with the emotional effects of a truck accident. Although it can be difficult to pinpoint when trauma becomes a serious problem, there are some symptoms that should not be ignored after an accident:

1) Difficulty returning to work or home activities. A return to usual home and work responsibilities is usually a very healthy and positive sign. When it does not happen a few weeks or months after an accident, it may be time to seek professional counseling or help. Sometimes, this symptom is difficult to determine because a patient may devise many plausible-sounding reasons why he or she is not returning to normal activities.

2) Continued and severe depression, fear, and anxiety. It is normal to have intense feelings after a truck accident, but as the weeks go by, most people are able to return to an emotional equilibrium and a more calm emotional life. If this does not happen, it could be a sign of larger problems that need to be addressed. In some cases, extreme fears and anxiety manifest themselves in flashbacks or nightmares, which can be another symptoms of problems.

3) Relationship problems. A truck accident and the injuries it can cause can be isolating. It is possible that a patient will initially struggle with themselves as they adjust to life after the accident, and this struggle can place a strain on relationships. However, if a patient becomes emotionally numb and withdraws from others, this can be a sign of depression or other problems. Lack of close relationships and sudden relationship problems need to be addressed.

4) Avoidance. A patient who is avoiding more and more things after an accident may be having trouble coming to terms with the trauma of the accident and may need some help. Avoidance may come in many forms. It can include avoiding everyday activities such as driving, due to irrational fears. A patient with this symptom may also avoid social contact and may stay home alone much of the time.

5) Substance abuse. Use of alcohol or drugs is common in people who have sustained a severe trauma. The drugs and alcohol become a way to momentarily feel better but these substances can of course cause all sorts of secondary problems, including loss of relationships and jobs.

Forklift truck accidents can occur in many work environments, including factories and construction work sites. These accidents can include rollovers and collisions which result in brain injuries, broken bones, amputations, spinal cord injuries, and even fatalities. Many forklift truck accidents are preventable. In many cases, forklift truck accidents are blamed on truck operators, and while training and expertise of operators can help reduce forklift truck accidents, these accidents are in fact caused by a variety of factors. Therefore, there are a variety of solutions must be implemented in most workplaces to prevent forklift truck accidents:

1) Careful servicing and maintenance. Employers need to ensure that all forklift trucks are maintained and serviced to manufacturers specifications. This can be a challenge if a workplace has multiple models and several older models of trucks, but careful maintenance can help prevent many forklift truck accidents.

2) Imposing speed limits. Many forklift truck accidents are caused by excessive speeds. Forklift trucks are designed to stop slowly. Most models require about 1.3 feet to stop for every mile per hour they travel. The faster a forklift truck is traveling, the longer it will take to stop and the harder it will be for the operator to stop in time to prevent a collision. It is a good idea to post speed limits of 8 miles per hour in the work place and limits of 3 miles per hour in areas with pedestrians. Posting and enforcing such speed limits can significantly reduce forklift truck accidents in the workplace.

3) Warning devices. Most forklift trucks come with safety features. Even the simplest models have a horn which operators can use to warn others when a forklift is approaching. More modern models have reflective patches for high visibility as well as automatic lights and alarm sounds when the forklift is in motion. This is essential in warning anyone in the truck’s blind spot to move out of the way.

4) Operator training. All forklift truck operators should receive initial training as well as periodic refresher training. This training should include directions for use of warning devices and instructions on safe use of the truck. Operators should also be taught how to identify and check the blind spots a forklift truck has.

Truck accidents have a high fatality rate as well as a high rate of serious personal injury. The size and force of most commercial trucks make them no match for passenger vehicle. If you are in a passenger vehicle, there are only a few limited things you can do to help prevent head injuries, burn injuries, and other life-threatening injuries:

1) Prepare ahead of time. Your ability to survive a trucking accidents depends in part on how well prepared you are before the accident occurs. Staying alert while driving, for example, can give you a few extra precious seconds to brace for impact and prepare for a collision. Keeping focused on your driving and avoiding distraction can also help you prevent a trucking accident, of course. In addition, making sure that your car is well-maintained can ensure that your car responds well in an emergency situation. Taking defensive driving courses or refresher courses can further prepare you for road emergencies.

2) Do all you can to prevent the accident. Avoid over steering, but look for ways to minimize or prevent an accident. If you have room, try swerving quickly but firmly away from the possible collision. Think quickly and try to stay calm.

3) If you cannot prevent a direct collision with a truck, keep your body upright, and brace your body for impact. Grip your steering wheel firmly at the 10 and 2 o'clock positions. Keeping your body upright rather than flailing in panic or going limp can help protect your organs and can prevent a spinal cord injury.

4) If you cannot prevent a collision with a truck that will send your vehicle under the truck’s wheels, brace for impact as for a collision, but do everything possible to prevent a brain injury and head injury. Sit as low in your seat as possible and curl up in your seat, with your head as low as possible, cover and shielding your head with your arms and hands.

5) Try maintain emotional control. A truck accident is terrifying, but do your best to remain calm. Losing control can allow you to make mistakes that could lead to a fatality. Continue to try avoiding a collision until the last possible moment and then do all you can to survive the collision. Talk yourself through the collision and breathe slowly and evenly to maintain your sense of calm.

It is important not to be alone after a trucking accident. Unfortunately, many of the personal injuries which are commonly sustained in trucking accidents – including burn injuries, spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, and other personal injuries – tend to be quite isolating. Many people struggle to cope with their new injuries and may feel out of touch with their regular groups of friends. Some patients have a hard time adjusting to the way they look or the way that they function after trucking accidents, and this can make it hard for them to develop or keep supportive friendships. However, the emotional trauma of a trucking accident requires a strong team of support.

A good, supportive team can answer your questions about your injury, can help you through the difficult times following your accident, and can provide you with the resources you need to recover emotionally and physically from your accident. You should surround yourself with many types of people including:

1) Support groups. Support groups consisting of other accident survivors with similar injuries can be an invaluable source of support. These groups are often organized by local chapters and associations that advocate for accident victims. For example, if you have a spinal cord injury, there is likely an acute spinal cord injury support group in your area. This support group may be organized or associated with a local spinal cord injury association. Joining the support group allows you to meet other people who have the same injury and to learn how to cope with your own injuries through their own experiences. Joining the support group also gives you a place to ask the many questions you likely have about your injury and your life after injury.

2) A Florida personal injury attorney. A good Florida personal injury attorney is essential to your support team. Your attorney can help you determine the cause of your accident and can therefore help you gain some closure from what has happened. In addition, a personal injury attorney can protect your rights and can ensure that you get all the financial resources you are entitled to under the law. This is often vital in helping you recover more fully and in helping you secure the best possible medical treatment.

3) Healthcare professionals. Depending on the injuries you have sustained, you may require the services of a plastic surgeon, family practitioner, rehabilitation expert, and specialist. It will likely take a nursing staff as well as other health-care professionals in order to treat your injury. Good health care professionals working together can help ensure that you achieve the maximum recovery and can ensure that your recovery is comfortable with as few complications as possible.

4) Counselors or therapists. A truck accident often results in emotional as well as physical trauma. After an accident, you may feel angry, depressed, anxious, fearful, and a host of other emotions. Sometimes, you may even feel as though you are feeling all these emotions at once. A qualified therapist or counselor can help you make sense of your emotions and can help you feel better emotionally as you recover physically from your injuries.

5) Family and friends. Family and friends are an essential part of the equation as you recover from your accident. At first, many patients wish to push away family and friends. Some patients do not wish to receive sympathy or pity, while others worry about rejection or the possible reactions of family and friends to their injuries. However, maintaining a good relationship with family and friends is vital. Support is important to your emotional and physical recovery. Family and friends can cheer you up and cheer you on as you recover. If you are struggling with your relationships, a therapist or counselor can help with group counseling and can ensure that your relationships stay strong as you work on strengthening your body after your accident.

Truck accidents claim lives, cause personal injuries, damage roads and property, and create quite a lot of trauma. Millions of families across the US are directly or indirectly affected by trucking accidents and many people today are still struggling with the personal injuries sustained in trucking accidents which occurred decades ago. There are many things that can be done, however, to take a stand against truck accidents. If you have been in a trucking accident or have a loved one who has been seriously injured or killed in a trucking accident, you may be motivated to take a stand. Even if you have no direct experience of trucking accidents, you may still be concerned to take action against preventable trucking accidents. There are many ways to do this:

1) Volunteer your time. There are many support groups for people who have sustained specific types of injuries, such as brain injuries or spinal cord injuries, in car accidents or trucking accidents. You could volunteer your time to help patients these of support groups. These types of local support groups often need volunteers to help set up for events, provide emotional support for patients, and sometimes run errors for patients. Some groups also need help organizing fundraising or awareness-raising campaigns.

2) Join a group dedicated to preventing trucking accidents. There are many such groups around the country, dedicated to changing laws, regulations, and trucking industry standards. Often, these groups are involved in fund-raising, lobbying, and raising awareness about trucking accidents and their effects.

3) Create your own group. If you cannot find a local group, you may be interested in creating your own group aimed at preventing trucking accidents. To do this, consider working with an existing support group or group of friends. Develop a clear mission statement as well as clear goals for the best chance of success. Today, many groups use online social networking sites such as the Facebook or MySpace in order to raise awareness about their groups and in order to drum up support as well as membership.

4) Write to your local and state representatives. Let them know about laws which you feel can be changed or laws which you feel can be created to make the roads safer for everyone. You can also develop petitions and have these signed in order to change existing laws.

5) Improve your own awareness. Often, making changes centers around raising your own awareness of an issue. Join newsletters dedicated to trucking accidents, read blogs and news reports, and follow your local news to learn more about truck accidents – and the efforts made to prevent them -- in your area. Often, reading the news can help you understand what needs to be done and allows you to gather specific information you can use. For example, if you find that many local trucking accidents are occurring at a specific intersection, you may write to your local political representatives to tell them that you have noticed a problem and asking them for their support in making changes to that intersection. The more you know, the more powerfully you can work to prevent trucking accidents.

While trucking accidents involving passenger vehicles are often devastating in the fatalities and personal injuries they cause, pedestrian accidents involving trucks are especially disastrous. A pedestrian has simply no chance against a fully loaded commercial truck. The size and force of a truck usually do not just cause spinal cord injuries, head injuries, and other serious injuries. In virtually all cases, such an accident results in fatalities. There are many ways, luckily, that pedestrian accidents involving trucks can be prevented.

A great deal of the onus is on pedestrians. Pedestrians need to ensure that they are not taking undue risks around trucks. In general, since trucks and pedestrians are such a poor mix, pedestrians should steer clear of trucks entirely. Passing in between trucks, walking between trucks, or popping up suddenly in front of a truck is a recipe for disaster.

If you are walking in an area where trucks are present – such as a construction site, or a pedestrian area where trucks are parked -- make sure that you make good eye contact with the truck driver. In many cases, truck drivers are focused on other vehicles and may not expect a pedestrian. Keep in mind to that trucks often take longer to brake than passenger vehicles. Wait until a truck driver waves you through in order to pass in front of a truck. A little patience can save your life.

In general, prevention is the best strategy. Avoid walking in areas where large numbers of trucks are parked. If you are stopping on the highway at a truck stop or rest area, park with other passenger vehicles rather than sliding your car between trucks. If you are faced with a construction site, consider walking around it rather than through it.

If you must walk through a construction area or another area where trucks are present, exercise extreme caution. Look for trucks that have their lights on and who may be ready to move. Always listen carefully for alarm systems that tell you when a truck is backing out. Do not assume that a truck driver can see you. Trucks have many blind spots and drivers are not always able to see small objects such as a pedestrian near their truck.

Use extreme caution around garbage trucks, dump trucks, and other trucks that are common in urban areas. Many pedestrians simply ignore these trucks because they are so familiar in these environments. However, since these trucks back up, move, and stop unexpectedly, they can pose a special danger to pedestrians. If you are jogging or walking somewhere where garbage trucks, dump trucks, and other trucks are working, consider crossing the street or getting far out of the way to prevent an accident. If you must pass by a truck, make eye contact with the driver and make sure that you have the space to pass. A little bit of precaution and help save your life.

In many cases, trucking accidents on the highways and roads involve a car and a truck. It is an unfortunate situation, because few types of vehicles are more unevenly matched. A fully loaded commercial truck can weigh tens of thousands of pounds and can obliterate or crush a passenger vehicle. While there are many laws and federal regulations to ensure that truck drivers take certain precautions on the road, there are still many things that passenger vehicle drivers can do to ensure that they are never in a car accident with a truck:

1) Always treats trucks as trucks. Many passenger vehicle drivers treat trucks as just another vehicle on the road. Unfortunately, this can be a fatal mistake. It is important to keep in mind that trucks brake, stop, and turn differently than passenger vehicles. It is important to give trucks additional room and to use extra caution when driving around trucks. Keep in mind that truck drivers, for example, cannot see as clearly and have many more blind spots. Avoid following closely behind or in front of a truck. Provide lots of room for yourself to maneuver around track. Never stop suddenly in front of a large commercial truck, as the truck driver will likely not be able to stop in time to prevent rear ending your car.

2) Avoid situations where you are surrounded by trucks. It is easy for your vehicle to become invisible when surrounded by trucks, and being crushed between two trucks almost guarantees serious spinal cord injuries, brain injuries, and fatalities. If you see a large fleet of trucks, drop back and allow them plenty of room. Make sure that the drivers can see you by staying well back or by making eye contact with the drivers as you pass.

3) Keep your eyes and mind on the road. Texting or speaking on your cell phone while driving is dangerous precisely because you share the road with many other vehicles, including trucks. Texting around trucks is extremely dangerous as trucks delivering products to businesses may make unexpected stops. Keep your mind and your eyes on the road at all times so that you can predict the maneuvers of trucks in front of you, behind you, and beside you.

4) Think ahead. If you see a truck in front of you, plan ahead so that you can either pass it safely or drop back in time to allow the driver to see you well. Predict possible obstacles, such as roadwork or hills, well in advance. Keep in mind that trucks often block your vision and make it impossible for you to anticipate obstacles and problems up ahead. This is another wonderful reason drop well back of trucks and to not follow closely behind. You will have a better view of the road and therefore will be to drive more safely if you keep well back.

After a trucking accident, there are generally a great deal of damages, including personal injuries, property damages, and intangible damages. Due to the sheer size and force of trucks, collisions involving these vehicles tend to be fatal or tend to cause extensive damage. Attorneys and insurance providers alike try to place a dollar value on the damage in order to reach settlements and in order to settle insurance claims. However, determining damages and placing a value on them after trucking accidents can be difficult. A great deal of evidence and property may have been obliterated, making it difficult to reconstruct an accident or determine exactly what happened. As well, attorneys and insurance providers tend to have different ways of evaluating the value of damages. In general, however, damages will include:

1) Property damages. If you have been in a trucking accident, you will want to recover for property damage. This can include the cost of repairing or replacing your car or vehicle, as well as the cost of replacing anything of value inside your vehicle. Property damage may include the loss, for example, of any gadgets, laptops, or digital cameras you may have had in your car at the time of the accident. As well, if a truck has crashed on your property, there may be in damage to structures, walkways, and driveways on your property. In this event, you may wish to recover for the damages not covered by your homeowners insurance policy.

2) Personal injuries. In addition to property damage, almost all trucking accidents cause severe personal injuries. These may include spinal cord injuries, broken bones, amputations, burn injuries, brain injuries, and other serious injuries. If you have been seriously injured in a trucking accident, you will be able to recover for medical costs, the cost of medication, rehabilitation costs, hospital stays, and other costs related to your personal injury.

3) Long-term costs of personal injuries. Many injuries have long-term costs. For example, you may not be able to return to work for an extended period of time and you may need to hire babysitters to care for your children if you are physically unable to do so. You may require around-the-clock nurse care or you may have other expenses that you will need to calculate in determining the damages caused by your trucking accident. Keep in mind that some serious injuries can take years or even a lifetime to recover from, so it is important to consider the total costs that injuries may incur.

4) Income loss. After your trucking accident, you are generally unable to work for at least some time. For example, you may lose work time while in the hospital initially recovering from your injury. In addition, you may be too traumatized to return to work immediately. In some cases, you may need rehabilitation or may even be unable to return to work due to permanent injuries. You may also need to take time away from work in order to attend doctors’ appointments, attorney appointments, and to attend to legal matters. A good Florida personal injury attorney can ensure that you are compensated for all of this income loss.

5) Medical costs. Medical costs after a trucking accidents can include a hospital stay, at-home nursing care, the cost of bandages, wheelchairs, and other medical devices. You may also incur costs if you need cosmetic surgery and other types of treatments not usually covered by health insurance. A good Florida personal injury attorney can help you recover money for these costs. As well, some specialized treatments are only available through travel to other states or even other countries. A good personal injury attorney can ensure that you have the financial resources after a trucking accident to pursue the best treatment possible so that you make the fullest recovery possible.

6) Intangibles. A trucking accident can affect your life in many ways and can therefore incur many intangible costs. For example, you may be in severe pain and may require renovations to your home in order to accommodate a new level of mobility. You may need to take taxis more often in order to get to doctors’ appointments after your accident if you are unable to drive a car. You may even need to pay for a therapist or counselor in order to get over the trauma of being in an accident. All of these intangibles and many others can add thousands of dollars to the cost of your injury. A good personal injury attorney can predict these expenses and can ensure that you are compensated for your losses so that you do not have to pay for these expenses out of pocket.

The time immediately following a truck accident is usually fraught with danger, fear, and severe trauma for the surviving victims. Victims may be unconscious, severely injured, and rushed to an emergency room. Some victims may be declared fatalities at the scene. If you have survived a trucking accident, however, the immediate aftermath of a trucking accident is vitally important. When you’re rushed to a hospital for emergency care, you will often need the very best possible care in order to recover fully. The diagnosis and treatment you are given immediately after an accident can determine your overall recovery. Unfortunately, the hectic pace of an emergency room as well as the rapid emergency treatment usually required after a trucking accident can allow medical errors and misdiagnosis to occur. If you want to avoid a medical malpractice lawsuit and the complications that medical errors can result in, make sure that you:

1) Take good notes. As soon as you are able to after a trucking accident, start documentation. Asked for copies of your medical records, and make sure that you note any diagnoses, treatments, medications, and doctor names that you come into contact with. Make sure that you understand what you are being diagnosed with, your prognosis, the basis for the diagnoses, and the treatments being suggested. If you have any questions or if there seems to be a conflict in the information you are being given from different health-care providers, make sure that you ask. Asking questions is a good way to prevent medical errors.

2) Have a health care advocate. Because you will likely be in poor condition immediately after your trucking accident, it is a good idea to have a health-care advocate by your side. A health-care advocate can be a friend or family member who can be with you during treatment, conversations with healthcare professionals, and who can spend time with you in a hospital. A health-care advocate not only provides you with support, but he or she can also take down details of treatments, medications you’re given, and healthcare professionals you speak to. This can give you a clear record of your treatment and allow you to pinpoint and prevent errors.

3) Insist on specialists and a second opinion. Trust your instincts. If you are being given a diagnosis that you do not agree with or diagnosis that you are suspicious about, ask to speak to a specialist and seek a second opinion. Be especially certain to ask a second opinion if you are being diagnosed with a serious injury or are being recommended for treatments that are very expensive or that carry high risks.

4) Hire a good Florida personal injury attorney. A good Florida personal injury attorney is essential to your health care team. A good attorney can investigate the causes of your accident, can advise you of your rights, and can ensure that you have the financial resources you are entitled to by law. This can help ensure that you get the best medical treatment possible. If a medical mistake has been made, an attorney can investigate this and make sure that you receive all the help you are entitled to under the law.