People involved in truck accidents often face more severe injuries due to the size and weight of these commercial vehicles. In addition, there are significant property damages and complicated insurance or liability issues that will need close attention.
In 2025, FMCSA data recorded 163,667 large-truck and bus crashes, including 4,047 fatal crashes and 85,731 injuries. The data also recorded 4,506 fatalities resulting from these crashes. Because 2025 crash data remains provisional, these numbers may change as additional reports are submitted.Â
Truck accidents can involve multiple parties, including the truck driver, trucking company, vehicle owner, cargo company, or other parties. And according to Nassau County truck accident lawyer Brett J. Nomberg in their website overview, a person injured in these accidents may be able to make claims for the injuries they sustained.
Here are the steps you need to take after a truck accident.
Get Medical Attention First
The effect of adrenaline may make symptoms of the injuries invisible for hours and even days. Soft-tissue injuries, internal bleedings, and concussions do not reveal their presence immediately.Â
Consultation of a specialist will save your health and create a record of your injuries associated with the date of the accident, and this is very important in case you will need to prove your losses.
Report the Crash and Document the Scene
A request for the police is more important with a truck accident than with a normal minor collision.Â
The police will record information regarding the accident. Information like the weather condition and the statements made by the drivers and any traffic tickets that have been issued. These could aid in determining what really took place. You may want to take photographs of the accident scene while everything remains intact.
Understand That Truck Crash Evidence Disappears Quickly
Trucks involved in business operations create a collection of data that is not available on regular cars. There are federal rules mandating the storage of records associated with the time spent by the drivers driving their trucks for at least six months after they are received as per 49 CFR 395.8(k)(1). Once the six-month period expires, the carrier can then dispose of the records.
These hours-of-service logs may reveal whether the driver has been driving beyond the time limits set by federal regulations, and this is one of the most frequent contributory factors in major truck accidents.Â
In addition to driver logs, trucks may have electronic control module information, dashcam video recordings, and maintenance logs, all of which may get erased and deleted when a routine cycle of the carrier passes.Â
This is the reason why the preparation of an initial letter, known as a preservation or spoliation letter, is a usual practice in pursuit of a claim.
Watch What You Say to Insurance Adjusters
A representative from the insurance company of the trucking firm may contact you promptly following an accident. The adjuster is well versed in questioning techniques, which will lead you to create a tape recording that will reduce your injuries and lay the blame on both parties.Â
You don’t need to provide a recorded statement to the insurance company before you fully appreciate the extent of your injuries.
Keep Track of Your Losses as They Happen
The costs of unpaid bills, lost wages, costs to drive back and forth for treatments, and the actual price of not being able to get things done that you usually can do are all parts of the claim. It is much easier to record these expenses as they come than it is to remember them later on.
Give the Process Time
Most of the claims following truck accidents do settle without going to court. The whole procedure, however, may take months, especially if the injury treatment has not been completed yet or if there are more than one insurance policy involved.Â
It often happens that big commercial truck insurance policies have a coverage limit of a million dollars or even more, which means that there are more people to analyze the claim, and sometimes it takes some time before the final decision will be reached.Â
It would be better to wait patiently and have all documents ready in this situation, because rushing into the settlement may not give the best results for the victim.
Truck accidents alter people’s lives in many aspects in ways regular accidents cannot do. The best way to proceed is to do everything necessary to reach a positive outcome.