San Diego Truck Accident

San Bernardino Truck Accident Lawyer and Truck Accident Attorney for San Bernardino, Your San Bernardino Truck Accident Injury Lawyer, Sebastian Gibson

San Bernardino Truck Accident lawyer Sebastian Gibson provides these 2010 tips to you to assist you, whether or not you wish to retain a San Bernardino Truck Accident Attorney in the event you have been in a truck accident in the San Bernardino area or anywhere in Southern California.

While some of these tips may be too late for you if your truck accident in San Bernardino was some hours or days ago, as a truck accident lawyer in San Bernardino, we provide these tips in the hope they may yet be useful for you in connection with your San Bernardino truck accident and for any future truck accidents you may have.

First, take a look around and determine if you or anyone else is hurt. If so, taking steps to prevent further injury or loss of blood are the most important thing you can do until help arrives. The worst thing you can do is get angry or start a fight. As your San Bernardino truck accident lawyer, it is much easier to obtain the compensation you deserve if we don’t also have to deal with claims that your big rig accident turned into a brawl or was the result of road rage.

Second, make sure any other drivers and passengers in your San Bernardino truck accident are safe from being injured further. If you are in the middle of traffic and can safely get out of the way, walk to where it is safe. If you aren’t dizzy and can help others without risk to yourselves or risking injury to them, help them. If your vehicle is a hazard to others and you have warning devices such as triangles or flares you can safely place in the road, put them out on the road to warn other drivers and get away from any danger. Let the San Bernardino police or other emergency personnel investigate the scene with all the vehicles in place and let them move the vehicles at a later point.

Third, if no one else already has, call the local police or the California Highway Patrol or 911. Accident reports are extremely helpful if they will prepare one. Let the San Bernardino police know you are injured immediately. Answer all the questions honestly but if you are dazed or confused, let them know you need medical attention and answer only what you are certain about. Statements you make will later appear in the police report and if you make a mistake, it is unlikely a later statement will be believed over your initial statements as your best recollection is usually immediately after an accident.

Fourth, obtain the other driver’s information including their name, address, driver’s license, make and model of their vehicle, license plate number, insurance company and policy number. If there are witnesses, obtain their information as well. If the other driver makes any admissions of fault, write them down as well. The police will likely separate you once they arrive so try to obtain this information while you can. Although we can obtain a copy of the police report as your San Bernardino Truck Accident lawyers, it often takes a week to 10 days or longer for the report to be completed.

Fifth, if you have a camera or a cell phone with a camera built in, take some photos of the vehicles, the scene of the big rig accident and the others involved. If you failed to do so immediately after the accident, take some now of the scene of the big rig accident in San Bernardino or wherever it occurred and of your vehicle, if one was involved. As your San Bernardino truck accident attorneys, we can obtain additional photographs or police photographs, if any, later.

Sixth, if you are hurt, obtain medical treatment. Don’t decline the ambulance or hospital examination to save your insurance company money or to be stoic if you have coverage. Take your valuables out of your vehicle and get checked out at the hospital. If you are not hurt, don’t get treatment you don’t need. However, remember, after an accident, you may feel a rush of adrenaline that causes your symptoms to go unnoticed by you until a few hours later. If you have a health plan that requires you to obtain permission before going anywhere for medical treatment, call them first to find out where you can go for treatment that is covered by them. As a truck accident lawyer in San Bernardino and other areas of California, nothing is more important to you and your case than obtaining proper medical treatment promptly.

Seventh, call a good San Bernardino Truck Accident lawyer as soon as you have had your initial medical treatment so your San Bernardino Truck Accident attorney can gather important evidence and prevent the other party’s insurance company from taking advantage of you by obtaining things such as a recorded statement from you. A good San Bernardino Truck Accident lawyer can save you from making mistakes and can shoulder much of the hassle that results from an accident. Your San Bernardino attorney can also advise you in connection with how to obtain vehicle repairs, a car rental, medical treatment on a lien, etc. An experienced San Bernardino Truck Accident attorney can almost always obtain higher settlements, obtain reductions of medical bills and insurance liens that have to be repaid. Most lawyers will also advance the costs of obtaining police reports, and medical records that are crucial to a good settlement.

Eighth, report the San Bernardino big rig accident to your insurance company. However, before you do so, it is good advice to retain a San Bernardino Truck Accident lawyer first as even your own insurance company will want to take a recorded statement. If the other driver did not have insurance, remember, your own insurance company will be your adversary. You will also need to report the big rig accident to the Department of Motor Vehicles and your attorney can provide you with the form.

Ninth, do not agree to settle your claim privately with the person at fault for the truck accident in San Bernardino or with their insurance company when they want to offer you a paltry amount before your injuries have been checked out or treated. Neither of these scenarios work to your advantage. Private individuals rarely want to pay you for anything more than your car repairs. And if you agree to not involve the police, the other driver may change his or her story and blame you later when the police are no longer willing to investigate the big rig accident. Insurance companies offering a quick settlement are usually taking advantage of you at a time when you can least afford it.

Tenth, don’t pay a traffic ticket without attempting to fight it if you weren’t at fault and don’t accept a small payment from the other driver for your vehicle repairs without knowing that the amount will in fact cover the entire cost of repairs. As your San Bernardino truck accident lawyer, we can usually persuade the insurance company to pay for additional repairs beyond the initial estimate if the body shop finds additional damage from your big rig accident once the repairs have begun.

If you’ve had a San Bernardino Truck Accident, auto, bicycle, car, big rig, motorcycle, or pedestrian accident or a dog bite in San Bernardino, or anywhere in Southern California, we have the resources and knowledge to be your San Bernardino Truck Accident lawyer and your San Bernardino truck accident attorney and will see that you are properly represented to obtain the compensation you deserve for your accident.

San Bernardino California 2009 Truck Accident News - Top Ten Nightmares By People In Ontario Truck Accidents.

California Truck Accident Lawyer News - Here it is, breaking news of the top ten nightmares we believe people have after a tractor trailer, big rig, semi or 18 wheeler truck accident.

1. The 18 wheeler truck that hit you has 24 wheels this time. 2. This time your dog is driving the truck that hits you. 3. The truck driver is coming back to finish the job. 4. The spouse you divorced is driving the truck. 5. Your jaw is broken, you can’t tell the police anything and the police arrest you this time for driving the truck.

6. You’re drinking from a bottle of wine when the accident happens this time. 7. Your mother is driving the truck. 8. The police officer is your father. 9. You’re naked when the accident happens. 10. You’re back in high school in driver’s education class when you cause the truck accident.

If you've been in a truck accident in San Bernardino or Ontario California involving a semi truck, a tractor trailer, an 18 wheeler or a big rig, you've probably been very seriously injured and your vehicle has likely suffered major damage or been totaled. Wrongful deaths, unfortunately, also result from accidents involving trucks. A truck accident in Ontario or in Rancho Cucamonga or anywhere in San Bernardino County, is similar to a boxing tournament with a light-weight fighter going up against a heavy weight and the heavy weight usually wins.

For a San Bernardino or Ontario truck accident attorney, a truck accident case is one of complexity. The trucking industry has a great many additional regulations that don't enter into the average automobile driver's concerns. As an example, the driver of an auto traveling across country isn't required to keep a log. The driver of a truck does have this duty. Claims brought against a truck driver are sometimes brought in conjunction with claims against the trucking company when the truck has not been properly inspected, loaded, or its drivers allowed to have the proper amount of rest.

Truck accidents don't simply involve rear-end collisions. They routinely also involve jack-knifed trailers, break failures and over-tired truck drivers.

Anyone who has driven California highways in San Bernardino or in Ontario knows that truck drivers can be seen driving in excess of the speed limit just as drivers of autos are prone to do.  However, as a rule, the average truck driver has been much more extensively trained in safety precautions and is a much safer driver than that of the average automobile driver.

Driver fatigue is believed to be responsible for 30 to 40 percent of all big rig accidents. Truck drivers have admitted to falling asleep while at the wheel, and a large percentage of truck drivers involved in driver fatigue cases are killed each year. While the number of hours a truck driver can operate his or her truck is regulated, a truck driver may also be involved in the loading or unloading of the truck.

At the San Bernardino and Ontario Truck Accident Law Firm of R. Sebastian Gibson we are prepared to meet the tactics of the insurance adjuster who questions whether there may have been driver error on the part of the auto driver involved in a truck accident.

If you've been seriously injured in an accident anywhere in San Bernardino or in and around Ontario involving any kind of truck, it is more important than ever that you consult with a knowledgeable truck accident attorney. The Law Offices of R. Sebastian Gibson are on your side.