Chattanooga drivers see their fair share of large trucks on the roads on I-75 and I-24.

Normally, they’re a bother to other drivers on the road when they block all the lanes or take a while to get up to speed.

Considering their size and weight, they are extremely dangerous when they’re involved in an accident.

While we hope you’re never in an accident with a semi-truck, but it’s important to know what to do after the accident in case you choose to pursue an accident claim.

What to Do After a Truck Accident

If you’re the victim of a truck accident, it is important to know what to do after a truck accident, how truck accidents differ from car accidents, and who to contact if you are involved in one.

The following tips will be useful after an accident for you and other drivers:

• If you or someone else is severely injured, call 9-1-1
• Call the police if you didn’t call 9-1-1
• If you can, move your car and any large debris off the road.
• Exchange information with other drivers involved, such as driver’s license numbers, insurance information, telephone numbers, and vehicle identification numbers.
• Take photos of any and all damage
• Talk to witnesses, if there are any, collecting contact information

How Truck Accidents differ from Car Accidents

Car accidents and truck accidents differ in very important ways. Commercial truck and semi-truck drivers are more likely to suffer from fatigue and insomnia compared to car drivers.

This can be seen in the work shifts that truck drivers must complete compared to car drivers. Truck drivers are federally mandated to work up to 11 hours per shift before getting rest.

However, many drivers do not follow this rule because of deadlines and a restrictive schedule. Though fatigue is a well-known contributor to truck accidents, it has only recently been addressed as a factor. Electronic logging is being implemented so that drivers avoid overexerting themselves which should help to decrease the number and severity of truck accidents.

A second way that truck accidents differ from car accidents occurs during the process of exchanging information. Additional needs to be exchanged between the car and truck driver compared to a car accident process.

After a truck accident, truck drivers must contribute the following in a post-accident report form:

• Vehicle, driver, and carrier information (NSC/DOT # and insurance policy number)
• Time and location
• Other drivers, passengers, and vehicles involved in the accident
• Diagram of the incident (illustrating the direction of traffic and landmarks)
• Driving status (how many hours were driven behind the wheel)
• Road, traffic, and weather information
• Hazardous Material Information
• Police information (their name; police report number and contact information)
• Tow trucks (if any were used, include the number and how long it took for their arrival)

Drivers involved in car accidents are not required to submit as much information in a police report. Writing down extra information such as driving status, tow truck names, and even a diagram of the incident, however, can only bolster your case in the case of car accidents.

Other statistics illustrate the difference between car accidents and truck accidents:

• About 98% of all semi-truck accidents result in at least one fatality.
• Nearly 90% of commercial truck accidents are caused or worsened by some sort of human error.
• About 75% of commercial truck accidents are caused by drivers of smaller passenger vehicles, rather than the truck driver.

Contact Dennis & King after a Truck Accident

Truck accidents differ from car accidents in one specific way. There are multiple reasons why a truck accident may have happened.  The driver could be fatigued, there may have been mechanical failure, or the truck may have been overloaded.

Since there are so many agencies involved in putting semi-trucks on the road, you will need an attorney’s help determining who was at-fault for the accident.

If you are in Chattanooga or the surrounding area, the truck accident lawyers at Dennis and King can help. Our attorneys have decades of experience in semi-truck accidents and will help you get the compensation you deserve.

Contact us at (423)-892-5533 or fill out the form today to schedule a free consultation.

It’s a nightmare no driver wants to face. Everyone on the road is supposed to have insurance to help cover the costs of injuries. The other driver’s insurance company is supposed to provide compensation. But what happens if the other driver doesn’t have insurance? How do you get the money you need for hospital bills, lost wages, pain, and suffering repairing your vehicle, and all the other troubles that come after a car accident?

Here are the steps you can take:

Get Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage

All insurance companies are required to offer you uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage. This is the first step in getting your bills paid if you’re injured by someone without insurance. Tennessee requires motorists to carry uninsured motorist coverage. Unless you reject it in writing, there is a good chance that you can just contact your insurance company and invoke this part of your policy to get compensation. Generally, the amount covered by the uninsured motorist coverage is the same amount that’s covered by your standard liability insurance.

If you have to use this insurance, you may have to pay a deductible. Assuming that the other driver was at fault, you can sue the driver for your deductible amount in small claims court. A personal injury attorney can help you prepare your case if you plan on suing the driver.

Collision Coverage

Collision coverage covers the costs of vehicle repairs in the event that the other driver cannot pay enough to cover it. It does not cover the costs of any injuries. But if your car is totaled, then collision coverage can help you get the money you need to get a new vehicle. However, collision coverage is an extra purchase for your policy so it will raise your premium to add it.

What if it’s Not Enough?

If you only have the minimum coverage and your injuries are extensive or long-lasting, your coverage may not be enough to deal with all of the costs. In these cases, you may need to turn to the help of a personal injury attorney to sue the responsible party directly. Tennessee is an at-fault state. In other words, if you can prove to the court that the other driver was at fault in the accident, then they will be held responsible.

However, if the other driver isn’t carrying insurance they may not have enough assets to seize through a lawsuit to make it worth your while. A consultation with a car accident attorney can help you understand your options, as well as help you determine whether or not it would be worth the time and money to file a suit. You have up to one year after the accident for personal injury claims and three years after the accident for property damage claims, so don’t feel like you have to rush this decision. Start with your insurance company first, then contact an attorney.

Did you know that distracted driving is one of the most dangerous things you can do on the road? Yes, even more than drunk driving! One day, texting while driving might be as socially unacceptable as drunk driving. But that day hasn’t arrived yet, which is why we’re seeing cases like these:

• Four bus drivers in Knox County have been charged under a new law that prohibits school bus drivers from using electronic devices while on the road. The new law now mandates 30-day jail sentences for people convicted of this crime. Hamilton County was the first test of the law, but that case also involved vehicular homicide charges when six children were killed in the crash.
• You know that solar eclipse coming up soon? TDOT has issued a public service announcement warning people not to stop their cars on the interstate or otherwise interfere with traffic while the eclipse is occurring. They are worried that people will wear eclipse glasses and drive down the roads. They are also expecting a huge increase in traffic volume since Tennessee is within the eclipse totality path.

On a much more serious note, traffic fatalities are up in Chattanooga over last year due to distracted driving. The city has the second highest traffic fatality rate in the state this year. So far this year, 65 traffic deaths have occurred, which is 13 more than this time last year.

What can be done to control distracted driving? These days even our vehicles seem like they’re designed to distract with new touchscreen interfaces and all sorts of connectivity options to our wireless devices. From the individual driver standpoint, there are a lot of things you can do:

• The best thing is to turn off all wireless devices in the vehicle and ask your passengers to do the same. We’ve trained ourselves to feel like we need to respond to every buzz and beep, so shutting a device completely off is the best route. Consider your car like you would a movie theater.
• If you must keep your phone on, use hands-free devices so you’ll never have to pick up your phone to use it. Keep your calls short and to the point. If traffic starts to get heavy, hang up. It’s better to stay safe.
• Don’t eat in the car if you can help it. While it may not be illegal like texting, it is a form of distraction.
• Keep your eyes out for other distracted drivers. Just because you’re safe doesn’t mean that the other drivers around you are!

If you are injured in an accident, any evidence that the other driver was distracted at the time will help your case considerably. The chances that your contributions to a percentage of fault in the crash will be much lower, which means more potential compensation. Likewise, if you’re shown to be distracted before an injury accident, your compensation will be at risk.

Don’t think you can hide it, either. Police are working on ways to detect whether you were using an electronic device prior to a crash. New York is examining a new device they’re calling a “textalyzer” that does just that. It’s still under development, but if it works well and holds up in court, it could create a chilling effect on distracted driving. Ultimately, that makes us all safer.

After a serious motorcycle accident, you may have questions about what damages and losses can be covered by your insurance or the other parties in the accident.

Contacting a law firm is the best initial step you should take before you do anything.  Attorneys who specialize in motorcycle accidents prevent you from making regretful decisions like settling on an amount from the insurance company that doesn’t cover all  medical bills, injuries, and inconvenience factors like car rentals and loss of wages. In Chattanooga, law firms and attorneys like those from Dennis and King Law, are knowledgeable about motorcycle accidents.

A lot of times,  motorcycle accidents can cause injuries that land you in the hospital, causing you to miss work and rack up expenses that are oftentimes unpaid. Returning to work after an injury is also tough since most people are still healing and need accommodations to their daily routines and often slows their productivity.

When motorcycle accidents occur, the parties involved (whether they are at fault or not) usually have little knowledge about what they can legally ask for to cover damages of assets, medical bills, cost to repair vehicle damages, and insurance issues and hold-ups for paying injury costs.

When you hire an attorney, everything you need to know about claims and laws are clearly defined for you. Having an attorney brings clarity as it makes the overall process of filing a claim and getting what you are entitled to receive. When everything is simplified by the attorney you are not taken advantage of or have to worry about whether or not your claim of personal injury will be fully covered.

When motorcycle accidents involve a company, individuals who have incurred personal injury are usually already stressed enough from visiting doctors, taking their truck or vehicle in for repairs, talking to a ton of insurance agents who give you estimates that are barely comprehensible, and making accommodations for transportation to take care of the things you normally would before the accident occurred.

Having an experienced motorcycle accident attorney walk you through an entire process of lawsuits can provide relief, which is why most people who have been in a motorcycle accident with a lawyer recommend to people they know to do the same.

An experienced attorney in motorcycle accidents can provide a free consultation and choose to have a law firm to work on your case can be the smartest, first step to getting what you deserve for the trauma, damages, and loss that was inflicted.