A truck accident wrecks more than just your car. Your body aches in places you didn’t know existed, medical bills start appearing out of nowhere, and insurance companies act like they’re doing you a favor by offering pennies. Meanwhile, you’re stuck at home, trying to figure out what happens next.
The next steps matter. Your health, your finances, and your legal rights depend on what you do now.
Bennett Legal knows how to handle trucking companies and their insurers. If a truck accident turned your life upside down, contact a Dallas truck accident attorney at Bennett Legal at (972) 972-4969. Let’s make things right.
Prioritize Your Health
Just because you walked away from the accident doesn’t mean your body did. Injuries from truck accidents don’t always show up immediately.
Right now, your body is running on stress hormones—adrenaline, cortisol, the whole cocktail. It’s masking pain, keeping you functional. But once that fades, the real damage starts making itself known.
See a Doctor—Again
If you haven’t had a full medical evaluation yet, get one. Not an urgent care checkup. Not a quick glance from your family doctor. A full evaluation from someone who knows how to look for post-accident injuries.
Even if the ER cleared you, follow up with your regular physician or a specialist. Emergency rooms focus on life-threatening injuries. They don’t always catch the slow-burn issues that can wreck your health weeks later.
And if a doctor already checked you out, don’t treat that as a free pass. Follow up, especially if something feels off. Doctors aren’t mind readers, and they definitely aren’t going to chase you down if you start feeling worse. That’s on you.
Watch for Delayed Symptoms
Not all injuries wave a red flag right away. Some creep in slowly. Others disguise themselves as everyday discomforts—until they don’t.
Pay attention to:
- Headaches, dizziness, memory problems – Possible signs of a concussion, brain bleed, or post-traumatic stress.
- Nausea or abdominal pain – Internal bleeding doesn’t always cause immediate symptoms. If your stomach hurts after the accident, get it checked.
- Neck or back stiffness, numbness, or tingling – Whiplash can take days to flare up. Nerve damage can take even longer. If you feel pins and needles or lose sensation in your limbs, that’s a red flag.
- Mood swings, depression, or anxiety – Mental trauma is real. If your emotions feel unpredictable, don’t shrug it off.
Stick to the Treatment Plan
You know what’s worse than dealing with pain? Dealing with it longer than necessary because you ignored your doctor’s advice.
Pain meds, physical therapy, follow-up appointments—none of it is fun, but skipping steps can make things worse. Healing isn’t about doing what’s convenient. It’s about doing what works.
Also, if you’re filing a claim, skipping treatments hurts your case. Insurance companies love a good excuse to pay you less. If you stop going to physical therapy or refuse recommended tests, they’ll argue that your injuries weren’t that bad.
Texas law (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 41.001) allows compensation for medical expenses, but only if you can prove them. No documentation, no payout.
Document Everything
Truck accident cases aren’t like fender benders. They involve commercial trucking companies, federal regulations, and insurance carriers that don’t hand out settlements without a fight. The more documentation you have, the harder it is for them to deny your claim.
Medical Records Are Gold
Everything starts with medical records. If a doctor examined you, that’s now part of your case file. If you went to physical therapy, every session adds to your claim.
If you had to get surgery or ongoing treatment, those bills matter.
- Request copies of everything. Hospitals and clinics don’t automatically send records. You have to ask. Under Texas Health and Safety Code § 181.102, you have the right to request your medical records, and providers have 15 business days to comply.
- Keep all receipts and bills. Emergency room visits, prescriptions, follow-ups, therapy—any money spent on your recovery is potential compensation.
- Track symptoms and pain levels. Insurance companies love to argue that injuries aren’t that bad. A daily log of pain levels, mobility issues, and symptoms helps show how much the accident affected your life.
Financial Hit List
Lost wages, out-of-pocket expenses, unexpected costs—these add up fast. If the accident forced you to miss work, cut your hours, or take unpaid leave, that’s lost income. If you had to pay for Uber rides because you couldn’t drive, that’s another cost.
If childcare expenses increased because you could not care for your kids, write that down too.
- Get a letter from your employer. It should confirm your salary, hours missed, and any lost bonuses or commissions.
- Save receipts for anything you wouldn’t have spent money on if not for the accident. Medical devices, home modifications, rental cars—if it came out of your pocket, it belongs in your claim.
- Estimate future losses. Serious injuries don’t just affect today’s paycheck. If your injury limits your ability to work long-term, you’ll need expert testimony or a financial analyst to calculate future losses.
Photographs and Personal Records Matter Too
If your car was totaled, if bruises covered your body, if stitches ran across your forehead—those are things insurance companies should see.
Words on a page don’t hit as hard as visual proof.
- Photograph injuries as they heal. A picture from the hospital is helpful, but so are the ones taken days and weeks later. Some injuries get worse before they get better.
- Document property damage. If your car was wrecked, take detailed photos before repairs. Keep receipts from any estimates or repairs.
- Write a personal statement. A journal entry describing pain levels, daily struggles, and emotional stress might not seem important, but it helps paint a full picture of the accident’s impact.
The Legal Maze—Navigating Without Losing Your Mind
Insurance companies love to act like they’re here to help. But their job is to pay as little as possible, not to make things right. Trucking companies and their insurers have entire legal teams trained to find ways to minimize or deny claims. If you don’t protect yourself, they will take advantage of you.
Hire a Lawyer
Truck accidents aren’t minor fender benders. They involve federal regulations, corporate liability, and multi-million-dollar insurance policies. The trucking industry plays by different rules than regular drivers.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) sets strict standards for driver hours, vehicle maintenance, and cargo limits. If the truck that hit you violated those rules, that changes everything. But unless you know what to look for, you won’t even know a violation occurred.
A lawyer has access to evidence you don’t:
- Driver logs and black box data. Commercial trucks record speed, braking, and driving hours. If the driver was overworked or speeding, that data proves it.
- Maintenance records. If the company neglected truck repairs, that’s negligence.
- Company hiring policies. Some trucking companies cut corners when hiring drivers. If they put an unqualified or reckless driver on the road, that’s on them.
Proof disappears fast—companies may delete black box data, records go missing, and witnesses forget details. A lawyer locks that evidence down before it’s too late.
Insurance Shenanigans
The insurance company will call. Expect it. They’ll act helpful, polite, and professional. They’ll ask about your injuries, your medical treatments, how the accident happened.
And then, when you least expect it, they’ll use your words against you.
- They record calls. Anything you say can be twisted to downplay your injuries. If you say you’re doing okay, they’ll argue you weren’t hurt that badly.
- They push for quick settlements. A fast offer isn’t generosity—it’s a lowball. They want you to accept before you realize how much the accident actually cost you.
- They dig into your medical history. If you had back pain ten years ago, they’ll claim your injuries weren’t from the accident.
Texas follows a modified comparative fault rule under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 33.001, meaning if they can pin 51% of the blame on you, you get nothing. If they can argue you were distracted, speeding, or could have avoided the crash, they will.
What to Say (and What Not to Say)
If you must speak with them, keep it short.
Stick to basic facts and avoid opinions or speculation.
- DO: Confirm your name, the date and location of the accident, and your vehicle information.
- DO NOT: Discuss fault, your injuries, or how you’re feeling.
- DO: Politely decline to give a recorded statement.
- DO NOT: Apologize or say anything that could imply guilt.
If they press for details, don’t take the bait. A simple “You can speak with my attorney” ends the conversation.
Defer to Your Lawyer
Once you hire a lawyer, insurance companies should not contact you directly. Under Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 4.02, attorneys cannot communicate with a represented party without going through their lawyer.
If an adjuster calls, you don’t need to argue, explain, or answer anything—just give them your attorney’s contact information and hang up.
You don’t owe the insurance company explanations. You don’t need to prove anything to them on your own. You just need to avoid playing into their game.
Stay Off Social Media
Scrolling through social media might feel like an escape, but after a truck accident, it’s a trap. Insurance companies, defense attorneys, and investigators all look for ways to discredit injury claims, and your social media is an open book.
They don’t need a warrant. They don’t need permission. If your account isn’t private—or if one of your “friends” shares something—they can use it.
Every Post Becomes Evidence
Insurance companies will twist any post you make to downplay your injuries or shift blame onto you.
A harmless picture, a check-in, even an old workout video—insurance companies dig through everything to find inconsistencies.
- Posting vacation photos? They argue you must be fine if you’re traveling.
- Tagging friends at a restaurant? They claim your injuries aren’t stopping you from going out.
- Sharing an old photo of you at the gym? They question whether your “new” back pain was actually pre-existing.
Even comments matter. If someone asks how you’re doing and you reply, “Feeling better today!” they take that as proof you’re exaggerating your injuries.
Private Settings Don’t Make You Invisible
Locking down your privacy settings helps, but it doesn’t make you untouchable. Insurance companies can subpoena social media records, meaning anything you’ve ever posted could become evidence.
And they don’t just check your profile—they look at your friends and family too. If your cousin posts a picture of you smiling at a barbecue, they argue you’re not in pain. If your friend tags you in a post about a road trip, they question whether you’re really struggling to drive.
Direct Messages Aren’t Safe Either
You might think private messages are different, but they’re not. Courts can allow access to DMs in personal injury cases.
If you complain to a friend about the legal process, an insurer could spin it as lawsuit-happiness. If you downplay your injuries in a text because you don’t want to worry your family, they use that against you.
The safest move: go silent. No posts, no comments, no check-ins, no DMs about the accident. Let insurance companies dig all they want—if there’s nothing to find, they can’t use it against you.
Take Back Control—Call Bennett Legal
The accident flipped your world upside down. The last thing you need is an insurance company playing games while you’re trying to recover. Medical bills, lost wages, pain that won’t quit—none of it should be your burden alone.
Bennett Legal knows how to handle trucking companies and their insurers. We’ve seen their tricks, stall tactics, and lowball offers—and we don’t let them win. If a truck accident hurts you, reach out a personal injury lawyer at (972) 972-4969. Let’s get you the compensation you deserve.
