What To Do After a Truck Accident: A Clear Guide

The moments after a crash with a big rig are chaos. Adrenaline is pumping, you're disoriented, and it's hard to think straight. But what you do in that first hour can make or break your physical and financial recovery down the line.

Collisions involving commercial trucks aren't just bigger versions of a standard car accident. They are governed by complex federal regulations and involve massive corporate entities. Knowing the right steps protects you at the scene and lays the critical groundwork for holding the right parties accountable. This guide outlines what to do after a truck accident to protect your rights and build a strong foundation for your claim.

Your First Move: Safety and Medical Care

Before anything else, your health comes first. Check yourself and your passengers for injuries. Call 911 immediately to get police and paramedics on the way.

Even if you feel okay—just shaken up—get checked out by a medical professional. Adrenaline is a powerful painkiller and can easily mask serious injuries like internal bleeding or a concussion. Symptoms might not show up for hours or even days.

This is non-negotiable after a truck wreck. The forces involved are immense. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), in 2023, there were over 5,100 fatalities in large truck crashes. Nearly 76% of those killed were in the other vehicle, not the truck.

If you delay getting medical care, you hand the trucking company's insurance adjuster an easy excuse to argue your injuries aren't serious or weren't caused by the crash. Don't give them that opening.

This visual gives you a quick overview of your on-scene priorities: secure the area, call for help, and then start gathering information.

Think of it as a systematic way to bring order to a chaotic situation.

The minutes after a crash are a critical window for gathering evidence. This simple checklist covers the absolute essentials you need to handle right at the scene.

Priority Action	Why It's Critical	Pro Tip
Call 911 Immediately	Creates an official police report and gets medical help en route.	Even for what seems like a minor crash, an official report is vital.
Get Medical Attention	Adrenaline can mask serious injuries. A medical record links your injuries to the crash.	Tell the paramedics everything you feel, no matter how small.
Take Photos/Videos	Creates a permanent, unbiased record of the scene before it's cleared.	Film a slow walk-around of the entire scene, narrating what you see.
Exchange Information	Get the driver's name, insurance, employer, and the truck's USDOT number.	Take a picture of the driver's license, insurance card, and any numbers on the truck door.
Do NOT Admit Fault	A simple "I'm sorry" can be used against you by insurance companies.	Stick to the facts. Don't apologize or speculate about what happened.
Get Witness Info	Independent witness testimony is incredibly powerful evidence.	Ask for their name and phone number. A quick text confirms you have the right number.

Following these steps at the scene provides the foundation for any future claim you might need to make.

Become Your Own Investigator: Document Everything

If you are physically able, your smartphone is your most powerful tool. Photos and videos create a raw, unbiased record of what happened before the scene gets cleaned up and memories fade.

Go beyond snapping a few pictures of the dents. Capture everything from multiple angles:

• Vehicle Positions: Where did the truck and your car end up? Show their relationship to each other and to lane markings or stop signs.
• The Damage: Get wide shots of the overall damage to every vehicle involved, then zoom in on specific points of impact.
• The Scene Itself: Photograph any skid marks, broken glass, or debris on the road. These clues help experts reconstruct the crash later.
• Contributing Factors: Was there road construction? Potholes? Was the sun in your eyes? Document any road or weather conditions that might have played a role.
• The Truck: This is huge. Get clear photos of the trucking company's name on the cab and trailer, the USDOT number, and any other identifying logos or numbers. This is how you identify all the parties who could be responsible.

Key Insight: Don't trust your memory. The shock of a crash makes it nearly impossible to recall small but vital details later. Your photos will be the most reliable evidence you have.

Be Careful What You Say to the Driver and Police

When you talk to the truck driver, the police, or any witnesses, stay calm and stick to the facts. You need to exchange the basics with the driver: name, contact info, insurance carrier, and their employer’s name.

But that’s it. Never, ever admit fault or apologize. A simple, reflexive "I'm so sorry" can be twisted by an insurance adjuster and used to pin blame on you.

When the police arrive, give them a clear, factual account of what you remember. Don't guess about speeds or speculate on who did what. Before you leave, make sure you get the officer’s name, badge number, and the police report number. While every crash is unique, our general guide on what to do after a car accident in Colorado has more tips that apply here, too.

Preserving Vital Truck Accident Evidence

Evidence from a commercial truck accident has an incredibly short shelf life. It’s not like a simple car crash where you’re just dealing with two vehicles. A truck wreck creates a spiderweb of data, records, and physical parts that can disappear within hours or days.

You’re in a battle against time, and you have to be proactive.

While pictures of the damaged cars and the scene are a good start, you need to dig much, much deeper. Commercial trucks are rolling databases. The companies that own them have protocols in place to protect their own interests, and that often means legally getting rid of critical data as fast as the law allows.

Go Beyond Standard Accident Photos

Your focus needs to be on the kind of evidence that is unique to commercial vehicles. This is the stuff that paints the full picture—not just what the driver did, but how the trucking company operates and whether they were cutting corners on maintenance.

As you document the truck, zero in on these specifics:

• Logos and DOT Numbers: Get photos of every single identifying mark on the cab and the trailer. That means the company name, the USDOT number, and any MC numbers. These are the keys to tracking down every corporate entity involved.
• The Cargo: If you can do it safely, document the type of cargo being hauled and how it was strapped down. Improperly loaded or overweight cargo is a textbook cause of loss-of-control accidents.
• Maintenance Red Flags: Look for obvious signs of neglect. Are the tires bald? Can you see rust or damage on brakes or lights? Your photos might be the only proof of the truck’s condition before it gets hauled away and fixed.
• The Entire Rig: Capture the tractor and the trailer from every angle. Sometimes the trailer is owned by a different company than the tractor, which adds another layer of liability.

A major crash study from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) found that while driver error is behind about 87% of truck-fault crashes, vehicle problems like bad brakes or tires still cause 10%. Documenting everything covers all your bases.

Pro Tip: Don't forget your phone's video function. Do a slow, narrated walk around the whole scene, getting close-ups of the truck’s specific parts. Describing what you're recording out loud helps you remember details later and adds crucial context to the visuals.

Identify All the Players and Protect the Digital Trail

A truck accident is rarely a two-party affair. The responsibility can be spread across a whole cast of characters, each with its own insurance policy and legal team. You need to figure out who’s who from the very beginning.

• The Driver: The person behind the wheel.
• The Motor Carrier: The company that employs the driver and holds the operating authority.
• The Truck Owner: Sometimes the tractor itself is leased from a separate company.
• The Trailer Owner: The trailer might be owned by yet another business.
• The Shipper/Loader: The company that put the cargo in the trailer could be at fault if the load was unbalanced or unsecured.

Gathering info on each one is crucial. Just as important is getting contact details for any eyewitnesses. Their unbiased perspective is incredibly powerful, and knowing how to properly document a witness statement ensures their story is preserved correctly.

The Spoliation Letter: A Non-Negotiable First Step

Often, the most damning evidence is digital, locked away in the truck’s electronic systems. This data is fragile and can be erased as part of routine business. To stop that from happening, a legal notice called a spoliation of evidence letter has to be sent out immediately.

This formal letter demands that the motor carrier and any other involved companies preserve specific evidence related to the crash. If they fail to do so after receiving the letter, they can face serious penalties in court.

The preservation letter should demand they protect:

• The "Black Box" (ECU/EDR): The truck’s Event Data Recorder logs critical data—speed, braking, RPMs, steering—in the seconds right before the crash.
• Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Data: This tracks the driver's hours of service. It can instantly reveal if the driver was fatigued or violating federal safety rules.
• GPS and Fleet Management Data: These systems track the truck's exact location, speed, and route history.
• Driver Qualification File: This is the driver’s complete employment record, including their driving history, training records, and drug/alcohol test results.
• Maintenance and Inspection Records: These logs show the truck's repair history and prove whether it was being properly maintained.

Without a spoliation letter, a trucking company is often perfectly within its rights to overwrite black box data or shred logbooks based on their standard data retention policies. This makes sending a preservation demand one of the most urgent and critical actions you can take.

Handling Calls From Insurance Adjusters

It’s going to happen, and probably a lot sooner than you think. While you’re still trying to get your bearings after the collision, your phone will ring. On the other end will be a claims adjuster from the trucking company’s insurance carrier, and they’ll sound friendly, concerned, and eager to help you “get this sorted out quickly.”

Don't be fooled. This call has one single purpose: to minimize the insurance company's financial payout. The adjuster is a trained professional whose entire job is measured by how little money their company has to pay on claims like yours. Every question they ask is a calculated move, designed to get you to say something—anything—that can be used to weaken your case down the road.

This is a critical moment. How you handle these first conversations can either protect or completely jeopardize your ability to get fair compensation for your injuries and losses.

Navigating the First Call

When that adjuster calls, it’s easy to feel caught off guard. They will likely ask for your version of events and push hard for a recorded statement. Your best strategy here is to be polite but firm, giving them only the absolute bare minimum of information.

You are not obligated to give them a play-by-play of the accident or a detailed report of your injuries. In fact, you shouldn't. You can confirm your name, address, and the date and location of the crash. That’s it.

Here are a few simple phrases you can use to control the conversation:

• "I'm not prepared to discuss the details of the accident right now."
• "I am still processing everything and am not ready to give a statement."
• "I can confirm my basic contact information, but that's all I can provide at this time."

Whatever you do, never speculate about who was at fault, never apologize, and never agree that you are uninjured. A simple "I feel okay" can be twisted to mean you have zero injuries, even if the symptoms of a serious concussion or whiplash don't show up for a few days.

The Recorded Statement Trap

The adjuster’s main goal on this first call is almost always to get you to agree to a recorded statement. They’ll frame it as a routine step, just a simple formality to move your claim forward. You should politely but firmly decline this request.

A recorded statement is not a tool to help you; it is a tool for the insurance company to use against you. They will ask leading questions and hunt for any inconsistency between your recording, what you told police at the scene, and what the official report says.

An adjuster might ask a seemingly innocent question like, "You were in a bit of a hurry, weren't you?" or "Did you see the truck just before impact?" An honest "I guess so" or "I'm not sure" can be used later to argue that you were distracted or partially to blame. There is absolutely no legal requirement for you to provide a recorded statement, especially not before you’ve had a chance to speak with an attorney.

What to Say and What Not to Say

Think of every conversation with the adjuster as a strategic move to protect your future rights. Here’s a quick guide to managing these calls effectively.

Conversation Dos	Conversation Don'ts
Do provide your name and contact info.	Don't discuss your injuries in detail.
Do provide the date and location of the crash.	Don't speculate on who was at fault.
Do state that you are not ready to give a statement.	Don't agree to a recorded statement.
Do get the adjuster’s name, number, and claim number.	Don't sign any documents or accept any checks.

By keeping your answers short and sticking to the facts, you stop the adjuster from gathering ammunition to devalue your claim. Your best move is to end the call quickly and find a legal professional to handle all future communication for you.

Why Truck Accidents Are a Different Beast Entirely

A collision with an 18-wheeler isn’t just a bigger, more destructive version of a typical car wreck. Legally speaking, it’s a whole different universe.

When you’re in a crash with another passenger car, you’re usually dealing with one driver and their insurance. But a commercial truck accident pulls you into a labyrinth of federal regulations, powerful corporations, and layers of commercial insurance policies. To come out on the right side of these claims, you have to understand just how different the game is.

The entire trucking industry is governed by a thick rulebook from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). These aren't suggestions; they're federal laws dictating everything from how long a driver can be on the road to how often the brakes need to be inspected. Finding a violation of these rules is often the most direct path to proving who was at fault.

This is why knowing what to do after a truck accident goes way beyond just swapping insurance info. It’s about immediately preserving the specific evidence that can nail a trucking company for cutting corners on safety.

It’s About the Company, Not Just the Driver

The FMCSA’s regulations are massive, but a few key areas almost always come into play when we investigate a serious crash. We’re not just looking at what the driver did behind the wheel; we’re digging deep into the company’s records for a pattern of negligence.

Here’s what we’re typically looking for:

• Hours-of-Service (HOS) Violations: Federal law strictly limits how many hours a trucker can drive without taking a mandatory rest break. Driver fatigue is a massive factor in these wrecks. The truck’s electronic logbook can tell us in seconds if the driver—or the company pushing them—was breaking the law.
• Negligent Hiring and Training: A trucking company has a legal duty to vet its drivers. Did they check driving records? Confirm the driver had a valid Commercial Driver’s License (CDL)? Run the required drug and alcohol tests? Putting an unqualified or unsafe driver on the road is a huge failure on the company’s part.
• Shoddy Maintenance: These rigs have to be constantly inspected and maintained, and it all has to be documented. A crash caused by bad brakes, bald tires, or broken lights often points straight back to a company that decided to save a few bucks at the expense of safety.

These rules create a paper trail. More often than not, that trail leads right to the company’s front door, showing how their systemic failures caused the crash, not just one driver’s mistake.

The Long Chain of Liability

In a fender bender, it's usually you and the other driver. In a truck wreck, the driver is often just the first link in a long chain of people and companies who could be on the hook. Finding every single one of them is critical, because each might have a separate insurance policy that can contribute to a settlement.

Picture this all-too-common scenario: A truck driver, exhausted from driving more hours than the law allows, takes a turn too fast and plows into your car. Our investigation then uncovers that the truck's brakes hadn't been properly serviced and the cargo inside the trailer was loaded incorrectly, making it dangerously top-heavy.

In that one crash, we could find at least four at-fault parties:

1. The Driver: For falling asleep at the wheel and violating HOS rules.
2. The Trucking Company: For pressuring the driver to break HOS rules and for skipping mandatory brake maintenance.
3. The Maintenance Shop: A separate company hired to service the truck that did a poor job on the brakes.
4. The Shipping/Loading Company: For improperly loading the cargo, which made the trailer unstable and contributed to the rollover.

Key Takeaway: Unraveling this web of responsibility is the central challenge in any truck accident case. Every company involved will immediately start pointing fingers at the others. Only a fast, thorough investigation can put the pieces together and prove who is truly responsible.

This complexity is exactly why you can’t treat these cases like a simple car accident claim. The second a crash is reported, the trucking company and its insurance carrier dispatch their own team of investigators and lawyers to the scene. Their job is to control the story, minimize their company’s exposure, and pay you as little as possible. Without an experienced attorney in your corner, critical evidence disappears and your chances of getting fair compensation plummet.

When Should You Call a Truck Accident Attorney?

In the chaos after a truck accident, figuring out when to call a lawyer can feel like one more overwhelming decision. The answer is simple: right away.

This isn't about being aggressive. It’s about protecting yourself. From the moment the crash happens, the trucking company and its insurance carrier are already working. Their teams are trained to control the story, manage the evidence, and do everything possible to limit what they have to pay. You need an expert in your corner doing the exact same thing for you.

Protecting Evidence Before It Disappears

That ticking clock you hear? It’s the sound of crucial evidence being lost. Things like the truck's "black box" data, the driver's electronic logbooks, and vehicle maintenance records can be legally wiped or destroyed surprisingly quickly under company retention policies.

An attorney's first and most critical move is to send a spoliation of evidence letter. This is a formal legal demand that puts the trucking company on notice: they must preserve everything related to the crash.

This one letter can be the difference between a strong case and a weak one. Without it, the data showing a driver was over their legal hours or that the truck's brakes were faulty could vanish forever.

An experienced lawyer also kicks off their own investigation immediately, often bringing in accident reconstruction specialists to analyze the scene, track down witnesses, and interpret the physical evidence. This gives you an independent version of events, not just the one the police or the trucking company puts together.

Key Insight: Calling a lawyer isn’t just about filing a lawsuit down the road. It’s an immediate defensive play to make sure the proof you need is locked down from day one.

Navigating Deadlines and Getting Full Compensation

Every state has a strict deadline for filing a personal injury lawsuit, called the statute of limitations. If you miss this window in Colorado, your right to seek compensation is gone for good—no matter how clear the other party's fault was. An attorney makes sure every legal deadline is met.

But it’s about more than just paperwork. A skilled legal team knows how to calculate the true cost of your injuries, which goes far beyond your initial medical bills. This includes:

• Future surgeries, physical therapy, and long-term care
• Wages you've already lost from being unable to work
• Your diminished ability to earn in the future if you can't go back to your old job
• The real-world impact of your pain, suffering, and emotional trauma

Truck accident cases are incredibly complex, and trying to handle them alone is a massive risk. In fact, studies consistently show that people who hire an attorney after a serious accident receive settlements that are, on average, 3.5 times higher than those who go it alone.

One of the biggest immediate benefits is having a professional buffer between you and the insurance adjusters. As a knowledgeable Denver truck accident attorney will tell you, their team takes over every single phone call and email. They know the adjusters' tactics and can protect you from saying something that could be used to devalue your claim. This frees you up to focus on what actually matters: your recovery.

Common Questions After A Truck Accident

Even if you’ve followed all the right steps, the aftermath of a commercial truck accident is a whirlwind of confusion and stress. Your mind is likely racing with questions. Let's cut through the noise and get you some clear, straightforward answers to the most common concerns.

How Long Do I Have To File A Claim In Colorado?

Colorado gives you three years from the date of the accident to file a personal injury lawsuit. This is called the statute of limitations.

While three years might sound like a long time, it’s a hard and fast deadline. If you miss it, you lose your right to seek compensation forever—no matter how strong your case is.

The real work of investigating the crash, gathering evidence, and building a case needs to start immediately. Waiting until the deadline is looming is a surefire way to damage your claim. The sooner you act, the better your chances of preserving the proof you need.

Should I Accept The First Settlement Offer From The Insurance Company?

Almost never. Trucking company insurers often throw out a quick, lowball offer right after a crash. They're counting on you being stressed, in pain, and desperate for cash.

Their goal is to get you to settle for pennies on the dollar before you understand the true, long-term cost of your injuries.

Accepting an early offer means you sign away your right to any future compensation for this accident. If you later discover you need surgery or can’t return to work, you will have no further legal recourse.

Before you even think about settling, you need a full picture of your damages. This isn't just about the medical bills you have today. It’s about future medical needs, lost income, your ability to earn a living down the road, and the very real pain and suffering you’ve endured. That’s why it’s critical to talk to an attorney who can properly value your claim first.

What If I Was Partially At Fault For The Accident?

This is a common worry, but it doesn’t necessarily sink your case. Colorado uses a modified comparative negligence rule.

What that means is you can still recover damages even if you were partially to blame, as long as your share of the fault isn't 50% or more.

Here’s how it works: your final compensation is simply reduced by your percentage of fault. For example, if you have $100,000 in damages but are found to be 20% at fault, you can recover $80,000. Trucking companies love to use this defense to shift blame, so having a strong advocate to minimize any fault on your part is absolutely essential.

Do I Really Need An Attorney For This?

Legally, no. Realistically, yes. Trying to handle a commercial truck accident claim on your own is like stepping into the ring with a heavyweight boxer—you’re outmatched from the start.

These aren't simple car accidents. They involve a maze of complex federal regulations, multiple liable parties (the driver, the company, the maintenance crew), and aggressive corporate legal teams whose only job is to protect their client's bottom line.

An experienced truck accident attorney completely levels the playing field. They immediately move to preserve critical evidence, take over all communication with adjusters, bring in the right experts to investigate the crash, and accurately calculate the full value of your claim. The complexities of knowing what to do after a truck accident are best handled by a professional who can protect your interests while you focus on one thing: getting better.

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At Conduit Law, our experienced attorneys are ready to help you navigate the difficult aftermath of a truck accident. We fight to protect your rights and secure the maximum compensation you deserve. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation.