My brother got hit by a semi on the interstate — family has no idea where to start

I went through something similar a couple years ago — not as severe, but a commercial truck was involved and I had no clue what I was walking into. The thing that surprised me most was how fast the trucking company's people started calling. Like within 48 hours. Don't let your brother (or anyone speaking for him) give recorded statements to anyone until you have a lawyer. That's the single biggest thing I'd tell myself if I could go back.

A few practical things to start collecting right now if you haven't already:

• The police/accident report — get the report number and order a copy as soon as it's available
• Photos of the scene, the vehicles, and your brother's injuries — if you haven't been back to document the scene, see if anyone who was there took photos
• All medical records and bills as they come in — keep a folder, physical or digital
• A simple journal of how he's feeling day to day, what he can't do, pain levels, appointments

That last one sounds minor but it matters more than people think for documenting how the injury actually affects his life. Also — do NOT post anything about the accident on social media. Anything public can and will be looked at.

Not legal advice, but I'll share some general context: trucking cases often involve multiple potentially liable parties — the driver, the carrier, sometimes a maintenance company or cargo loader depending on circumstances. That complexity is part of why trucking-specific experience matters. When vetting attorneys, ask them directly what percentage of their caseload involves commercial carriers and whether they've taken trucking cases to trial (not just settled). Most do free consultations. Talk to more than one before deciding. — Not legal advice, just general info.

Please please please tell your family not to accept ANY early settlement offers or sign anything. Early offers in serious injury cases are almost always lowball — the other side is hoping to close it out before the full extent of the injuries is even known. Spinal stuff especially can take months to fully understand. Once you sign a release, that's it.

The spinal monitoring piece jumped out at me. Make sure his care team is thorough about imaging and follow-up — sometimes things that look minor on initial scans show more on MRI or after swelling goes down. Keep every single discharge paper, every specialist note. From a recovery standpoint, don't let anyone rush him back to physical work before he's actually cleared. I've seen people re-injure because they felt pressure to get back to normal too fast.

I'm so sorry your family is going through this. It sounds absolutely exhausting on top of being terrifying. You're asking all the right questions — just the fact that you're here trying to figure this out shows how much you care about your brother. Lean on each other and don't try to handle the legal and insurance stuff alone.

Short version: yes, get a trucking-specific attorney, yes it matters, and do it this week not next month. Evidence in trucking cases — especially the truck's electronic logging data and onboard systems — can be requested through legal channels but there are preservation deadlines. The longer you wait, the harder it gets to obtain that stuff. Most trucking attorneys work on contingency so there's no upfront cost. Just go make the calls.

What state did this happen in? And do you know yet if the trucking company is disputing fault or have they been quiet? Just asking because the situation can look pretty different depending on those answers. If fault is genuinely contested it adds a layer, versus if it's more about damages.