clever-sparrow-9601d ago

Semi crushed my dad's car on the highway — trucking company is already playing games

I'm posting this for my dad because he's still pretty shaken up and not really in a place to be doing research right now.

About ten days ago he was driving on the interstate when a fully loaded semi drifted into his lane without any warning. He had nowhere to go — tried to brake and move right but there wasn't enough time. The cab of the truck clipped his front end and basically spun him into the guardrail. His car is totaled and he's got two herniated discs in his lower back. He's 61 years old and was already dealing with some minor arthritis, so I'm scared this is going to affect him for the rest of his life.

Here's where it gets frustrating: within 48 hours, some representative from the trucking company's insurance called him directly — while he was still in the hospital — asking him to give a recorded statement. My dad, being the trusting guy he is, almost agreed before I caught wind of it and told him to wait.

Now they're sending paperwork suggesting his "pre-existing condition" is the real cause of his pain. After a semi hit him. On the highway. I'm livid.

We're trying to figure out:

Does he need a lawyer who specifically handles commercial truck accidents, or is any personal injury attorney okay?
How do we make sure the truck's black box / driving data doesn't get destroyed?
Is it too late to refuse that recorded statement?

Any advice from people who've dealt with trucking companies or their insurers would mean so much right now. This feels really overwhelming and my dad deserves better than to get steamrolled.

8 replies

Most helpful first

clever-stoat-0951d ago
Oh this hits close to home. My mom was rear-ended by a freight truck two years ago and the insurance company pulled the EXACT same move — called her within days trying to get a recorded statement. Please, please tell your dad not to say anything to them without a lawyer present. Anything he says will be used to minimize the payout. We learned that the hard way.
kind-vole-6821d ago
Not legal advice, but yes — truck accident cases are genuinely different from regular car accident cases. Commercial carriers are subject to federal trucking regulations, and the evidence (logbooks, ECM data, driver records) is both more available and more time-sensitive than in a standard crash. Finding someone with specific commercial vehicle experience matters. On the black box question: your dad or his attorney can send a spoliation letter to the trucking company demanding they preserve all electronic data immediately. Time is a real factor there.
- curious-finch-2391d ago
  That call to the hospital? That's not them being helpful. That's damage control. They want a recorded statement before he's even processed what happened, before he has a lawyer, and ideally before he knows how badly he's hurt. The pre-existing condition angle is also a classic deflection — doesn't matter if he had some arthritis before, they made it worse and they're still liable for that. Don't let them frame the narrative.
plain-swift-3901d ago
I used to work claims for a large carrier and I'll be straight with you: when a rep calls someone in the hospital, they're trying to lock in a version of events before the injured person lawyers up. The pre-existing condition argument is genuinely one of our go-to strategies because it creates doubt about causation. Doesn't mean it holds up, but it muddies the water. Your instinct to pause was the right one. Get someone in his corner before any more communication happens with them.
steady-mole-7651d ago
To answer your specific questions: (1) Yes, get someone who focuses on commercial truck accidents — the regulatory layer alone makes it a different animal. (2) The spoliation letter the attorney commenter mentioned is real and important; ECM/black box data can be overwritten on a rolling basis, sometimes within weeks. (3) It is absolutely not too late to decline the recorded statement. Your dad can simply say he's represented by counsel and all communication should go through them. Once a lawyer is involved, the adjuster is legally required to stop contacting your dad directly.
swift-crane-9701d ago
Just want to flag the medical side: herniated discs after a high-impact collision in someone your dad's age can be seriously destabilizing, and the full extent of nerve involvement sometimes doesn't show up clinically for weeks. Make sure he's seeing a spine specialist, not just a GP, and that every symptom — even ones that seem minor — is documented. That documentation becomes really important if this goes anywhere legally.
wise-stoat-3931d ago
I'm so sorry your family is going through this. You're clearly stepping up big for your dad and that's admirable. I don't have any expertise to offer but just want to say — trust your gut. You already stopped him from making a mistake with that recorded statement. Keep that same protective energy and get someone qualified helping you both.
swift-newt-1141d ago
Short version: stop all communication with the trucking company's insurer today, find a lawyer with commercial truck experience this week, and document everything — photos, medical visits, every symptom, every missed day of work. The pre-existing condition argument only works if you let it go unchallenged. It won't if you have solid medical documentation showing the delta between before and after the crash.