What to Do If You Get in an Accident in a Rented Moving Truck

Updated on May 6, 2023

Moving day can be a stressful and exhausting experience, with numerous responsibilities and tasks to handle. One of the most significant concerns during this time is the safe transportation of your belongings. While renting a moving truck is a popular and convenient choice, accidents can and do happen.

If you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of being involved in an accident with a rented moving truck, it’s crucial to know the right steps to take to minimize the impact and ensure a smooth resolution. In this article, we will guide you through the essential actions to follow if you encounter such an incident, helping you navigate the aftermath with confidence and composure.

After disaster strikes, call the moving truck rental company and tell them you must send a mishap report. They’ll need to track down the rented truck and look into your application, so it might be useful to send them the receipt or email confirmation you got when you booked the truck. They may likewise request the contact information of the other driver, as well.

The insurance carrier of the rental company should call you to get more details. They’ll ask you the where, when, and how, all things considered. The process may get the point by point, and you may feel like you’re being interviewed. Simply answer as altogether and sincerely as you can. (Pro tip:  Use Google Maps and take a look at the accident scene. This makes questions concerning roadways and places a lot simpler to answer to.)

Driving a Moving Truck Without Experience

Driving a moving truck as an inexperienced driver can be very risky. Accidents often result because the driver doesn’t completely know how to handle such vehicles.

Rented trucks can be invaluable when moving weighty furniture around or moving the entire family across states. The size of the truck depends on the load you’re bringing along. However, the bigger the truck, the more troublesome it is to deal with.

Regardless of whether you’re driving along the thruway or through a bustling central avenue, it’s simpler than you may suspect to get into a crash. A handful of insurance companies offer protection for an additional charge, which may help if you run into one of these circumstances.

Who Is Liable for a Moving Truck Accident

The truck rental company is usually expected to take responsibility for any accidents:

  • Regardless of whether the company knew about any mechanical issues.
  • If the company neglected to maintain the truck.
  • If safety inspections were the responsibility of the rental company.
  • If the company purposely rented the truck to somebody who doesn’t have the ability to drive it securely.
  • If the truck driver lacks training.
  • If there are roadway problems
  • If brakes fail.
  • If accident was caused due to driving speed.

To shield yourself from liability, always take these steps: 

  • Get everybody out of the truck fast unless they sustained neck or spinal injuries. If possible, get the truck off of the road to the nearest safe spot.
  • Call 911 if anybody was harmed. 
  • Call the police and file a police report. 
  • Call the truck rental company hotline and have the police report number ready (the administrator may request this data). 
  • Make sure to write down any witnesses’ contact info.  

Get Legal Help

Accidents involving moving trucks include an altogether different arrangement than ordinary car crashes. So, another important step many of us may need to take after a serious accident is to talk to a truck accident lawyer.

Truck accident attorneys are well versed in the particular subtleties associated with moving truck and big rig truck accidents. These are professionals who have been handling such cases for years, which enabled them to build a strong arsenal against truck rental companies’ and their insurance carriers’ tactics.

With an experienced law professional on your side, you can receive from five- to six-figure compensation for your injuries, property loss, and pain, especially if the incident severely disabled you. Most of these professionals work on a no-win-no-fee basis, and the first case evaluation is usually free.

Early in his journalism career, Kerry L. Tucker had a revelation: there were not enough experts reporting on law issues. Legal matters are part of daily life. Yet, there seems to be a general aversion towards them. One of the main reasons for this is that the convoluted legal language is difficult for many people to follow. Therefore, he decided to change how the law is perceived by the public. Throughout his career, he met with many people who shared their personal stories with him. Some of these hit him harder. One of the cases that stayed with him and influenced his future career development was a car accident case involving a child. From then on, he decided to zero in on car accident lawsuits.

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The Editorial Team at Healthcare Business Today is made up of skilled healthcare writers and experts, led by our managing editor, Daniel Casciato, who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare writing. Since 1998, we have produced compelling and informative content for numerous publications, establishing ourselves as a trusted resource for health and wellness information. We offer readers access to fresh health, medicine, science, and technology developments and the latest in patient news, emphasizing how these developments affect our lives.