Truck Accidents

Holding Truckers And Truck Companies Accountable

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Truck Accidents

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Truck Accidents

Holding Truckers and Truck Companies Accountable

All motor vehicle accidents can be horrible, but truck accidents are often among the worst.

Trucks, it goes without saying, are much larger than most other vehicles, and this is particularly true in the case of large semi-trucks, also known as big rigs, eighteen-wheels, and tractor-trailers.

These semi-trucks are an American staple and a critical piece of our supply chains. But they’re also huge. In fact, the average semi-truck is at least 20 times heavier than an ordinary passenger car.

Because trucks are so large, they carry a great deal of force behind them, and so if a truck hits a regular-sized car or SUV – let alone a pedestrian or bicyclist – there is a much higher probability that the person struck will be killed or seriously injured than there would be if they had been hit by another car.

Trucks are dangerous for a few other reasons, too:

They have much longer stopping distances than smaller vehicles. This means that when a truck driver applies the brakes, a truck will take a longer time to come to a complete stop.
Trucks have large blind spots that other vehicles do not. These blind spots can be found on the sides and back of the truck, and even directly in front of the cab.
Truck drivers are often working long hours with little sleep, and although there are strict federal rules limiting how long a trucker can be on the road without a rest, many truckers and truck companies fudge the numbers and drive for longer than the rules permit in order to make a profit.

This is why large truck accidents account for 11% of all highway deaths, despite being only 4% of vehicles on the road.

There are other types of trucks which aren’t quite as huge, of course – pickups and delivery vans, for instance. But these are still much bigger than the average automobile, and accidents involving any truck should be taken very seriously.

If you or someone you love has been killed or injured in a truck accident, you probably already know how devastating these crashes can be. Fortunately, our firm is here for you. In cases where the accident was caused by another party’s negligence, we will fight to get justice for you and your family.

We Hold All Relevant Parties Responsible

One unique factor at play in trucking accidents is that it can be a bit difficult to figure out who exactly you need to sue.

In an ordinary car accident, this question is usually fairly easy to answer: you are suing the other driver’s insurance company. There are a few exceptions, such as if the car had a product defect, but these cases are far less common.

With trucking, things can get a bit more complex, simply because there are so many different parties involved. You can have situations where a trucker hired by Company A is driving a tractor (i.e. cab) which is the property of Company B, while pulling a trailer which is the property of Company C, and moving freight that belongs to Company D.

Of course, there’s also the trucker themselves, but you typically won’t get very far by suing them. Most of the time, the trucker does not own enough assets to cover the costs of your injuries. Instead, our best legal strategy is to go after a larger entity that has the resources and insurance to reimburse you. Much of our job in a truck accident case involves untangling the skein of exactly who is the most directly liable for your injuries.

Depending on what happened in your case, responsible parties can include:

The employer of the truck driver.
The owner of the tractor or trailer.
The manufacturer of the tractor or trailer.
The owner of the freight being transported.
The truck’s maintenance company.

We can sue any, or all, of these parties depending on the specifics of your case. Because California has a version of joint and several liability encoded in the law – meaning that if you sue two or more parties and only one of them is able to pay, you can hold that one party responsible for all of your damages regardless of how much they were at fault – it is often better to file lawsuits against multiple parties, and so we aim for this if possible.

We Fight for You to Recover All Relevant Damages

As with any other accident, you have the right to recover many types of damages for your injuries in a truck accident case.

These include:

1. Medical bills

You will likely face a variety of medical costs after a truck accident, and these can be huge. Hardly anyone escapes unscathed from being hit by a truck, and the injuries are often so severe that victims find themselves facing financial ruin on top of everything they already suffered. Medical bills will often be our central focus in a truck accident case.

2. The decedent’s financial dependents

including the decedent’s stepchildren, elderly parents, and the “putative spouse.”

3. Parties who stood to inherit property from the decedent

including the decedent’s parents and siblings if the decedent had no spouse or children.

Basically, you have to have some sort of familial relationship. If you’re confused about whether you can sue for wrongful death, give us a call and we’ll help figure things out for you.

In a wrongful death lawsuit, you can recover some of the same types of damages that we mentioned above, and a few other types, too. These damages include:

Loss of inheritance, gifts, and financial support.
Loss of household services or domestic labor.
Loss of love, companionship, affection, consortium, and parental guidance.
Funeral and burial costs.

When calculating these damages, courts take into account the future life expectancy of the decedent. For instance, if your loved one could have expected to live thirty more years, your damages will probably by larger than if they only had ten more years of life expectancy.

What to Do After a Truck Accident

If you have just been in a truck accident, you first priority is to take care of your own health. Since truck accidents are so devastating, you will likely end up being taken to the emergency room, but if this doesn’t happen, you should see a doctor AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, primarily for your health, but also for your own legal benefit: a doctor’s evaluation immediately after a truck accident provides strong evidence of your injuries.

Since it’s very rare for anyone to escape unscathed from being hit by a truck, medical treatment should be your first priority, even if you don’t think you were seriously injured. (Some injuries do not become apparent until hours or days after the accident.)

Aside from that, here are a few steps you can take to help yourself after a truck accident, both in the immediate aftermath and in the days and weeks following:

Get the name and insurance information of the trucker; this is required by law.
Get the names and contact information of any witnesses.
Take pictures of the scene from as many angles as possible.
Keep meticulous records of all your medical treatments and bills.
Keep written records of how the injury interfered with your enjoyment of life.

If you didn’t do all these steps – if you were too injured to take pictures of the accident scene, for instance – this doesn’t necessarily mean you don’t have a case. Just remember: the more evidence, the better!

If you choose to hire a personal injury attorney, then it is important to contact us as soon as possible. The earlier we begin working on your case, the better we can usually do. Furthermore, if you delay for a long time, you might run into the statute of limitations, which is two years in California. After this time limit expires, you won’t be able to pursue a case at all.

Give our firm a call TODAY for a free consultation, and we’ll see what we can do for you.

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Helpful Information

The Personal Injury process can be confusing. To answer the many questions regarding accidents and the injuries they produce, we put together the most frequently asked accident questions along with helpful guides to accompany them. Whether it be questions on cost, medical expenses and treatments or specifics in what to do ( or not do), we have you covered.

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find the best medical providers

Having high quality care to get our clients recover is our main priority. That is why we focus on sending our clients only to the best physicians after being involved in an accident.

Chiropractic

Family Doctors

General Practitioners

Neurologist

Spinal Surgeons

Cardiologist

Orthopedics

Pain Management

MRI

Optometrist

Pediatrics