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The average American car weighs 3,000 pounds. By contrast, a semi-truck hooked up to a single empty trailer weighs approximately 35,000 pounds. When this kind of large commercial vehicle is fully loaded, its maximum weight allowable under United States law is 80,000 pounds. When comparing the size of large commercial trucks to the average light vehicle, it is not difficult to understand why lawmakers and regulators hold both truck driving operators and trucking companies to higher safety standards than they do average motorists and motor vehicle manufacturers. When large commercial trucks crash, whether they be single-vehicle accidents or multi-vehicle accidents, the consequences can be catastrophic.
If you have been injured in an accident involving a large commercial truck, whether you drive trucks for a living or you were traveling by other means, it is important that you seek legal guidance immediately. Large commercial truck accidents result in some of the most complex personal injury matters litigated in the United States. While it is possible that your truck accident case is relatively straightforward, you'll want to give our legal team as much time as possible to build a strong case on your behalf so that you have the best possible chance of obtaining the maximum amount of compensation available under the circumstances. Additionally, will want to ensure that any evidence that may need to be collected at the accident scene or preserved otherwise in a time-sensitive manner is attended to as quickly as possible. Personal injury cases can be made or broken on the strength of evidence presented. We do not want to let one more hour go by than necessary before we start protecting your rights as an accident victim, in the event that you eventually decide to pursue legal action, insurance claims, and/or workers’ compensation claims.
Some personal injury firms only handle accident cases on behalf of injured motorists. Others only handle cases on behalf of injured truck operators. Our firm has extensive experience representing the interests of both injured motorists and injured truck operators alike. Therefore, we have extensive knowledge of how the legal process tends to unfold no matter who has been injured and under what circumstances. When it comes to efficient and effective representation of client matters, it is only a benefit when your legal advocate understands how to argue a case from multiple perspectives. Know that no matter what circumstances led to your accident or how complex your case may be, we will do our utmost to secure you the maximum amount of compensation to which you are entitled. With your permission, we will also work hard to ensure that any insurance settlements extended to you are valued fairly and not unduly delayed.
When a truck operator suffers injury as a result of a crash that occurred while they were engaging in work-related activities, they may or may not be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits depending upon their worker classification status. Meaning, if they are classified as a full or part time employee of a trucking company, they should be able to successfully file a workers’ compensation claim provided that they are eligible for this coverage. This is true regardless of whether they were at fault for the truck accident in question, provided that they didn’t intentionally crash their truck and provided that they were not drunk or high at the time of the collision.
If truck drivers are properly classified as independent contractors, they will not be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. Instead, they must file a personal injury claim if they are entitled to compensation from anyone else responsible for the harm they have suffered. Additionally, unlike employees, independent contractors may directly sue the companies for which they provide services. Employees who are eligible for workers’ compensation benefits can only file a personal injury claim if a third party (other than their employer) contributed to the harm they’ve suffered. Eligibility to file both kinds of claims is an uncommon scenario generally but a common scenario for truck drivers specifically because truck drivers often crash into third-party motorists while engaged in work-related activities.
When motorists and other injury victims who are not truck operators are injured in collisions involving large commercial trucks, they may be able to hold the drivers of those trucks and/or their employers liable for their injuries. It is also often possible to sue those tasked with maintaining roadways, auto parts manufacturers, and any other individual or legal entities involved in contributing to the harm caused by a truck crash.
It may take some time to determine exactly who is liable for a large truck crash because truck accident cases tend to be complex. For example, our team may not know whether it makes sense to sue a trucking company for a driver's conduct until we know more about their employment practices, their truck maintenance schedules, and the ways in which they approach safety from an institutional standpoint. It is partially for this reason that it is so important to speak with our experienced legal team as soon as you can following a truck accident. Unlike some other kinds of personal injury cases, truck accident cases tend to take some time to resolve. We don’t want you to have to deal with the financial burdens associated with your accident for one day longer than necessary if someone else can be held legally liable for the harm you have suffered.
One of the best things you can do to preserve the strength of your case is to avoid speaking with insurance representatives until you’ve spoken with our legal team. Insurance claims adjusters look for excuses to reject claims or to pay injury victims less than they deserve. This isn’t usually a malicious approach to business; it is simply that because insurance companies need to remain profitable, they try to protect their bottom line when they can. Our experienced personal injury team understands how to communicate with insurance representatives efficiently and effectively in order to better ensure that any insurance settlements extended to our clients are fairly valued and are not rejected for reasons that are unjustifiable. Refraining from speaking with insurance representatives until you have spoken with us will help to ensure that you don’t unintentionally say something that could ultimately devalue your insurance settlement or cause it to be rejected altogether.
If you have already been offered a settlement by an insurance provider, a trucking accident company, or an attorney who is representing another party involved in your accident, it is important to allow our team to review that settlement thoroughly to ensure that it is fairly valued and that its terms do not infringe upon any of your rights as an accident victim. All too often, settlement offers are extended in an effort to avoid litigation and to avoid paying injury victims the full amount that they are due. The hope is that injury victims will accept a settlement without looking at it too closely or understanding the true value of their claim. Devalued settlement offers are made in the hopes that accident victims won’t seek legal guidance and ultimately hold the party offering the settlement accountable for the full amount of compensation that they owe. Allowing our team to look over any settlement offers you have been extended before you accept them will better ensure that you are not cheated out of any compensation to which you are entitled.
Under California Code of Civil Procedure § 335.1, motor vehicle accident victims are only allowed two years from the date upon which their accident occurred to file a personal injury claim. After this statute of limitations has run its course, accident victims are barred from seeking compensation related to their injuries. If you are planning on filing a workers’ compensation claim, you will need to act even more quickly than you would if you choose to file a personal injury claim. Most of the time, your workers’ compensation claim will run into red tape and may be barred under the law if you don’t submit certain information within 30 days of your accident.
It is not only important to act quickly to explore your legal options due to statute of limitations concerns. It is important to act quickly so that our legal team can preserve evidence related to your crash and so that we can begin protecting your rights as an accident victim. On the practical side of things, is important to act before costs related to your accident begin to become unmanageable. Your attention needs to be focused on your recovery right now. The last thing you need is for medical bills and the consequences of missed work days to start affecting your family’s wellbeing. Acting quickly to explore your legal options will help to prevent these challenges to the extent that such prevention is possible.
Before you arrive for your free, confidential case evaluation, please take some time to write down any questions that may be weighing on your mind, any concerns that your loved ones may have voiced, and any thoughts you may have about what kind of action you’d like to take right now. The best way to get the most out of your free consultation time is to ensure that we are spending that time addressing your unique concerns and providing you with an informed assessment of your legal situation. In order to empower our team to provide you with informed legal guidance tailored to your unique accident situation, you’ll want to bring along any information that will give us a more detailed picture of your accident and your medical challenges resulting from that accident. If you can, bring any and all of the following pieces of information to your consultation that you have access to and that apply to your situation:
Regardless of whether you may have contributed to the cause of your crash, is important to explore your legal options as soon as you can after you have received necessary medical attention in the wake of your truck accident. As soon as our firm is alerted to your situation, we will, with your permission, begin the work of protecting your rights as an accident victim and preserving your legal options. That way, when you ultimately commit to a plan of action, our team will be empowered to support your informed decision to the absolute best of our ability.
We look forward to speaking with you.
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