Being in a truck accident can be overwhelming, terrifying, stressful, and traumatic. In some cases, it may even be fatal. When you have been in a trucking accident in San Diego, you have the right to pursue compensation for your damages. At Schneiderman Trial Attorneys, we have the experience and knowledge to fight for the outcome you deserve. Call our office for a free consultation where we can review your case, offer guidance, and potentially put our experience to work for you.
Unfortunately, trucking accidents are more common than people would like to think. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported an estimated 438,000 police-reported large truck crashes in 2014, resulting in 111,000 people injured and 3,903 fatalities. Most of those injuries and deaths occurred in the occupants of the other vehicle. Additionally, 79% of fatal truck accidents occurred on weekdays, and 71% of those were during daytime hours.
Drivers of commercial trucks, such as 18-wheelers, tractor-trailers, big rigs, and semi-trucks are subject to federal regulations set by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. These regulations are meant to protect both the truck driver and the other drivers on the road with them and include such rules as:
Unfortunately, many drivers will ignore these regulations in favor of maximizing efficiency and paychecks. Trucking companies will also encourage or push their drivers to disregard the regulations so they can maximize profits. When this shunning of the rules results in a serious truck accident, injured victims deserve a chance at justice.
Things can quickly become complicated in the aftermath of a trucking accident. Critical evidence can disappear, witness memories begin to fade, and accident scenes change quickly as law enforcement gets traffic moving again. This is why Schneiderman Trial Attorneys recommends that you reach out to an attorney as soon as possible after a trucking accident. A trucking accident attorney may be able to move quickly to collect witness statements while memories are still clear, preserve evidence, and deal with insurance adjusters on your behalf. We may also be able to request the driver’s driving history, examine and document the scene of the accident, keep the truck from being repaired so it can be inspected, obtain the trucking company’s records and driver’s logs, preserve the data from the truck’s electronic on-board recorder, and inspect the inspection and maintenance records for the truck.
We will go beyond that, however. In trucking accidents, there may be multiple parties who share liability. These parties will deny their fault and attempt to put the blame on the other parties, including you. We will sort through the evidence and determine the roles of the truck owners, trucking companies, independent contractors, lessees or lessors, employee drivers, independent owner-operators, mechanics and other repair personnel, manufacturers, and even the customer whose load the truck was carrying. We will ensure that any and all potentially responsible parties are held accountable. While the truck driver is often at fault, we will ensure that all avenues of recovery are explored thoroughly so you can get the compensation you deserve under the law.
Like any motor vehicle accident, trucking accidents can have a variety of causes. Some of the most common include:
Liability for trucking accidents in California depends on several facts. These facts are brought to light through extensive investigation, collaboration with experts, and evidence collection. While it may seem clear who is at fault in your trucking accident, it is important to consider all the information to determine who is financially responsible for your accident. Some of the parties who may bear sole or partial liability include:
This is a common question. The exact amount any claim is worth depends on several factors unique to the claim. There is no average settlement amount, as each claim is different. Each accident has different contributing factors, different injuries, and different lasting effects.
Once a trucking accident attorney at Schneiderman Trial Attorneys reviews your case, we may be able to assess the elements of your case which will factor into the value of your claim and help you determine what your case may be worth. We can not guarantee a specific amount, but we can work with you to determine an estimate and use that as a starting point in negotiations or litigation.
Some of the elements that factor into the value of each claim include:
Trucking accidents often result in severe injuries, such as traumatic brain injuries or spinal cord injuries, which can significantly increase potential compensation as these injuries often require ongoing medical care and have lasting effects on the victim’s life. Trucking accidents may also result in fatal injuries. If you were injured in a trucking accident and your loved one passed away in that trucking accident, you may be abel to file both a trucking accident claim for yourself and a wrongful death claim for your loved one.
Like most lawsuits, trucking accident claims are subject to a statute of limitations. The statute of limitations is a deadline by which an individual must file their lawsuit. After that deadline expires, their lawsuit can no longer be filed. In California, the statute of limitations for trucking accidents is two years from the date of the accident, though some claims are given a shortened or extended statute of limitations, such as those involving minor children or suing a government agency. While this may sound like ample time, accident victims must consider that they will be trying to recover from the accident. Trucking accident injuries are often much more severe than those in a typical car accident. Traumatic brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, and other serious injuries are more common in trucking accidents and take a much longer time to recover from, and in some cases, may never end in a full recovery. Hiring an attorney to assist you with filing your claim allows you to focus on your recovery without worrying about the statute of limitations expiring, trying to gather evidence, or determining liability. At Schneiderman Trial Attorneys, we can handle these matters on your behalf so you can rest easy, knowing that the legal details are under control so your energy and attention can remain solely on healing. When a spinal cord injury is the direct cause of death, the parties responsible for causing the injury may be held legally liable. However, sometimes the individual does not die due to the SCI, but due to the complications that arise from it, such as septicemia, pressure ulcers, or degenerative diseases that further damage the spinal cord. In these cases, the parties responsible for the SCI may still be held liable for wrongful death, though families will likely need to consult with a wrongful death attorney to review the details and learn more.
