Has a Negligent or Reckless Truck Driver Injured You?
In California, if you’re injured in a crash with a large commercial truck, you may be entitled to compensation for your pending and future medical bills, lost wages, and related damages, but to recover that compensation, you’ll need to be represented by a Pasadena car accident lawyer..
The injuries you sustain in a truck collision may have severe consequences for your loved ones, your finances, your career, and your future. Of course, any traffic collision is potentially devastating, but the statistics indicate that commercial trucks cause the most harm.
Particularly at highway speeds, a truck’s size and weight make driving and braking a truck demanding and dangerous. The typical car weighs about one-and-a-half tons, but a fully loaded truck may weigh as much as forty tons, so trucks can do considerably more damage.
How Are Truck Accidents and Car Accidents Handled Differently?
Commercial trucks haul products and goods to every town and city in the United States. These trucks are vital to the economy, but big trucks also pose genuine dangers to others on the road. Car and truck accident injury claims are dealt with differently for several reasons.
Truck companies that engage in interstate commerce are subject to regulation by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and are governed by both federal and state laws.
Truck drivers who are regulated by the FMCSA:
- may not drive more than 11 hours a day or 70 hours a week
- must hold a commercial driver’s license
- must know all street signs and traffic signals
- may not drive a truck with any trace of alcohol in their blood
- must be at least 21 years old to drive a commercial truck over state lines
When a trucking company or a truck driver violates any of these regulations, and if an accident is the result of that violation, an injured victim and his or her Pasadena truck accident attorney can offer the violation in a personal injury case as compelling evidence of negligence.
What’s the Biggest Difference Between Car and Truck Accidents?
If you are a truck accident injury victim, the most significant difference between auto and truck collisions is that truck collisions produce substantially more complicated personal injury claims that may seek to hold more than one defendant liable.
Truck manufacturers, leasing companies, subcontractors and contractors, and other parties may jointly share liability for a truck crash. Your accident lawyer will determine which parties may be held liable for the accident and for your injury or injuries.
Truck accident injury claims that name multiple defendants are often difficult to settle privately, and your Pasadena car accident lawyer may have to negotiate separately with different defendants.
How Is Liability Assigned for a Truck Accident?
In California, a party other than the truck driver may be deemed accountable for a truck collision if:
- The truck company negligently hired an unqualified driver.
- The truck was not maintained properly or loaded properly.
- The truck – or a part – was manufactured defectively, and the defect caused the crash.
- The crash happened on a road that was negligently constructed or poorly maintained.
Far too frequently, truck collisions in Southern California result in wrongful deaths, permanent disabilities, and catastrophic injuries that include but are not limited to spinal cord injuries, burn injuries, soft tissue injuries, traumatic brain injuries, and injuries that require amputation. A truck accident victim may require multiple surgeries and medical care for life.
What Compensation Can a Truck Accident Victim Recover?
If you sustain a spinal cord injury, a traumatic brain injury, or another catastrophic or disabling injury because of negligence, your Pasadena truck accident attorney will fight to recover the maximum compensation available to pay for your treatment and long-term care costs. If you and your truck accident attorney can prove your personal injury claim, you may recover:
- “economic” damages to compensate the monetary losses that you can document with receipts, paycheck stubs, and medical bills
- “noneconomic” damages to compensate your personal pain and emotional suffering
Insurance companies and the courts use a widely-accepted, standard formula to calculate fair and reasonable noneconomic damages. How much total compensation can a truck accident victim eventually receive?
That answer will depend on the scope of the injuries, the number of defendants, and whether your claim is settled privately or goes to court. Until a lawyer reviews the case, there is no way to guess a final compensation amount.
Is There a Deadline for Taking Legal Action After a Truck Accident?
If you are injured because of negligence in a Southern California truck accident, you must take legal action at once. Over time, witnesses forget, and evidence deteriorates or disappears. It is imperative to put your case in the hands of a personal injury lawyer as quickly as possible.
The statute of limitations – that is, the deadline – for bringing a truck accident injury claim in this state, in most cases, is two years from the date of the accident. If your injury was latent or difficult to detect, the deadline is two years from the date that the injury was discovered.
If you have been injured in a truck accident, do not wait two years or even two weeks. Contact a Southern California personal injury attorney as soon as you have been examined and treated for your injury or injuries.
Thon Beck Vanni Callahan & Powell Fights for Truck Accident Victims
You can’t trust your truck accident injury case – and your future – to an untested attorney. But for more than forty years, the award-winning attorneys at Thon Beck Vanni Callahan & Powell have been fighting – and prevailing – for car and truck accident victims across Southern California.
When you are a client of Thon Beck Vanni Callahan & Powell, you will be represented and advised by a California personal injury attorney who has handled the most difficult traffic accident cases involving catastrophic injuries, permanent disabilities, and wrongful deaths.
Call Us to Schedule a Free Legal Consultation
Thon Beck Vanni Callahan & Powell has recovered millions for the victims of negligence. Your initial legal consultation is free, and you will pay no attorney’s fee to Thon Beck Vanni Callahan & Powell unless and until you have recovered the compensation you are entitled to by law.
If you’ve been injured by negligence in an accident with a large commercial truck, or if that happens in the future to you or someone you love, immediately call Thon Beck Vanni Callahan & Powell at 626-208-9906, and let our award-winning legal team fight on your behalf.
