Truck accidents are a serious matter that can change a victim’s life in an instant. These accidents can have severe, if not deadly, consequences. If you were injured in a truck collision, you need a personal injury attorney who has extensive experience handling these kinds of cases.
Whether we can negotiate a settlement or we have to take your case to trial, the Los Angeles truck accident lawyers at Levin & Nalbandyan, LLP are here to help you seek justice. We have what it takes to help you obtain a favorable outcome.
Types of Truck Accidents
Truck accidents can be categorized as blind spot, rollover, side impact, and overloaded.
Blind spots are called no-zones by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration because they are areas the trucker cannot see. Truck no-zones include 20 feet in front of the cab, behind and under the passenger-side mirror, beneath, behind, and across the adjoining lane from the trucker’s side mirror, and up to 30 feet behind the truck and trailer.
Rollover accidents happen when a trucker is not driving responsibly and is either tired, distracted, overcorrects for locked brakes, or is exceeding the speed limit or a safe speed for inclement weather. Rollovers are extremely dangerous because the truck continues to careen out of control into motorists sharing the road.
Side impact wrecks, also called T-bone wrecks, are usually caused by truck driver error. When a trucker T-bones a motorist, it is usually fatal or at least catastrophic. Trucker error can be blamed on skirting safe-driving rules to deliver cargo more quickly, often with a bonus involved.
Overloaded or overweight trucks are extremely hard on brakes and can realign the truck’s center of gravity, making it difficult to control. Any of these accidents are based on trucker or trucking company negligence, which our Los Angeles attorneys could establish to seek the compensation you will need to put your life back together.
What Should a Person Do After a Truck Accident?
Seek emergency medical help immediately after being involved in a truck accident, even if you believe your injuries are minor. A bystander should call 911 if you cannot. Brain trauma may not be readily discernible for hours because the brain continues to swell. Getting emergency care could be the difference between life and death.
Witnesses and those injured are expected to share personal and insurance coverage information while waiting for law enforcement and medical help to respond to a 911 call. Law enforcement will interview those on the scene. Make sure to get a copy of the police report, which can serve as evidence in a personal injury claim.
Additionally, accumulate all information pertinent to a truck accident and save it for our attorneys in Los Angeles to interpret. This includes medical and police reports, communications with insurers, witness contact information, cell phone videos or pictures, and receipts for expenses relative to the accident and injuries.
Common Causes of Truck Crashes
Though truck accidents do not occur as frequently as passenger car accidents, they are still a serious and sometimes fatal possibility.
Truck accidents are often caused by:
Fatigued drivers who operate their trucks longer than is legally allowed
Overloaded vehicles
Drunk driving
Improperly trained or unqualified drivers
Distracted driving
Defective truck equipment
Aggressive driving
Depending on the circumstances of the truck wreck, a Los Angeles attorney will use a variety of means – such as witness testimonies, the truck’s black-box data, and consultations with an accident reconstructionist – to build a strong case on your behalf.
Common Truck Accident Injuries
Truck crash injuries are life-altering in their severity and are often catastrophic, which, according to the medical community, means impact to the spine, spinal cord, and brain. Legal scholars expand the definition to include any injury that interferes with the injured person returning to full-time work. Some common truck accident injuries include:
Loss of any of the five senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch
Internal organ damage
Amputated limbs
Because of the severity of these injuries, our lawyers are very precise when determining how much compensation a client will need and who the appropriate defendants are after a Los Angeles truck accident.
Who Can Be Held Liable?
In a truck accident case, it is not just the driver who could be at fault. In fact, many of the truck accident cases our lawyers in Los Angeles pursue are not directed at the driver himself.
We may also be able to pursue a case against other parties, such as:
The trucking company
The truck driver’s employer
The vehicle manufacturer
The truck’s primary mechanic
Government entities
Truck Accident Liability Examples
Negligent or reckless driving: If the truck driver was driving in a reckless or negligent manner, such as speeding or texting while driving, they may be found at fault for the accident.
Vehicle maintenance: If the trucking company failed to properly maintain the vehicle, resulting in a mechanical failure that caused the accident, liability may fall on the company.
Improper loading: In some cases, the party responsible for loading the truck is liable for not properly securing or balancing the load.
Road conditions: If the accident was caused by poor road conditions, the government agency responsible for maintaining the road could be liable for the accident and any related injuries.
Get the Compensation You Deserve
After suffering personal injury in a truck accident, you are probably facing mounting medical bills, lost wages, severe pain, and mental anguish. You deserve compensation to cover these injustices and to help you move on from this incident. With Levin & Nalbandyan, LLP by your side, you stand a better chance of recovering the maximum compensation possible. Our truck crash lawyers in Los Angeles are not afraid to go up against the trucking company or the insurance company to help you achieve a positive resolution.
Compensation after a truck accident may be sought from the trucking company’s insurer since commercial carriers are required to carry a minimum of liability insurance that is much higher than motorist coverage. However, insurers are known for pitching lowball settlement offers because their bottom line is more important than your injuries.
Our attorneys are experienced negotiators and litigators, and we will seek the money you deserve to pay for medical care, cover the wages you lose from being unable to work, and pay for your property damage. Also, we fight for subjective losses, such as the pain you are enduring from your injuries, the emotional trauma of living with disfigurement, and the loss of the enjoyment of your family. In some cases, punitive damages may be available, and if your case qualifies, we will fight for it.
Truck Collision Statute of Limitations
Truck accident victims have a limited amount of time to file a lawsuit. This is called the “statute of limitations.” In California, the statute of limitations for truck accident claims is two years from the date of the accident. This means that truck accident victims have two years to file a lawsuit against the truck driver, company, or other parties responsible for the accident.
If you or a loved one have been involved in a truck accident, it is important to consult with an experienced Los Angeles attorney as soon as possible to ensure that your claim is filed within the applicable statute of limitations.
How Much is Your Truck Accident Worth?
Truck accident cases vary widely in terms of their value. Factors that can affect the value of a truck accident case include the severity of the injuries suffered, the amount of medical bills and other damages incurred, the liability of the truck driver and trucking company, and the jurisdiction in which the case is filed.
In general, however, truck accident cases are worth more than car accident cases because truckers are held to a higher standard of care than regular drivers. That said, the actual value of your individual case is dependent on many factors and the best way to understand your legal options is to speak with an attorney.
