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The trucking industry is essential to our economy and everyday lives in Salinas. Trucks must deliver goods to stock the shelves at Safeway and other stores. More and more people order goods online, and trucks deliver them right to our doorsteps. While box trucks and semi-trucks serve essential purposes, they pose a grave risk of truck accidents.
Commercial trucks can cause significant damage when they collide with a smaller vehicle. Injured victims can seek compensation from liable parties, including the truck driver and trucking company. Reach out to a Salinas truck accident lawyer.
Going after compensation for a truck crash is a challenging feat. You need representation from an experienced Salinas truck accident lawyer as soon as possible following your injuries. The right lawyer can ease your stress from the start.
Silva Injury Law regularly represents people after accidents involving commercial trucks. We know how to approach these cases and set our clients up for the best chance of success. Consult our legal team today to learn more.
Aggressive Representation For Truck Accident Victims
An insurance company for a commercial truck company might aggressively try to get you to settle your case without a lawyer. An insurer may even tell you that you do not need to hire an attorney and you can keep more money for yourself without legal help. Do not trust insurance adjusters, as they seek to settle your case for lowball amounts that are nowhere near what you need and deserve.
When you hire Silva Injury Law, you will immediately have somebody on your side, ensuring a settlement will be enough to cover your past and future losses. We know that early offers are usually far too low, and we regularly negotiate settlements that far exceed an initial insurance offer.
Seek a no-cost, no-obligation consultation today.
Common Causes Of Truck Crashes In Salinas
U.S. 101 is the major north-south thoroughfare in Salinas, where you will see commercial trucks, but California State Route 68 (CA 68 or SR 68) and California State Route 183 (CA 183 or SR 183) are also common routes. Market Street, Alisal Street, Clay Street, Rossi Street, Abbott Street, Sanborn Road, Laurel Drive, and Williams Road are other major roads on which we commonly see Salinas truck accidents.
Multiple factors can lead to truck accidents: driver training and experience, vehicle design and manufacture, highway condition and traffic signaling, weather conditions, driving decisions, vehicle issues, or inclement weather.
Often, truck crashes happen when a truck driver makes a mistake or violates the law or trucking regulations.
In recent years, fatigue, alcohol consumption, and speeding have contributed to many commercial truck crashes.
Other common causes of truck accidents include:
- Driving too fast for the conditions
- Cargo shifts
- Failure to properly train drivers
- Unrealistic time constraints
- Hours of service violations
- Poor cargo loading
- Failure to maintain trucks
- Driving under the influence (DUI) of drugs
- Distracted driving
- Failure to adjust driving to road and weather conditions
- Speeding
- Reckless driving
- Aggressive driving
- Negligent hiring by a trucking company
- Road hazards
- Construction
- Brake failure
- Tire blowouts
- Not checking blind spots
These are far from the only mistakes that can lead a large semi-truck to crash.
Large Trucks Cause Severe Accidents
Commercial trucks can crash in many ways. One of the most common kinds of truck accidents is the rollover accident. Commercial trucks frequently crush other vehicles they roll onto and fatally injure all occupants.
Rear-end collisions are also common. Large trucks often require more room to stop, so commercial drivers who follow other vehicles too closely might strike the rear ends of those vehicles. Although rear-end car accidents are not customarily associated with serious injuries, commercial truck cases are much different. Smaller cars can get wedged under a truck, often leading to death.
Head-on collisions involving a semi-truck can also be devastating. Head-on collisions are rarer but usually involve a truck going the wrong way on a highway, possibly because a truck driver fell asleep and crossed the median or yellow line into oncoming traffic.
A jackknife accident is another pervasive kind of truck crash in which the cab and the trailer of a commercial truck fold in one another like a jackknife. A jackknife crash usually extends into several traffic lanes, so it is always possible that multiple other motor vehicles will be in these collisions.
A sideswipe accident involves the side of a commercial truck hitting the side of another motor vehicle, usually while both are traveling side by side. Sideswipe accidents usually damage motor vehicles, but they can also force smaller vehicles into other vehicles that cause additional accidents. These often happen when a driver fails to check a blind spot before changing lanes.
A wide turn accident is also called a squeeze crash because large trucks often have to swing to their left to turn right. People who mistake trucks going to the left as simply changing lanes can find themselves caught between trucks and curbs.
No matter what type of truck collision occurs, there is the possibility of life-changing injuries and widespread damage. Accident scenes can be chaotic, and anyone with possible injuries should seek emergency medical attention.
Then, seek a legal evaluation of who might be liable for your truck crash. Silva Injury Law can advise if you have a claim.
Injuries And Losses From Truck Crashes
The typical truck accident causes widespread damage, leaving many struggling to get back on their feet. The result is that many truck accident cases then involve the potential for significant awards of damages to the people harmed.
Insurance companies for most trucks will know how much they should pay you immediately, but they will work to limit their liability in any way possible. Hire an experienced truck accident attorney to achieve the best possible settlement for your case.
When talking about damages in a truck accident case, people can recover economic and non-economic damages.
Economic damages refer to tangible costs, such as:
- Medical expenses
- Lost wages
- Property damage
Non-economic damages can include awards for subjective effects like:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of consortium
- Permanent disability or disfigurement
Two additional types of damages can include wrongful death damages and punitive damages. Wrongful death awards only relate to fatal accident cases, and punitive damages might apply if the court punishes negligent parties for wanton disregard for human life or extreme cruelty.
Our attorneys know how to calculate your past and future losses and seek full economic and non-economic damages. We do not back down until you receive a fair offer or award at trial.
Who Can You Hold Liable For Your Injuries?
When you think of truck accident liability, you might naturally think of the truck driver. While driver error is a leading cause of accidents and leads to liability, other parties might be at fault or otherwise share liability for your losses.
An investigation is usually necessary to uncover all liable parties. We always determine all liable parties because if there are multiple, you can have multiple sources of compensation. Trucking companies have higher insurance policy limits than individual drivers, so adding them to your claim can ensure you can cover all your losses from serious injuries.
Trucking companies have much deeper pockets and are also commonly liable in many cases. Companies can engage in negligence that can lead to a crash, such as hiring or retaining dangerous drivers. Companies might also fail to properly care for their vehicles, and several truck accidents result from mechanical causes involving a failure to perform regular maintenance.
These companies can be liable without negligence, as well. The law holds employers liable for harm their negligent employees cause. Even if a truck driver is officially an independent contractor, a trucking company can still be vicariously liable for the accidents the driver caused.
Trucking companies may not own the trucks they operate, so you can hold the actual truck owners liable in some cases. Truck owners share similar responsibilities to keep their vehicles safe.
Cases of improper cargo loading can lead to third-party cargo loading companies being liable. There are multiple issues involving cargo shifting that can cause truck accidents.
When some part on a commercial truck fails or is defective, the manufacturer of the defective truck part becomes liable. People will then need to file product liability claims, which can involve different legal theories than a regular traffic accident claim.
There is always the prospect that an independent driver of another motor vehicle was the cause of a truck accident. Then, that person’s insurance company will become liable for all damages.
The simple truth is that many truck accidents can involve multiple parties being liable, which can present a complicated situation. Silva Injury Law will identify liable parties for your accident and seek the compensation you deserve.
Speak With Our Truck Accident Lawyers Right Away
Many people want to know how long they have to file an injury claim after a truck accident, and the general rule in California is you have two years to file a lawsuit in civil court. However, people should not wait two years to seek legal help with their case because a lawyer needs time to investigate and negotiate with the insurance company before discussing a lawsuit.
The statute of limitations differs when an injured person is a minor, as they will have two years to file once they turn 18. The traditional statute of limitations also does not apply in cases of government-employed or government-contracted trucks, as people only have six months to file in such cases.
Contacting an attorney as soon as possible can preserve evidence in your case. Trucking companies often possess important evidence, which might conveniently disappear. Involve a lawyer as soon as possible so they can specifically protect key evidence.
An attorney can send an evidence preservation notice or spoliation letter to a trucking company immediately after a truck accident. The letter will preserve information, such as data from a truck’s black box, dashcam footage, electronic time logs, employment records, and maintenance records.
Much needs to happen before you file a lawsuit after a truck accident. Further, the sooner you take action, the stronger the evidence your lawyer obtains. Just because the statute of limitations is two years does not mean you should wait.
Following a crash, get immediate medical care. Obtain a diagnosis of your injuries and a treatment plan. As you begin your treatment, you should also reach out to a truck accident law firm with the resources to handle these complex cases.
Get Your Free Consultation With Our Salinas Truck Accident Attorneys
If you suffered catastrophic injuries or your loved one died in a truck accident in the greater Salinas area, contact Silva Injury Law as soon as possible. Our firm understands how to pursue these cases, and we work very closely with our clients to fully inform them about their rights and everything that happens with their cases. Reach out to a personal injury lawyer.
Our firm is willing to fight to make sure that you can recover all the compensation you need and deserve to make a complete recovery. Call (209) 308-8924 or contact our Salinas truck accident lawyers online for your free consultation.