The public roadways in and around Irvine are often filled with various types of motor vehicle traffic, including commercial trucks. Unfortunately, these massive trucks (commonly referred to as semi-trucks, tractor-trailers, or 18-wheelers) feature a number of maneuverability issues such as significant blind spots, a long stopping distance, and the need to make wide turns. In addition to these issues, there is also a risk of negligent driving behavior on the part of the truck driver or other users of the roadway that can result in an Irvine truck accident.
Truck accidents commonly result in some of the most severe injuries a person can incur, and these injuries most often occur to the occupants of other vehicles. If you've been injured as a result of a truck accident in Irvine that was caused by the negligent actions of the truck driver or another roadway user, you can use California's personal injury claims process to seek compensation for the expenses and impacts of the injury that you have already experienced as well as those you will likely experience in the future. However, these are complicated claims and an experienced truck accident lawyer has an important role to play in assisting you as you navigate the process.
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Trucking is one of the most federally regulated industries in the country. These regulations require trucking owner-operators and trucking companies to produce a massive amount of documentation, which is helpful as evidence, but can be overwhelming without the assistance of a legal team to gather the information that is relevant to the case. In addition to being overwhelming to gather and sort through, the evidence in a truck accident is commonly held by the at-fault driver or trucking company and must be quickly secured by the courts in order to be used in proving the claim.
Liability in a truck accident can also be difficult to determine. Truck drivers are only considered the liable party in a truck accident claim if they are tasked with owning and insuring the truck. When the driver is employed by a company, the company is tasked not only with insuring and maintaining the vehicle in accordance with federal regulations, but also with making sure the driver has the proper licensing and qualifications to operate the vehicle on public roadways. It is important to remember that not all truck accidents are the fault of the truck driver. If your accident was the result of the negligence of another driver, that driver would be liable for compensating the financial and emotional costs of your injury, typically through their auto insurance policy.
Beyond the issues with the regulations, documentation, and liability, trucking companies are typically insured by high-powered insurance companies who can be ruthless in dealing with claimants attempting to engage in the claims process without a Irvine truck accident attorney. An experienced Irvine truck accident lawyer can manage this communication in order to protect the claim’s value from the tactics of trucking company insurance claims adjusters who tend to avoid payouts on claims as much as possible. Additional complexities involve the type of injuries that have been sustained, and determining the amount of compensation needed to secure enough compensation to cover the expenses of serious or even permanent injuries.
In order to obtain compensation for your Irvine truck accident claim, you must be able to show that someone else was responsible for causing the accident (car or motorcycle). In a truck accident claim, liability is proven by showing:
When the truck driver is at-fault for the accident, there are a number of pieces of information your Irvine truck accident attorney will want to view, including the truck’s data recorder (black box) that can show how the driver was driving before the accident occurred; the results of the driver’s physical exams that they’re required to undergo as part of maintaining their commercial driver’s license (CDL) and can indicate the presence of untreated medical conditions that led to the accident; and the driver’s electronic log, which can be accessed to see if they were following trucking hours of service rules if fatigued driving was suspected to be a factor. Your truck accident attorney can also consider other types of evidence to prove your claim, including witness testimony, photos of the accident scene, or information included in the police report of the accident.
If you’ve been injured in a truck accident, you can seek compensation for both the expenses you incurred as a result of the accident (known as economic damages), and the psychological or quality-of-life impacts of your injury (known as non-economic damages). Damages may typically include:
Lastly, punitive damages are awarded in rare cases. These are not common and are only utilized when a judge finds the liable party to have acted grossly negligent. These damages are intended to punish the liable party.
The award-winning legal team at Kash Legal is committed to helping the injured of California obtain the compensation they need after they’ve been injured as a result of another person’s carelessness or recklessness. Our truck accident lawyers have garnered millions of dollars in compensation for our clients, including a recent $1 million award for a client who was injured in a truck accident.
An experienced truck accident lawyer from Kash Legal is ready to answer the questions you have about your case, tell you more about the personal injury claims process, and explain the services our truck accident lawyers can provide to assist you with your claim. For your free case evaluation, contact us online or by calling (888) 527-4128.
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